Permanent Makeup

Permanent makeup is also referred to as micro pigmentation, which is the process of using a needle to place pigmented granules beneath the upper layers of the skin.

Permanent makeup can be used for a variety of cosmetic enhancements, including permanent eyebrows, eye liner and lip liner/colour.

Other permanent makeup procedures include cheek blush, vitiligo, scar camouflage, areola restoration, hairline enhancement and much more. Permanent makeup can also be used to cover-up stretch marks, birthmarks, freckles/age spots and uneven skin discolourations.

At Inked Moose, our fully qualified makeup artist Gabriele Lase is able to provide the following services:

Creative Lips - contour, blush or full colouration

Creative eyebrows including microblading

Classic eyeliner or eyeliner with eyelash imitation, eyelids shading

Cheek blush, beauty spots

Areola & nipple restoration

Skin camouflage

 

Gabriele is also able to perform unwanted permanent makeup removal and laser tattoo removal.

Occasionally a second application of pigment is needed in order to achieve the desired result.Most procedures are done after applying an anaesthetic to the skin. After the initial procedure, touch-up might be required but no sooner than 3 weeks and as much as 8 weeks later.

Pre - procedure instructions

Lip Liner/Color

  • If you get cold sores you will need an antiviral prescription. Physician usually instructs to begin taking it 3 days before procedure, for a 7-10 day course. 
  • If you have had any type of lip surgery, consult with the physician about how long you should wait before having a permanent makeup procedure on the lips. Most physicians are giving a 3 week ok after lip filler injections like collagen or Restylane. Permanent makeup artists have noticed poor color retention in lips that have received collagen injections within the previous 6 months, longer for restylane. There has even been a little pigment migration along lip edges with Restylane. It may be best not to have lip filler injections and permanent lip color within the same year. If the lip surgery involves an incision (like a lip implant), the incision needs to mature about 6 months before tattooing on top of it.
  • Oral prosthesis dentures/ partials/ braces and tongue piercing bars may increase risk of getting bacterial and/or fungal infection from the mouth to the lips. Frequent or recent sinus infection puts lips at risk of infection. Denture wearers generally carry a higher candida/ yeast count. Cutaneous candidiasis/ candidosis is more common in older women (angular stomatitis - perlèche, angular cheilitis). Recent antiobiotic therapy can be responsible for a high candida count. Steroid medications and antacid drugs can allow candida to overpopulate. Smokers tend to have a high count also. Just because you can’t see it doesn’t mean it isn’t there. The bacteria-yeast balance in the mouth can get out of whack, and the oral saliva will get in the holes made by tattooing lips. Lips can get infected easily. Bacterial infections clear up more quickly than Candida Albicans infections. It is possible to have a co-infection when both bacteria and fungus are involved. It is possible to get a candida infection right after clearing up a bacterial infection. 

Eyebrows

  • Do not tweeze, wax, or dye brows for 2 days prior. 
  • Electrolysis should not be done for a week prior.

Eyeliner

  • Do not wear contact lens during the procedure or for 24 hrs after. 
  • Bring sunglasses to wear home. Eyes may be light sensitive. 
  • Do not dye or perm lashes for 2 days prior. 
  • Do not use eyelash curler the day of the procedure. 
  • If you have had any type of eye surgery, consult with the physician about how long you should wait before having a permanent eyeliner procedure. Most physicians are giving a 2 month ok after cataract, lasik, and blepharoplasty.

 

Post - procedure aftercare instructions

 

Healing time

Permanent makeup will appear extremely intense and thick immediately after the procedure. The color will not even look right the first few days. Other factors are added to the permanent makeup pigment bottles to counteract the undertones of facial skin. Browns can look orangish-brown, blonde brows may look too yellow, lip colors are shocking! Some colors initially look too bright and others look too dark. But don't worry - it changes. Excess pigment sheds off over the next 2-3 days, and then the skin starts healing over. A layer of healed skin on top of the pigment masks and tones it down considerably. As swelling goes down the lines will be thinner. On about the fourth day you are close to looking normal and no one notices anything. Colors will continue to soften over the next few weeks. It will look very natural in 2-3 months. 

OUTER HEALING completes in about 3-6 days for eyes and eyebrows, 7-10 days for lips.

INNER HEALING completes in 2-3 months.

How easily a person swells and bruises may be affected by age, food and meds consumed, and hormonal cycles. I have seen everything from no noticeable swelling to bruising. Brows have minimal swelling, but the wet paint look is difficult to hide unless you have long bangs or big rim sunglasses. Eyes have moderate swelling, but can be easily hidden with sunglasses. Generally speaking, younger women’s eyes swell less and the swelling goes down faster after eyeliner procedures. Older women have loose skin that provides a greater water holding pocket. Additionally, circulation and cellular turnover slows with aging. Lips can swell four times their normal size, and there is no hiding them. After three or four days when the area is healed enough that you don’t have to worry about infection, you can mask the area with other makeup/ powder/ lipstick while waiting for healing to complete.

General aftercare instructions

*** For MICROBLADING i recommend dry heal only!

*** For eyebrows or other areas use Bepanthen cream.

  • Cold packs have not shown to make a noticeable difference in reducing permanent makeup swelling, but they feel good on the skin and are a comfort measure. Cooling a skin wound is beneficial; freezing it is not. Using refrigerator temperature cold packs is safer for damaged dermis than freezer temperature cold packs. The traumatized tissue is already in a delicate condition and can get frost damage. Slight cooling of the skin a few times after a permanent makeup procedure can be done.

  • A permanent makeup procedure is the equivalent of a skin-deep wound - like a scratch you might get around the house. Expect it to ooze a little, scab a little, and heal in a similar time frame.

    May cool the skin a few times after permanent makeup procedure with cold pack for 10 min. every couple of hours the first day. Don’t overdo it.

  • Notify permanent makeup artist or physician at first sign of allergic reaction or infection. If you suspect a problem is developing, the first thing to do is switch the type of ointment you are using. The ointment is often causing the problem. An occasional slight healing itch is normal.  Constant intense itching, abnormal thick yellow discharge, yellow scabs, hot burning pain, lumps, bumps, and blisters are not normal.

  • Do not smash your face in a pillow while sleeping.
  • Do not peel or pick scabs, this could cause pigment loss, scarring and delayed healing.
  • Do not expose to sun or sun beds while outer healing progresses. Use of sunblock (at least SPF30) after healing is completed will help prevent premature fading.
  • Do not swim in fresh, salt or chlorinated water for 2 weeks.
  • Avoid environments that would cause dirt or gems to contact area while healing.
  • Do not apply topical cosmetics over area while healing.
  • Ibubrofen, Nurofen or your favourite pain reliever may be used to reduce swelling and discomfort.
  • Many anti-aging products and services containing acids, lighteners, and exfoliates cause premature fading of pigment. Avoid pigmented area. Stay about 1/4 inch away from permanent makeup.

Specifics For EYELINER

  • Do not wear contact lenses during the procedure or for 24 hours after.
  • Have sunglasses available. Eyes may be light sensitive or even dilated immediately after. The sunglasses are also handy for hiding puffy eyes.
  • Do not dye, perm, or use eyelash curler for 2 weeks.
  • Do not use mascara until outer healing is complete (3-5 days). Most clients are returning to work in 2 days and are noncompliant about this, so at least begin with a new tube of mascara due to risk of bacterial presence in used tubes. Stay a little farther out on the lashes, not too close to the liner. 
  • Eyes will be swollen for a few days. Eyes may feel dry or irritated. Lubricating refresher drops may be used.

Specifics For EYEBROWS

  • Do not dye, wax, tweeze, or use electrolysis for 2 weeks in the cosmetic tattoo area. You can tweeze outside / around the permanent makeup.
  • It can take a little time for the eyebrow tattoo to soften up, and to see how the color is going to do. After the skin is healed over you can put brow powder on it to mask it while waiting. Many women buy eyeshadow to use as brow powder because there are more tones available. Just make sure it is matte and doesn’t have sparkles in it.

Specifics For LIPS

  • Lips will ooze a couple of days. Blot and reapply ointment. After sleeping, crust will have dried on the lips. Rinse with water or put more ointment on to loosen crust, blot and reapply ointment. Most tissues like the ones you blow your nose with will leave lint on the lips. Use something stronger and lint-free like Bounty hand towels. A soaking wet cloth feels good to blot with.
  • Lips will be tender at first. Drink through a straw. Choose foods you can place in your mouth with a fork without touching lips.
  • Do not excessively stretch lips while they are healing with big smiles, or pucker lips with smoking. Those motions push and pull against the lip edges, applying tension and friction between the strong normal skin surrounding the mouth and the broken inflamed lip edges. Lip skin is a continuation of the delicate mucous membrane in the mouth. It is not strong like normal skin.
  • On the third day, lips stop oozing and start peeling. This is when the chapped lip feeling is strongest. You may relieve the chapped lip feeling by lightly massaging the lips after placing a thick layer of ointment on them and making gentle circular motions with one finger. The light, wet massage helps get loose skin off that is ready to come off without yanking out skin that is not ready to come off. The massage relieves the chapped feeling for several hours, then it returns, and you can massage again.
  • Lips will peel for a week. Other than the massage mentioned above, allow it to flake off on its own. Picking and pulling off skin that is not ready to come off will cause pigment loss and can pull out deeper tissue. The edges or lip liner will be the last to fall off. Pulling this off will result in an uneven splotchy line or an indented scar (like messing with a pimple).
    Try to keep toothpaste off lips while healing.
  • Do not have teeth bleached while healing.
  • During the peeling process it may look like there is not much color there. Color is more apparent by the second week. Final result is not judged for 2 months.
  • It is normal to have discomfort or a feeling of pressure the day of the lip procedure. The next day should be minimal. If you begin having pain on the 3rd or 4th day after being pain-free, it is a signal that something is wrong. It is usually one of three things: 1) Infection, 2) Cold sore, or 3) Allergic contact dermatitis from antibiotic ointment.

Some more information about treatments:

Lip Liner/Color

 The micropigmentation procedure for lip colour is beautiful. It can appear to change the size and shape of the lips as well as the colour. This procedure helps prevent lipstick from bleeding into the surrounding skin. Many people request a soft pink, similar to the lip colour to that of an infant, for those who want a natural look. Others may desire a dramatic effect.

Eyebrows

The micropigmentation procedure for eyebrows can mimic the appearance of hair in the brow line. Anyone who desires more fullness of the brows will love the procedure (and the time saved not applying makeup!) Those who used to apply pencil can go swimming, play tennis, or wipe their forehead without the embarrassment of losing their eyebrows. Those suffering from alopecia (hair loss) are pleasantly surprised at how natural it looks.

Eyeliner

A subtle, natural look, mimicking thousands of tiny eyelashes with the implantation of pigments in the lash line is popular with both male and female clients. Additional shadowing of colour can be added for a soft natural liner or a more bold, definite line can be achieved. Ophthalmologists recommend micropigmentation procedures for those who are allergic to conventional makeup and for those wearing contact lenses.

Areola Pigmentation

Areola pigmentation is the process by which a medical tattoo artist implants pigment into the skin surrounding the nipple of a breast following breast and nipple reconstruction due to breast cancer. The medical tattoo artist first draws on the areola using a custom blended pigment colour that best matches the patients colouring, then, after the patient and the medical tattoo artist are satisfied with the size, shape and colour of the new areola, the medical tattoo artist implants the pigment into the skin. The procedure is usually painless. If the patient feels any discomfort topical anaesthetic is applied as needed. 

Skin Camouflage

Hypopigmentation

Hypopigmentation is a “whitening” of the skin due to a loss or decrease in the production of melanin in the skin. This pigmentation loss can be the result of trauma to the skin such as blisters,burns, dog bites, plastic and reconstructive surgery, removal of moles and skin cancers, etc. It is also very common for facelift scars to hypopigment, or turn white .A skilled medical tattoo artist can camouflage a hypopigmented scar by implanting a flesh colored pigment directly into the white scar so that the scar is no longer noticeable or obvious. Micropigmentation for hypopigmented scars is not a 100% cure, however, an excellent result is usually obtained. For more information about this service please contact Gabriele Lase.

Hyperpigmentation

Hyperpigmentation is the “darkening” of the skin due to an increase of the production of melanin in the skin. Hyperpigmentation is the exact opposite of hypopigmentation and an individual with hyperpigmented skin would NOT benefit from scar camouflage tattooing services.