NEW: 5U & 8U Curved Flat PIXL Needle Cartridges
Nano brows have changed the PMU brow game. This machine hair stroke technique is in high demand because of its natural, hyper-realistic results – making it a great service for PMU artists to offer. Nano brows are commonly created using a single round liner needle, allowing artists to build each stroke into the skin, pixel-by-pixel. This requires multiple passes to build definition and saturation. However, more time working in the skin increases the likelihood of skin trauma.
Always striving for innovation, we saw an opportunity to design new specialized tools for artists to create nano brows with ease. These new needles will cut down the overall working time, which reduces the likelihood of skin trauma. We're about to change the way artists do nano brows… introducing the 5U and 8U Curved Flat PIXL Needle Cartridges!
These new, innovative needle configurations are the perfect specialized tools to help you achieve faster saturation per hair stroke, enabling you to reduce your total treatment time. The curved shape is inspired by our much-loved microblades and allows for seamless skin entry. Perfect for creating straight or curved lines, these needles are ideal for building defined hair strokes.
8U CF in use
Tina Davies
Main Benefits
The 5U and 8U Curved Flat (CF) needle cartridges come in a single-row configuration. Resembling U-shaped microblades, think of these needle cartridges as microblades for machines. Remember, while microblading is ideal for dry to normal skin types, machine brow methods like nano are suitable for all skin types – yes, even textured, oily skin.
With an ideal diameter of 0.30 mm, these needles allow for hair strokes to show up well in the skin. With their medium taper, they implant more pigment and have the perfect amount of stiffness for controlled precision when executing nano hair strokes.
Nano brows by PRO Team artist, Ramona Krusinskiene (@monapmuacademy)
5U CF – immediately after
8U CF – before & healed
What does this mean for you and your art?
More needles = more pigment implanted = fewer passes = shorter working time = less trauma
Increased efficiency
- Multiple needles allow for greater pigment deposit per pass, resulting in less trauma
Seamless skin entry
- The curved edges on the 5U and 8U CF needles allow you to “airplane” in and out of the skin seamlessly, since there are no hard/square edges
More creativity
- With our full PIXL lineup of liners, shaders, magnums, and now curved flats, you have a wider selection in tools to unleash your creativity for your best results
Pro Tips
Pre-draw
With a Pro Pencil, pre-draw your hair stroke pattern onto the brows – this provides you with a clear guideline for improved accuracy during your first pass. To get your wax pencil to show up better on the skin, apply a thin layer of Vaseline onto the skin before drawing. To prevent the pattern from smearing, set your drawing with a translucent makeup setting powder.
90-degree angle
Keep your CF needle upright at a 90-degree angle to ensure proper penetration for direct pigment deposit. If your needle is slanted upon entry, you will not achieve a clean line, but rather a blurred or jagged one.
5U CF in use
@browbeaute
No carving or digging
Work off the tip of your CF needle as your hand etches or glides across the skin – do not press the needle into the skin and carve. Pay attention to your hand pressure and needle depth to avoid creating deep, blurred hair strokes. Your pressure should mimic a feather tickling the skin.
Go slow & steady
Use a back-and-forth etching motion to SLOWLY etch each hair stroke into the skin. Slow movements deliver more pigment deposit, meaning minimal passes, reduced skin trauma, and better results.
For example, if you use a pencil to draw two lines onto a piece of paper, one slowly and one quickly, the slow line will be darker, showing up better than the quick line.
3-point stretch
Keep the skin taut like a drum with a 3-point stretch to remove any bounce or fine wrinkles – and make sure to adjust your stretch as you work along the skin. This will ensure optimal pigment deposit and crisp hair strokes.
@browbeaute
Free Nano Brow Pattern
Need inspiration for your next set of nano brows? Here’s an easy-to-follow brow pattern from The Collective’s Nano Brows online course by Beauté Academy – including a before and after photo of how the pattern looks on-skin!
Remember to always follow your client’s natural brow hair flow.
Top FAQs
Q: How do I use a CF needle for nano brows?
A: You can use it in two ways – etching (short back-and-forth motions) or by pulling a continuous line.
A: It’s important to keep your needle upright at a 90-degree angle rather than leaning to the side, as that would cause incorrect depth, poor pigment deposit, and jagged hair strokes. Just like when you hold a microblade, make sure the needles are lined up vertically behind each other, twisting your wrist as you curve the stroke to ensure the needles stay in a single-file row to create those crisp lines.
Q: Can I use a CF needle for other linework?
A: Yes, you can use it to outline lips, brows, and eyeliner – or any areas that require linework.
Q: Can I use a CF needle for shading?
A: No, these needles are just not ideal for shading, but either a round liner, round shader or curved magnum should be used instead – the larger the needle configuration, the more area covered. However, a CF needle can pack a lot of color when used in tight, circular overlapping movements.
Q: My trainer taught me how to do nano brows using a single needle. Is this better?
A: A single needle is great for nano brows as it’s very small and precise. However, the 5U and 8U CF needles will provide more pigment deposit, reducing work time, as they have multiple needles instead of one. It ultimately comes down to the artist’s personal preference and working style.
Q: When should I use the 5U CF and when should I use the 8U CF?
A: The 5U CF has 3 fewer needles than the 8U CF and is more beginner-friendly. The 5U CF can be used for thinner brows and to create curvier hair strokes, as the smaller configuration allows for an easier turn. It’s also great for tight detailing. The 8U CF can be used for thicker brows and to create straighter hair strokes. Give both sizes a try to see which you’d prefer.
Q: I’ve never used these types of needles before. How should I approach using them?
A: If you’re a beginner artist, make sure you’re confident and skilled with your needle technique and patterning before using these needles. If you’re an intermediate to advanced artist, the learning curve is shorter. You’ll need to focus on getting used to guiding your CF needle to create hair strokes. Work on creating smooth, clean lines in both etching and continuous line movements. Make sure to practice plenty on skin pads before moving onto real skin, and don’t forget to pre-draw your strokes with a wax pencil first.
Q: How do I create curved hair strokes using a CF needle?
A: You’ll need to position your body and wrist so that you can naturally “turn” the line. Double check your hand position to make sure the needles are in-line vertically behind each other when pulling toward yourself or pushing away. Sitting at an angle from above or beside the client can help with turning. While etching, it’s easier to create curved strokes by “pushing” the line instead of “pulling” the line.
Q: What is the difference between CF needles and U-shaped microblades?
A: CF needles have a similar curvature to U-shaped microblades. The difference is that CF needles are machine operated, whereas U-shaped microblades are manually operated. Additionally, clients of all ages with all skin types are good candidates for machine nano brows.
Q: Why are these needles medium-tapered instead of long-tapered?
A: Because these needles have a medium-taper tip, they allow for more pigment to be implanted per pass – imagine making a dot with a regular pencil point vs a super sharpened pencil. This also allows for less flexibility and, therefore, more control when pulling lines in the skin.
Q: What skin types are these needles suitable for?
A: They’re suitable for all skin types – from thin to thick, sensitive to non-sensitive. Proper training and practice are required to reduce the risk of damaging the skin from improper use. Remember, they’re still sharp!
Q: My client's nano brows have healed, but the color faded away. What happened?
A: This is a result of the pigment not properly landing and healing into the upper dermis. This can be caused by poor stretching, incorrect needle entry and speed, or excessive trauma to the skin. Additional supervised training is recommended to improve on technique with an experienced trainer.
Q: My client's nano brows have healed, but the color is too dark or too cool. What happened?
A: This can be a result of improper pigment choice, or as a result of the pigment being placed slightly too deep. Always work gently and conservatively, and remember that it’s ok to start with a lighter, warmer pigment because you can always add more color later.
Now that you understand the benefits of using curved flat U needles for nano brows, it’s time to elevate the way you do nano brows!
