For Heather Vosseller, opening Voss Brows at 238 N. White Horse Pike is the culmination of years in the makeup industry.
“I do wedding makeup, celebrity makeup and permanent makeup. I’ve been doing permanent makeup for about six years ... I’ve been doing freelance makeup for the last 20 years, but now this is my first time having an actual store. At my shop, I’m going to be offering a home spot for makeup trials, event makeup and permanent makeup,” Vosseller said.
Vosseller said that, initially, she avoided permanent makeup because she didn’t like the way that older pigments used in the process would fare with aging.
“The reason I had a change of heart on permanent makeup is because the pigments have changed. Old pigments used to leave a gray, blue, red or purple haze on the skin as it aged. Now, the pigments retain their color; they just fade out and eventually disappear. They don’t change colors and look funky. It’s a really natural way to enhance your appearance so that you don’t have to spend 20 minutes putting on your eyebrows or an hour doing a full face of makeup. I can essentially tattoo eyebrows on you,” Vosseller said.
Vosseller said that she first started moving towards permanent makeup through microblading.
“Microblading has become a really popular service to have; as women age—even men—hormones change, and they start to lose hair on their eyebrows. When you lose hair on your eyebrows, it can age your appearance. I got into microblading because it’s such a natural look; it looks like hair strokes, so it looks like real hair,” she said.
For microblading, Vosseller said that she uses a manual, hand-held tool that has several needles in its tip.
“I run the needles in a hair-stroke pattern with pigment on the end of it, so it’s implementing pigment into the skin but it looks like hair strokes—versus a traditional tattoo, which is pixilation. It’s very natural-looking. It’s done in two sessions. You always have your first session, and then you’ll have a follow-up session in six to eight weeks, and that’s to ensure that all of the pigment implanted into the skin properly, there’s no loss of pigmentation, it makes sure the shape is good and everything is perfect,” Vosseller said.
Vosseller said that she also offers powder brows.
“I use a machine to pixelate color into the brows, so it gives a shadowy, more filled-in appearance. Eyebrows are what really frame the face. They give you life,” she said.
Besides work on eyebrows, Vosseller said that she does all manner of permanent makeup.
“I do eyeliner, I do lip blush, which enhances the color of your lips—sometimes people have discoloration on their lips or they wear lipstick every day—so it cuts down on time getting ready every day. Sometimes, especially with older women, they can’t see so well, so putting on eyeliner can be difficult; getting your eyebrows to match up can be difficult,” she said.
Though not originally from the area, Vosseller said that Hammonton offered a prime location for opening up her store.
“Hammonton’s my favorite town in New Jersey; I love it so much. It’s a great spot on the Pike; it’s a cute little building ... I am from Long Beach Island originally; I moved out this way after high school and stuck around. I’ve always loved Hammonton. I wanted to open a business in Hammonton because it’s got that hometown feel, just like LBI,” she said.
Vosseller said that the reception from the community has been a warm one, and she would like to repay the town for its hospitality.
“I would like to offer Hammonton locals $100 off any permanent makeup service until March 1, for welcoming me and being so warm. It’s really been an easy process—a lot less scary than I thought—trying to open a business in Hammonton. I think that it’s a great town for small businesses and I would like to pay back this community and offer that to anyone who would like to come in for their first time,” Vosseller said.
For the time being, Vosseller said that Voss Brows is operating by appointment only, but she has high hopes for the future.
“I’m hoping, in the future, to be so busy that I’ll have me and another artist or two in the location full-time ... I hope to be there forever, or at least a really long time,” she said.
For general inquiries, Vosseller suggested contacting her through the shop’s Instagram page at @vossbrows.
“People can see pictures right away when they go to the Instagram page,” she said.
For more information, call (856) 889-3833.