Building a career in PMU means you never stop learning. Even if you’ve mastered one technique down to absolute perfection, you have to stay on top of innovations to guide clients to informed decisions and their desired aesthetics.
Mersida Hodžić Ramić, PhiAcademy Grand Master and World’s Best PhiArtist of 2019 is well-known for her extensive experience in her distinct style of microblading. But lately, her exceptional work with machine hair strokes has everyone talking.
You probably know her as Mersy PMU on Instagram, and you must be familiar with her stunning before-and-afters!
PMUHub’s Emily had the pleasure of sitting down with Mersy to chat about what she does best: all kinds of strokes! She provides exclusive insights we’re sure you’ll find super useful.
Microblading vs Machine Hair Strokes? Why Not Both!
Mersida is world-famous for her incredibly lifelike microblading technique, but her artistry has recently taken her out of her comfort zone and into machine work.
We wanted to understand her motivation for mastering this innovative technique. Her answer was no surprise, since with machine strokes “artists have amazing freedom in work to combine and create different strokes and styles” which ultimately enables this technique to give a very realistic eyebrow look – her second reason for taking it up.
“I have absolutely fallen in love with
this technique.”
For Mersy, whose microblading is as realistic as can be, this opened up a new space for play.
When you try to compare her microblading results to her hair strokes, an untrained eye may not necessarily see a difference. But when you take a closer look, there are details that reveal a difference.
“I use similar patterns, not completely same. I always love to improvise and to try some new ideas.”
With machine strokes, you can play with the texture and thickness of each stroke. As Mersy explains, “a machine stroke is created in ombre effect, and in microblading one stroke is completely the same color intensity.”
Working with a machine and a needle in contrast to a blade, there’s also the possibility to connect and cross the strokes, without damaging the skin or compromising longer-term pigment placement. This is why so many artists highlight the freedom and creativity they discover when they try switching to a machine, like Mersy.
“Hair strokes heal softer.”
Of course, each pair of brows is designed according to the state of the client’s brows, as she explains, and for someone who does both manual and machine strokes, this is a major factor in choosing which technique to use. She highlights the importance of consultations, as they allow you to assess the client’s skin. “For very sensitive and thin skin I will always recommend hair stroke.”
@mersy_pmu As a dedicated #artist in the field of pmu, I had the privilege of providing lots of free Microblading treatments to a clients who were bravely facing the challenges of #alopecia. This video is just a reminder that even the seemingly small gestures of care and understanding can make an immeasurable difference in someone’s life. ❤️ If you, or someone you know is suffering from alopecia feel free to contact&visit me for free #Microblading or #Hairstroke treatment. 🫶 #paywithsmile ♬ Supergirl - Dream Chaos & Della
The consultation is also an opportunity to educate the client and set their expectations regarding the healing process, which can be a struggle if they’re not prepared. According to Mersy, it’s important for artists to understand that there is some difference between how microblading and machine strokes heal: “Hair strokes take a bit longer to heal and usually heal softer than microblading.”
In another conversation with PMUHub, Mersy also touched upon the aftercare she prescribes. She explained that for hair strokes, she prescribes dry healing, but for microblading, wet healing is her go-to.
If there’s one technical piece of advice we can take away from Mersy’s insights, it’s that you can’t go into a treatment on autopilot and just recreate a template, regardless of the method. Successful PMU application is all about small adjustments that make a difference – from one technique to the next, from one client to another.
Struggles & Satisfaction in Mastering Hair Strokes
If we were to judge based on Mersy’s Instagram, we’d say she was born with a PMU machine in her hand. But the journey of mastering hair strokes was not perfectly smooth for this microblading mastermind.
Her hair stroke story starts with support and encouragement from her community. It was Branko Babić, PhiAcademy founder, who pushed her outside of her comfort zone. No surprise, since his own business philosophy is based on pushing boundaries. “Nobody ever achieved any success inside either comfort zone – I’m sure of that” Branko highlights in a conversation with PMUHub.
Mersy shares that her decision to get into hair strokes was made when Branko asked her to test new Phi machines. The perfect strokes did not come flowing out instantly, regardless of her extensive experience with manual hair strokes.
“I had some difficulties to achieve good results. But later, with hard practice and more tries, I succeeded and absolutely fallen in love with this technique.”
So if you’ve been trying to get into hair strokes and facing challenges, feeling frustrated and discouraged, we bet it’s reassuring to know that someone as skilled in microblading as Mersy has also had her struggles taming the machine.
What was it in particular that she found difficult?
“Mostly to find the perfect angle and which cartridge to choose. Also, the hand speed.”
Curious to Know Which Cartridges, Pigments & Extras Mersy Uses?
In the first-ever episode of PhiFaves, Mersida Hodžić Ramić reveals all the tools that bring her art to life. Watch the video below, or read the article here.
So the same points so many aspiring machine stroke artists struggle with as well. You know what that means? If someone as busy and as booked out as Mersida can get their hands dirty and go back to learning in order to build their skills for the future, it’s time you did the same. PMU is ever-evolving and if you stop learning, you stop succeeding.
Final Thoughts
We asked Mersy what she predicts to be the next big thing in PMU in the years to come. “Definitely hair strokes, because it’s more creative technique and gives less trauma to the skin.”
If you’ve been having doubts about whether you need to learn machine hair stroking or not, hearing this from a microblading expert such as Mersida really makes a strong case.
