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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 II.
Potential
risks of permanent cosmetics
The most significant risks in permanent cosmetics are related
to eye lining. A scratched cornea can occur from something as mundane
as accidentally swiping a Q-tip across the eye or pigment washing
into the eye and being rubbed under the lid across the surface of
the eye. This can happen even if your technician uses proper technique.
Some technicians will tattoo across the upper eyelid from corner
to corner, working directly across the cornea. I consider this unnecessarily
risky. When I do eye lining, I only work on half the eye at a time,
with the client looking away from my machine, so I never work directly
across the cornea. I think most experienced technicians would do
the same thing.
If you were to get a corneal abrasion, your eye would tear, swell
shut within the hour, feel like you have sand in the eye, and be
quite painful for a day or two. You should be sent to an ophthalmologist
for examination, and would probably have antibiotic eye drops prescribed
along with an eye patch. But the good news is that the condition
usually heals itself within three days, and should have no long
term affect on your vision. Corneal abrasions are extremely rare,
and are no reason to avoid the procedure. But it is important to
understand the risk, and be psychologically prepared in the unlikely
event of a problem. Any technician who tells you the procedure is
entirely without risk is probably not to be trusted.
There is another eye lining risk which is easily avoided. Because
of the anatomy of the eye, the technician should not tattoo in the
outer corner between the lashes to join them together, or you run
a significant risk of pigment fanning. That is where pigment will
travel under the skin and appear beneath the eye as a bluish shadow.
A qualified technician should tell you about this before beginning
your eye lining procedure.
When all is said and done, I know from experience that the only
thing which will be important to my client will be: How good does
it look? That will be determined largely by the artistic skills
of the technician. Technicians come to the practice of permanent
makeup from various backgrounds. Most technicians are also either
cosmetologists, estheticians, nurses, electrologists or physicians,
although a truck driver could do it! People come to me because I
bring twenty years experience in making women look their best with
conventional cosmetics to my work in permanent makeup. My philosophy
is: If you can’t draw a straight line with an eyebrow pencil,
you have no business doing it with a tattoo machine.
Permanent makeup is a two dimensional graphic art requiring great
hand/eye coordination, the ability to evaluate shape and color,
and a sensitivity to beauty principles in general. Sometimes, one
or two hair stokes can make the difference between great brows and
so-so ones. Would you trust someone who doesn’t do regular
makeup well to make that determination? Even regular tattooists
often don’t do the best work in permanent makeup, unless they
also bring a background in art or cosmetology to their work. Anybody
can learn to run an autoclave. But an oil painter has more qualification
in his educational background to do beautiful permanent makeup than
an doctor, nurse or electrologist (of course, a medical or technical
person who also has art or cosmetic experience would be extremely
well qualified). The bottom line is that you can’t rely on
the degree on the wall to determine if the technician is likely
to do a good job.
Medical
limitations imposed by permanent cosmetics
I am asked periodically about whether one can have an MRI done
after having permanent makeup. Most centers will ask you if you
have permanent makeup before doing an MRI. As most earth tone pigments
are iron oxide based, these particles are affected by magnetic fields.
At high levels, it is possible to experience a heating or pulling
sensation if you have iron oxide based eyeliner. But some black
eyeliners are carbon black, and not affected. Also, reports of any
discomfort during an MRI are very rare. If the iron oxide permanent
makeup pigments cause an artifact on the MRI, it will not present
a problem for the technician reading it, as long as he knows what
he is looking at. There is no reason to avoid having an MRI if you
have permanent makeup, and no reason to be denied one by the MRI
facility.
You should also know that you will not be allowed to give blood
for at least a year, a prohibition imposed on anyone who has had
any kind of tattoo for the safety of the blood supply.
Permanent
cosmetics and men
Finally, a word about men: The best use of permanent cosmetics
for men is to fill thinning beards and hairlines with normal hair
loss, with the understanding that the client must make a commitment
to maintaining his hair color. Men losing their hair to alopecia
generally have a progressive condition for which no amount of cosmetic
tattoo can compensate. Even well applied, hair by hair, the results
of permanent cosmetics on men are going to look more artificial
if there is absolutely no hair there to integrate with the permanent
cosmetic color. Lightly and irregularly sketched brows look more
real than arched, groomed, overly feminine ones. For eye lining,
scattered dots will look more natural than a hard line. For men
with Alopecia Totalis or Alopecia Universalis, I also recommend
considering top quality, custom made, hand tied brows (like tiny
hairpieces) rather than permanent cosmetics. Every case requires
individual consideration. If you are a man who chooses to have permanent
cosmetics, be sure your technician understands the meaning of the
word “subtle.”
Question
review
Now that you understand the issues in all their complexity, here
is a review of some of the basic questions you should plan to ask
of any prospective technician to determine their level of competency:
- 1) How long have you been doing permanent makeup?
- 2) How many procedures do you do a month?
- 3) What training have you had to apply permanent makeup?
- 4) Do you receive any continuing education, and are you a member
of any professional society?
- 5) What is your general educational and professional background,
in addition to permanent makeup?
- 6) What are my anesthetic choices?
- 7) What kind of machine do you use? (If a pen machine, then:
Does it have a disposable pigment chamber?)
- 8) Do you use new needles for each client?
- 9)Are all your machine parts which come into contact with body
fluids either disposable, or autoclave sterilized before being
reused?
- 10) Do you see any problem in my medical history?
- 11) May I see pictures of your other clients?
- 12) How would you evaluate my features, and what do you think
would look best on me?
- 13) Can you use regular makeup and show me what I will look
like?
This may sound like a lot to consider. But most of it is common
sense. Even the experts have an occasional problem. But by choosing
the right technician, you significantly reduce your risk. Good permanent
makeup will transform your life if you have alopecia, and you now
know what you need to make the right choice in a technician. Good
luck!
About
Jeffery Lyle Segal
Jeffery Lyle Segal attended Stanford University and Northwestern
University, where he received his B.S. in Speech (1975) , before
earning his M.A. in Theater at the State University of New York
at Binghamton (1978), where he also taught theatrical makeup. He
worked as a professional actor, director and theater manager before
his skills as a makeup artist led him to work in television, film
and still photography. In 1986 he attended Pivot Point School and
became a licensed Illinois cosmetologist. He has worked on famous
faces ranging from Oprah Winfrey to Ronald McDonald, and has been
one of Chicago’s top theatrical and prosthetic makeup artists
since 1982. Recently, he has taught makeup at the Cinema Makeup
School in Los Angeles.
In 1991, Mr Segal studied the application of permanent cosmetics
with Dermouflage Institute, and subsequently did additional study
with The American Institute of Permanent Color Technology. He was
certified as an Intradermal Cosmetic Technician by the American
Board of Intradermal Cosmetics in 1991 and as a diplomat of the
American Council of Dermagraphic Research in 1992. He is a member
of the National Cosmetic Tattooing Association, the Society of Permanent
Cosmetic Professionals (SPCP), and the American Society of Esthetic
Medicine (ASEM). He is also a regular contributor to the newsletters
of the SPCP and the ASEM.
Mr Segal’s permanent cosmetics business in Chicago, Illinois
is called Forever Beautiful. His primary location for application
of permanent makeup is 30 S. Michigan Avenue, Suite 300, in the
office of Lakefront Dental, by appointment only. Mr Segal has also
opened an office at Brighton-Canon Medical Building, 9400 Brighton
Way, Suite 209, Beverly HIlls, CA 90210-4714. Mr Segal commutes
monthly between Los Angeles and his Chicago office, as well as making
himself available to travel to help alopecia groups around the country.
For further information or appointments at either location, people
should call 310-273-7713.
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