What is Permanent Makeup exactly? Everything you need to know.
Let’s start simple: What exactly is Permanent Makeup? At it’s most basic level, Permanent makeup, cosmetic tattooing, or dermapigmentation, is a cosmetic procedure that uses a needle to deposit pigment in between the skin's epidermis and dermis to create designs that look like makeup. So yes, Permanent Makeup is a tattoo, but there is a bit more to it than that.
The biggest difference between a regular tattoo and Permanent Cosmetics is the depth of the implantation. The skin is thinner on the face so the machine is specifically made for this and often the ink is specific to what procedure you are having whether it be eyebrows, lips or eyeliner. Basically, a regular body tattoo will implant the ink deeper into the skin layer than your eyebrow tattoo will go. This is to ensure a better outcome and colors that appears more natural. The more skin above the tattoo pigment, the more your undertones can distort the color of the ink making it appear washed out.
Is Permanent Makeup really permanent? This answer is a complicated one and is different for everyone. The short and general answer is yes and that you will probably always have color but that color will need to be enhanced and touched up every 6 months-5 years (usually plan for around 2 year touch ups) to keep the intended color beautiful and vibrant. For example, if you use a lot of retinol and other anti aging ingredients in your products, are a sun goddess, or you don’t adhere to your artists advice during the healing process, you may experience a quicker fade of your eyebrows, lips or eyeliner and would need a touch-up much sooner. Certain skin also retains ink better than others so this can also affect how long your color stays vibrant on your permanent cosmetics. That being said, the lips experience the most cell turnover so lip blushing will need a touch-up sooner than permanent eyeliner. A Permanent powder Brow or ombre Powder Brow will last longer than lip Blush but not as long as permanent eyeliner. Microblading typically will lose color quicker than a powder Brow or ombre Powder Brow tattoo.
What can you expect during a permanent makeup procedure? The first thing we will do is determine the shape and colors you want for your brows, lips and/or eyeliner. I start with mapping. You will have all the say in the world to help me in this process. Between your preferences and my experience in beauty Enhancement, we settle on the shape, lines and colors that are unique and just for you. This process can take up to an hour for eyebrows but is very important so plan accordingly. Inspirational pictures and bringing in/ showing me how you typically like your makeup done plus the colors you typically use can be very helpful.
Depending on the service you are having and your pain tolerance levels, I will begin with numbing or wait until I have begun the process to numb the location. Balancing your comfort and getting beautiful results that can be affected by the numbing agents is very important to me and each person may need a different level of comfort than another. Be prepared, more numbing can also add as much as 30 minutes to your appointment- and that’s just fine.
In my office, here in Windsor, California, I typically use a tattoo machine (or tattoo pen) that is specifically made for implanting the beautiful colors that compliment your specific skin tones into the skin. Some services use a tool to create individual hair strokes. You will lie down comfortably while the process is completed. Usually expect around 2 hours for this part of the process as it takes time to implant the colors as naturally as possible and not cause too much trauma to the skin. Don’t be afraid to ask for more numbing if you start feeling discomfort. Most people end up having a nice relaxing time and some even fall asleep!
Permanent Eyeliner and Eyelash Enhancement Tattoos are definitely where I see the most trepidation. It can seem very scary to have a tattoo that close to your eye and understandably so! What can you expect during your permanent Eyeliner procedure? In my office I have protective eye gel and numbing cream applied first thing. Eyewash is also readily available and the special grip of the eyelid is ‘just so’ that there is never any danger to the eye.
