Client Education
Permanent Cosmetic Procedures are a lifelong committement!
Not all artist disclose all the unpleasantries associated with pmu. It's your responsibility to know enough to determine a good decision from a bad one.
Understanding Pigment
Pigment is very much like cement! its comprised of minerals suspended in a liquid base solution. The base solution has to evaperate for the cement to solidify. The longer that cement takes to harden the more likely it is to get messed up. Thats why trauma, health, oiliness, and poor aftercare will negatively impact results.
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Pigments are locally made in South Carolina. They are a combination of organic/inorganic iron oxide and carbon powdered pigments dispersed in a water based solution. The brand is vegan and cruelty free. It complies with European standards that include regular testing.
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The company is ISO 13485 compliant as well. This is a the standard for manufacturing medical supplies. This is an extra guarantee that they have strict procedures in place for the producing safe and consistent products!
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Disturbing fun fact: Tattoo inks manufactured and only sold in the US are not regulated. Anyone can make and sell an ink with who knows what in it to be implanted inside your skin. Play it safe and use tattoo supplies that are manufactured or sold in EU s you know they comply with their regulations.
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If you want to learn more about the inks all SDS and CTL tests are available for download on Permablend.com
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Understanding the Process
All permanent cosmetic procedures are created in 2 appointments. We can't fully predict how the pigments will heal with your skin. In some cases its not possible to achieve perfection in one session. The 6 week touchup is when we are able to see and understand how your skin takes pigment and make adjustments are needed to achieve perfection. Patience is important for the process. Work more conservatively and build gradually as you can easily add to but not remove.
The Inevitable aging
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The decision to get a tattoo on your face comes with uncertainty. No one can predict exactly how the tattoo will age but we use what we know to understand the unpleasant possibilities. Make sure you understand and can accept those risks. Some risks may influence you to look at other options... much better than being stuck with something you hate and can't fix 10 years down the road.
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Color: Color obviously lightens with time, but the individual pigments that make up an ink formula have different characteristics that make them fade differently.​
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For example: Yellow pigment particles are typically smallest, Red are typically larger and white are the largest​. White is too big for the body to break down. Your body will take longer to metabolize the larger red pigments and more easily get rid of the tiny yellow ones. The original tattoo is light orange- once the yellow is gone you have pink then once the red fades you have white. These are usually easy to adjust at touchup but eventually the white will build up and influence whatever color is added.
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This is particularly important to know for lip blushing, scar camo and any other procedure that uses a lot of white.
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This is also important in understanding why you want to work light and let them fade between touchups. Not only are oversaturated brows unattractive but also....the skin can only hold so much ink and you want to have wiggle room to be able to adjust when you need.​
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Placement: Your skin droops as you age. its unavoidable. A tattoo is going wherever the skin goes. Take this into consideration when you're designing the brow- specifically the tail. Its also I big reason that winged eyeliner are not more popular. One day that wing will be distorted by wrinkles or pointing down, In certain cases even pointing up. If you get a cosmetic surgery such as a lift. Thats going to do funky things to your tattoo. All important to think about when making pmu decisions.
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Of course you know all hair strokes will blur over time. Powder brow is really the only if you want long term consistency. When I say long term in thinking 20-40 years. but again, all depends on your skin.
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Microblading will have to be a powdered over at some point.
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Lips done with light colors will hold the white forever. in some cases lips that are saturated in color with a lot of white will appear off-white/yellowish when all other pigments fade away. lip stick looks should be done with as little white as possible to avoid that.
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Contraindications
Things that may influence your candidacy for PMU
You can not get a tattoo if you are under 18
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You can not get tattooed if you are pregnant or nursing
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If you have any notable medical concerns that make you immunocompromised or make you heal slowly- you must get a release letter from your doctor.
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You cannot get tattooed eyeliner if you have a history of ocular Herpes.
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You can not get tattooed if you have any severe skin irritation near the procedure area.
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If you have recently had a surgery that you are still healing from.
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if you have trichotillomania you must be at a good state and able to resist picking for at least 6 weeks.
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No retinol use within a week of the procedure.
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No Accutane within 6 months of the procedure.
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If you have previous pmu that is too dark, large or otherwise un workable.