Is Microblading Still in Demand in 2026? What Search Data Shows
Yes, but less than five years ago: US Google searches for microblading are still several times those for nano brows or powder brows, yet they fell by more than half in five years and are still falling, while searches for nano brows grew more than six times (Google Trends, US web searches, yearly averages for the weeks of Oct 31, 2021 to Oct 18, 2026, read Oct 21, 2026). That's how often people search, not how many book, so read it as a sign of where clients' interest is moving: keep microblading if it's your strength, and give nano brows and your other techniques their own pages and healed photos.
By Evan Marrone, cofounder, builds the system · Updated
What the search data shows
Google Trends shows how often people search for a phrase compared with other phrases, on a scale where 100 is the busiest single week of any phrase in the chart. It doesn't count searches, and it doesn't show bookings.
We compared the main brow and lip blush phrases across the US over the last five years and averaged each year. Here are the yearly averages, oldest year first:
- Microblading: 76.2, 55.7, 43.5, 36.9, then 34.8, down by more than half (Google Trends, US web searches, yearly averages for the weeks of Oct 31, 2021 to Oct 18, 2026, read Oct 21, 2026).
- Nano brows: 0.9, 1.5, 2.5, 3.8, then 6.0, more than six times the first year (Google Trends, US web searches, yearly averages for the weeks of Oct 31, 2021 to Oct 18, 2026, read Oct 21, 2026).
- Powder brows: 6.8, 5.7, 4.8, 4.1, then 4.8, down by more than a quarter (Google Trends, US web searches, yearly averages for the weeks of Oct 31, 2021 to Oct 18, 2026, read Oct 21, 2026).
- Lip blush: 8.1, 9.7, 10.2, 11.4, then 18.7, more than double, though the phrase also means a kind of makeup (Google Trends, US web searches, yearly averages for the weeks of Oct 31, 2021 to Oct 18, 2026, read Oct 21, 2026).
Microblading is down, and still searched the most
Of the brow techniques we compared, microblading is still the one people search for most. In the last year it averaged 34.8, against 6.0 for nano brows and 4.8 for powder brows (Google Trends, US web searches, yearly averages for the weeks of Oct 31, 2021 to Oct 18, 2026, read Oct 21, 2026).
But it has dropped every year, and it hasn't leveled off. In the 8 weeks to Oct 18, 2026, microblading averaged 25, against 30 in the same weeks of 2025 and 60 in 2022 (Google Trends, US web searches, weeks of Aug 30 to Oct 18, 2026 against the same weeks of 2025 and 2022, read Oct 21, 2026).
A drop like that can mean fewer people want it, or that more of them now search other words for their brows, like nano brows. Search data alone can't tell you which.
Nano brows are growing, and powder brows dipped
Nano brows started small and grew every year, to more than six times their first year (Google Trends, US web searches, yearly averages for the weeks of Oct 31, 2021 to Oct 18, 2026, read Oct 21, 2026).
People searching for microblading are asking about them, too. Over the five years, the five fastest-rising searches related to microblading were all about nano brows, like "nano brows vs microblading" and "nano brows near me" (Google Trends, US, rising related searches, Oct 17, 2021 to Oct 18, 2026, read Oct 21, 2026).
So more of the people who reach out will want to know the difference, or which one suits them. That's a question worth answering before she has to ask it.
Powder brows fell by more than a quarter over the five years, and the last three years went 4.8, 4.1, then 4.8 again (Google Trends, US web searches, yearly averages for the weeks of Oct 31, 2021 to Oct 18, 2026, read Oct 21, 2026).
Lip blush is harder to read
Searches for "lip blush" more than doubled over the five years (Google Trends, US web searches, yearly averages for the weeks of Oct 31, 2021 to Oct 18, 2026, read Oct 21, 2026). But "lip blush" isn't only the tattoo. It's also a kind of makeup. Over the five years, and again in a burst of searches from late March to late June 2026, the searches rising fastest alongside it were for makeup brands' blush and lip tint products (Google Trends, US, rising related searches, Oct 17, 2021 to Oct 18, 2026 and Mar 22 to Jun 27, 2026, read Oct 21, 2026).
Searches for "lip blushing", another name for the tattoo, went the other way: 6.4, 5.5, 4.5, 4.4, then 4.7, down by about a quarter (Google Trends, US web searches, yearly averages for the weeks of Oct 31, 2021 to Oct 18, 2026, read Oct 21, 2026).
So national search data can't tell you whether more people want lip blush tattoos. Your own inquiries can: count how many people asked about lips in the last six months, against the six months before.
Search interest isn't bookings
Google Trends shows interest, not paying clients. It doesn't show how many people searched, how many booked or what they paid, and a phrase can rise for reasons that have nothing to do with your studio.
That's why "permanent makeup" isn't on the list. As a search, it also catches permanent hair color and makeup products, and those were among its fastest-rising related searches (Google Trends, US, rising related searches, Oct 17, 2021 to Oct 18, 2026, read Oct 21, 2026).
It's also national. Brows in your city can follow a different curve, and you can check: Google Trends lets you pick your state or metro area.
What to do about it
None of this means dropping a technique you're good at. It's a reason to check how your studio shows up when people search, and what they find when they get there.
- Keep microblading front and center if it's your strength. People still search for it more than the other brow techniques we compared, so name it plainly on your site, your Google profile and your Instagram.
- Give each technique you offer its own page: microblading, nano brows, powder or combo brows and lip blush, whichever you do. Use the names people search, add a starting price and show healed photos.
- Answer "nano brows or microblading?" before she asks. Say in plain words what each looks like healed, who it suits and how long it lasts, and show both side by side if you do both.
- If you're thinking about adding nano brows, treat the growth as a reason to look, not a reason to switch. Your training, your healed results and what your own clients ask for matter more than a national chart.
- Check your own area in Google Trends, then check your own numbers. Inquiries and bookings for each service over the last year tell you more than any search chart.
- Sell the result, not the technique. Most people want to know how their brows will look once they heal, so lead with healed photos and plain words, and use the technique names so she can find you.
How we read the numbers
We read Google Trends on October 21, 2026, for the United States, web searches, over the past five years. That gives weekly numbers for the weeks of October 17, 2021 to October 18, 2026. We averaged each phrase over five 52-week years counted back from the latest week, so the first year starts with the week of October 31, 2021.
Each chart compares up to five phrases on one scale, where 100 is the busiest week of any phrase in it. We used two: microblading, lip blush, nano brows, permanent makeup and powder brows in one, and microblading, lip blush, lip blushing, lip blush tattoo and lip tattoo in the other. In both, the busiest week was microblading's week of November 7, 2021, so the two line up. "Lip blush tattoo" was too small to read.
Trends works from a sample of searches, so reading it again can move a number slightly. Everything on this page is search interest, not a count of searches, bookings or sales.
Where Permanent Profits fits
Search data tells you what people are curious about. Turning that into booked consults is the daily work: answering every lead fast, nights and weekends too, following up when she goes quiet and reminding her before her consult.
If you'd rather hand that off, it's what we do. We run Facebook and Instagram ads for brows (microblading, powder and combo brows) and lip blush, and our AI texting assistant texts your new leads as your studio, day or night. It answers her questions, follows up when she goes quiet, sends reminders and books consultations onto your own calendar. You can read every conversation and step in any time.
It's $0 to start. For your first 45 days of ads, our only fee is $50 per consultation that shows up. Your ad spend goes straight to Meta on your own card, with a $500 minimum across the 45 days, and we suggest about $30 a day. Texts and calls pass through at carrier cost. At day 45, you decide. If you keep going, there's a one-time activation fee based on your results, then a small monthly amount plus a small fee for each consult that shows.
Questions artists ask
Is microblading becoming less popular?
In US Google searches, yes. Its yearly average fell from 76.2 to 34.8 over five years (Google Trends, US web searches, yearly averages for the weeks of Oct 31, 2021 to Oct 18, 2026, read Oct 21, 2026), and the last 8 weeks were lower than the same weeks a year earlier (Google Trends, US web searches, weeks of Aug 30 to Oct 18, 2026 against the same weeks of 2025 and 2022, read Oct 21, 2026). It's still searched more than nano brows or powder brows, and searches aren't bookings.
Is microblading out of style in 2026?
No. It's still searched several times as much as nano brows or powder brows (Google Trends, US web searches, yearly averages for the weeks of Oct 31, 2021 to Oct 18, 2026, read Oct 21, 2026). But interest is lower than it was, and more people are asking how it compares with nano brows, so be ready to explain the difference.
What is replacing microblading?
Nothing has replaced it, but nano brows grew fastest of the techniques we compared, to more than six times their first year (Google Trends, US web searches, yearly averages for the weeks of Oct 31, 2021 to Oct 18, 2026, read Oct 21, 2026), and the searches rising fastest alongside microblading were about nano brows (Google Trends, US, rising related searches, Oct 17, 2021 to Oct 18, 2026, read Oct 21, 2026). If you offer both, say who each one suits.
Is PMU in demand in 2026?
Google Trends can't answer that cleanly for "permanent makeup", because the phrase also catches hair color and makeup products. The technique names read better: microblading is lower than five years ago but still searched the most of the brow techniques we compared, and nano brows keep growing (Google Trends, US web searches, yearly averages for the weeks of Oct 31, 2021 to Oct 18, 2026, read Oct 21, 2026). Demand where you work matters most, so check your own area and your own inquiries.
Does Google Trends show how many people book microblading?
No. It shows how often people search a phrase compared with other phrases, on a 0 to 100 scale. It doesn't count searches, and it says nothing about bookings, prices or revenue.
Is lip blush growing?
Searches for "lip blush" more than doubled over five years (Google Trends, US web searches, yearly averages for the weeks of Oct 31, 2021 to Oct 18, 2026, read Oct 21, 2026), but the phrase also means a kind of makeup, and searches for "lip blushing" fell by about a quarter (Google Trends, US web searches, yearly averages for the weeks of Oct 31, 2021 to Oct 18, 2026, read Oct 21, 2026). The search data can't settle it. Your own inquiries can.
See if you qualify
Permanent Profits is run by Isabelle Marrone, a permanent makeup artist, and Evan Marrone. We work with one artist per area.
If you do brows or lip blush in the US and you'd rather have the ads and the follow-up handled for you, see if you qualify at offer.permanentprofits.co.