Permanent Makeup For Women Of Colour!

For anyone that understands what permanent makeup is, they know that it is a tattoo. Permanent makeup artists use very similar pigments (inks), often the same devices, the same sanitization procedures, the same understanding of the skin.

Wait… do we though

Indeed tattoo artists must have intricate knowledge of what happens when the skin is manipulated with a powerful machine and tattoo ink. A good artist knows the correct technique to use on certain areas of the body, how to create certain effects, what voltage to set their machine at, what needle to use, how the tattoo will heal, and how the client should take care of their new “ink” Furthermore, a reputable artist will ensure the client is a good candidate for a tattoo at all, considering risks of infection, possibly scarring, client expectations, etc.

The face is very different for tattooing. In general, there are more nerve endings, blood vessels, sebaceous glands and, most of all, exposure. By exposure I mean sun, elements, pollution, free radicals, bacteria, and irritants in the way of topically applied products, particularly your skin care.

Then, artists must consider the colour of the skin. Our skin colour is determined by the amount of melanin in the skin. Without getting too scientific, melanocytes are the cells within the skin that make our skin the colour it is always, or which permit our skin to tan, as opposed to burn. People with low melanin tend to burn, those with a lot of melanin do not burn, primarily because their skin is already dark. Our skin colour is based entirely on genetics.

However, there are situations when having melanin-rich skin can carry complications. As a professional, highly trained, and experienced permanent makeup artist in Toronto, where many melanin -rich, dark skinned people reside, I consider it my responsibility to be forthright about these limitations.

It should come as no surprise that the darker the skin, the less likely a tattooed colour will show up—any colour, including black. For permanent makeup this is particularly so in the case of eyeliner. If the colour used is only slightly darker than the natural skin colour, it will not be very noticeable, so not a good permanent makeup investment.

Healed results are less noticeable on dark skin.

In the case of permanent makeup eyebrows, including microblading, the same consideration applies. However, permanent eyebrow tattoo can be safely and beautifully created by a knowledgeable artist who understands how the pigment colour interacts with the complexities of the skin, in order to predict a gorgeous healed result of your cosmetic tattoo treatment. No one wants black eyebrows! Black, tattooed in the skin, regardless of natural colour, will eventually change to a dark charcoal or even blue hue. We were not intended to have eyebrows with these colours. Natural is always the aim. At my studio it is an imperative.

Lastly, in consideration of lip tattoo, darker skinned individuals often complain of a dark line or dark patches on their lips. This is the melanin richness at work.   Melanin protects the skin, but it can, at times, be problematic when it shows up on lighter areas of the body or when an over-production is triggered by injury. The lip tissue, being so different from other skin, will hyper pigment (become darker in parts), or sometimes even hypo pigment (become lighter in spots). This can occur sometimes even from something as simple as too much sun exposure.  So, to attempt to create a pretty pink lip colour with a permanent lip tattoo treatment on melanin-rich lip tissue, the result could be disaster.

Lip tattoo gone wrong on dark skin.