Self-made entrepreneur Marzen Salazar remembers the many moments when she would catch her grandmother in front of the mirror, filling in her eyebrows faded by time.

Humans are said to be capable of nearly 10,000 facial expressions. The slightest twitch of facial muscle, the direction of the eye, and the movement of eyebrows all mean a plethora of emotions — the non-verbal cues that make up the unspoken daily chatter.

Yet as one grows old, it becomes more difficult to do so; the muscles loosen, but most significantly, the eyebrows thin along with the lashes.

"My grandmother always draws about her eyebrows. She would try it but (I) would never be satisfied," remembers Marzen. "When I was growing up in the '90s, eyebrow tattooing was a popular solution to the fading of the brow for the elderly and people with thin strokes — but even tattoos have their limits."

Today, as Marzen recalls her time growing up in Laguna with her lola, Marzen is gradually and decisively building her own business to provide a better solution for eyebrows, lashes, and other facial care woes.

In 2020 during the beginning of the pandemic, Marzen boldly launched Miss Derm — a clinic specializing in eyebrows, lashes, and facial treatment services, including microblading.

A relatively new technology for Filipinos, microblading uses small needles to create soft and subtle hair-like strokes and deposit pigment on the skin. It is a form of cosmetic tattooing but, unlike the traditional tattoo that embeds pigment deep into the skin, microblading only injects pigment superficially on the body and thus is only semi-permanent.

At Miss Derm, microblading is only done by certified microblading artists. Artists undergo intensive training to provide the highest level of quality and care for customers.

More than just a business

From one clinic in Makati, Marzen expanded Miss Derm to two more locations: Las Pinas and Quezon City —one additional business address each year. Despite travel restrictions, Miss Derm's number of patrons have grown through word of mouth, attracted by the quality of premium services to help customers with their facial care needs.