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Two different appointments get called a “touch-up,” and they cost very different amounts. One is part of your first microblading result and is included. The other is the refresh you come back for once a year. Knowing which one you need is the difference between paying nothing and paying a few hundred dollars.
The 4–6 week perfecting session
Microblading is a two-appointment procedure. Your skin pushes out some of the pigment as it heals, and strokes settle unevenly — that is normal, not a mistake. The second session, four to six weeks later, is where the brow is finished: gaps filled, shape corrected, color adjusted to how it healed on you.
At Elite this session is free for anyone who had their first appointment with us. It is not an upsell and it is not optional if you want the result you were shown. Book it before you leave the first appointment.
The annual touch-up: what it actually costs
After the first year, pigment fades. How fast depends on your skin type, sun exposure, and the skincare you use — oily skin and daily acids both shorten it. Most people come back somewhere between twelve and eighteen months.
Across Los Angeles, an annual touch-up is usually charged at 50 to 60 percent of the original appointment price. At Elite, microblading is $700 and the annual touch-up is $400. Prices are confirmed at your consultation.
Why the refresh costs less than the first appointment
The first appointment is design work: mapping the brow to your bone structure, matching pigment to your undertone, and building the stroke pattern from nothing. The refresh works on a shape that already exists. Less time in the chair, less design, lower price.
That logic breaks in one case — if you have waited so long that there is nothing left to refresh. Then it is a first appointment again, at full price.
How long can you leave it
There is no hard deadline, but there is a practical one. While faded strokes are still visible, an artist can follow them. Once the brow has gone completely, or faded to a grey or warm cast, the work becomes correction rather than refresh — and correction takes longer and sometimes needs more than one session.
If your brows have shifted color rather than simply faded, read about removal and correction before booking a refresh. Lightening first often gives a better result than layering new pigment over old.
What changes the price
- How much is left. A brow at 60 percent strength is a quick refresh. A brow at 10 percent is close to starting over.
- Work by another artist. Going over someone else’s brows is quoted at consultation, not from a price list. We need to see the shape, the depth and the color before committing to a number.
- Color correction. Pigment that healed cool or warm needs neutralizing, which is a different skill and a longer appointment.
- Skin type. Oily skin holds strokes less crisply and tends to need refreshing sooner. That affects how often you pay, not what each visit costs.
What it adds up to
Using Elite’s own numbers: $700 for the first appointment, the perfecting session free, then $400 a year.
- Year one: $700
- Two years: $1,100
- Five years: $2,300
Spread across five years that is around $38 a month for brows you do not draw on. Compared with brow pencils, gels and threading appointments over the same period, most clients find it close to even — the difference is the time back every morning.
If you are choosing between techniques
Microblading is not the only option, and on some skin it is not the best one. Powder and ombré brows hold better on oily skin and fade more evenly, so the refresh interval is often longer. Nano brows use a machine rather than a blade and suit skin that rejects manual strokes. Refresh pricing follows the same logic for all three.
For the full breakdown of first-appointment pricing, see how much microblading costs in Los Angeles, or go straight to the microblading service page to book a consultation.
Frequently asked questions
Is the 4–6 week session really free?
Yes, for clients whose first appointment was at Elite. It is part of the procedure, not an extra.
What if I miss the 4–6 week window?
Come in as soon as you can. Past roughly three months the skin has fully settled and the session is priced as a touch-up rather than included.
Do you touch up brows done somewhere else?
Often, yes — but only after seeing them. Book a consultation and we will tell you honestly whether a refresh will work or whether lightening first would give a better result.
How often will I need a touch-up?
Most people come back every twelve to eighteen months. Oily skin, sun exposure and retinol use all shorten that.
Does the touch-up hurt more than the first appointment?
No. It is shorter and works over skin that has already been through the process. The same numbing protocol is used.
Booking
Elite Permanent Makeup & Cosmetology College is in West Los Angeles on Santa Monica Blvd. Consultations are free, and we will give you a firm price before anything starts. Artists who want to offer this work themselves can look at our microblading certification course.
