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Introduction
from the web master
Some people find they have sparse or absent hair growth in their
eyebrows due to alopecia, injury, or simply genetic inheritance.
Asian women in particular can have poorly defined eyebrows with
little hair growth. Such individuals may consider the option of
permanent cosmetics to improve eyebrow definition. This article
is primarily directed at such people although the information
is relevant to any permanent cosmetic procedure you may be considering.
The content of this web page was provided by Jeffery Lyle Segal
M.A., I.C.T. and posted here with his permission. Copyright remains
with Mr Segal. Neither I nor Mr Segal can be held responsible
for any decisions you make based on the information below. Please
read this web page in conjunction with Permanent
Cosmetics I and Permanent
Cosmetics III.
Before
the procedure
When you go to a technician for a consultation, the first thing
you should be asked to do is to fill out a complete medical history.
This procedure is no more invasive than a deep scratch, and anyone
in normal, good health can have permanent cosmetics safely applied.
But there are a few important medical issues to be aware of. If
you have mitral valve prolapse, you need to be on antibiotics prophylactically
anytime you break the blood barrier. If you are on blood thinners,
have hemophilia or any clotting disorder, are diabetic and or don’t
heal normally for any other reason, or if you keloid abnormally
from minor trauma like ear piercing, you are not a good candidate.
If you want to have permanent lip color and you have ever had a
cold sore then you have the dormant herpes virus in your skin, and
will have an outbreak after lip tattooing if you do not take the
antiviral medication Zovirax before and after the procedure (It
won’t affect your eyes or brows.). Some people also have allergies
to items commonly used during the procedure, such as antibiotic
ointment or rubber gloves. In those cases, non-medicated ointment
and vinyl gloves can be used instead. Any technician who fails to
discuss the above health issues with you during your consultation
should be regarded with suspicion.
The pigments used for permanent cosmetics are mostly iron oxide
colors for black, brown, some reds and yellows, and titanium dioxide
for white. These are the most inert colors which can be implanted,
and reactions to them are almost unheard of. So there is little
likelihood of dermatological reaction to brow and eye lining procedures
in earth colors. Certain other colors which may be used include
some blacks, blue-reds, blues, greens and purples made of other
organic and inorganic compounds. These dry pigments are mixed with
alcohol, distilled water, and sometimes glycerine. Some people are
allergic to glycerine, and that should be known when selecting a
pigment manufacturer. Only a few tattooing colors are known to be
likely to cause dermatological reactions, and are not used by reputable
manufacturers who sell to our industry. In seven years, I have never
had a sensitivity reaction to any of the pigments I use, although
I have heard of a few cases where lips developed sensitivity in
the sun. But there is always a risk, however rare, that you can
develop a sensitivity over time to any substance. Scratch or patch
testing colors in advance of the procedure is done by some technicians,
but most of my colleagues feel that it is not predictive, and therefore
not necessary. I do not normally scratch test in my office.
The most valuable use of a scratch test is to see what a color
will look like healed in the skin, because that is usually different
than how it looks in the bottle. It takes years of experience to
predict how a color will heal, and individual skin tones affect
the results.
In my consultations, I often use regular makeup to give my clients
a “sneak preview” of what I recommend that we do. Many
technicians are taught to hand their client an eyebrow pencil and
tell them to draw the brows the way they like them. Then the technician
will work over that pattern. This isn’t really to benefit the
client. It just is supposed to help the technician avoid being sued
for doing something the client didn’t want. But there are several
problems with this approach. First, a lot of clients can’t
do their own makeup well; that’s why they come to me. It would
be ridiculous to follow a guideline they draw. Next, many clients
want one look but are only capable of drawing something completely
different. When I draw their brows on they will often say, “Oh,
yes! That’s what I meant!” That would never occur the
other way. Finally, I believe it is my responsibility to use my
cosmetic skills to help my client evaluate her features and select
what will look best for her, not just what she is used to seeing.
I refuse to tattoo something awful on anybody’s face, and I
would never trust any technician who failed to take responsibility
for the design of the permanent makeup he or she applies. So make
sure that you feel your technician understands not just what you
want, but what you need.
For best results, you should be told to avoid alcohol and caffeine
the day of the procedure, and both aspirin and Ibuprofen for up
to two weeks before. All these make you bleed and bruise more, and
may make you more sensitive. Also, you should avoid having work
done immediately before on at the onset of your period, as you may
be extremely sensitive at that time.
The
procedure
The first question most people ask me is, “Does it hurt?”
With proper anesthetics, you should be very comfortable. Without
proper anesthetics, the honest answer is “yes.” The primary
reason I work in a physician’s office is to be able to offer
an appropriate level of anesthesia to my clients. Technicians without
such access may use only ice cubes or anesthetics which don’t
work when applied to intact skin. If your technician begins work
and you are not sufficiently comfortable, stop the procedure. If
you can’t be made comfortable, not only will you be miserable
but you will probably squint and squirm, and will end up with misplaced,
uneven pigment.
Permanent cosmetics are occasionally, but rarely, applied in only
one visit. Most patients require two or three visits to complete
a procedure. When color is implanted in your skin, it will only
stay in the lower, living layers of skin called the dermis. To reach
those layers, the needle must pass through the dead and dying surface
cells of the epidermis, which turn over about once a month. The
color trapped in the epidermis will be lost progressively as cells
rise to the skin surface and slough off. After the first application,
one area may be lighter than another, or additional colors may be
layered for the most realistic brow effect, there may be a few spots
where color didn’t take, or you may want to adjust and thicken
the shape and color generally. There will also be color loss after
the second visit, but it will be far less noticeable because of
the base of color from the first application.
There are different methods of application, especially for simulating
brows. Many beginners use the simplest techniques, referred to as
the “pointillist” method, applying individual dots of
color, which don’t resemble hair in the least. Others fill
the brows solid with a single color, which only looks like bad eyebrow
pencil. My goal is to create a cosmetic illusion which simulates
real hair as closely as possible. So I apply color in a more advanced
“hair stroke” method, over a series of applications, using
progressively darker colors, to build up a natural looking, hairlike,
textural appearance. I want people to look at my clients and say,
“Oh, what a beautiful woman,” not “Oh, what unusual
makeup.” Also, for male clients, the hair stroke method is
the most natural looking and appropriate technique. Be sure to ask
your technician which method he or she uses, and look closely at
photos of his or her results.
After
the procedure
After a procedure, clients vary in how they look and feel. Plan
to go home, put a cool pack on the area, and sleep with your head
elevated if you can. By the next day, most of my clients look perfectly
normal. Aftercare is simple. The technician may apply an antibiotic
ointment, such as Bacitracin, although some technicians use only
unmedicated ointment to avoid possible allergic reaction to topical
antibiotics. You should be told to keep a thin layer of Vaseline
or Aquaphor on the area while it heals for five days. Also, you
must avoid disturbing the surface skin before it is healed. So you
will wash around the area, avoid getting soap on it, blot gently
if wet instead of rubbing, and stay away from steam rooms, saunas,
tanning beds, chlorine pools and Caribbean vacations for a few days.
After that, it’s a good idea to wear a sunscreen, especially
on brows, as part of your daily routine. Don’t do the procedure
within a few days of an important event, like a wedding.
A month after the procedure, when the old epidermis has been replaced
with new, translucent cells, the permanent makeup will look softer
and subtler than it did when it was new. Eyeliner which may have
looked like liquid liner when you left the office now should look
like a soft kohl pencil, because you are seeing the color through
diffusing layers of skin cells. Lip color which was bright will
be a delicate blush. And brows which looked hard should be much
softer looking. This natural process makes your permanent cosmetic
enhancement look soft and natural. It’s easy to add more color
in subsequent visits, but very hard to remove unwanted color.
These colors, once implanted in the dermal layers of the skin,
are permanent, in that they will not run, smear or smudge. But they
are subject to fading, gradual absorption by the body, and colors
may shift over time. The client’s age, skin thickness, body
chemistry and amount of sun exposure all affect the life of permanent
makeup. Yellows and reds fade faster than blacks and browns. Especially
for alopecia patients, who have no brows or lashes to blend with
the permanent makeup and protect it from the sun, color loss will
be more noticeable. Color may be stable for as little as a year
(especially in sunny climates) or as long as five years. I tell
my clients to expect to touch up their permanent cosmetics every
two years. That way, it will always look as good as it did when
it was first applied. Anyone who tells you that one application
is all you will need, or that your permanent makeup will never require
any touch ups in the future, is not telling you the truth.
At the same time, removal of unwanted pigment may be extremely
difficult. The older methods of tattoo removal required dermabrading
the surface of the skin or cutting it out of the skin. Today, new
lasers can remove certain colors without cutting or damaging the
surrounding skin. But they can’t be used on eye lining, and
won’t work if the color contains any titanium dioxide white,
which will be turned black by the laser light. So it is important
to choose a technician you believe has the skills to apply your
permanent cosmetics correctly the first time.
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