Dermatology and permanent makeup: the process of removing pigment from the skin

After the first procedure, during the healing process, the paint often comes out partially, leaving "gaps" that the master fills in for correction. In some cases, the pigment does not take root completely, nullifying all the work of a permanent makeup specialist. We discuss the main reasons why the pigment may not take root. This article will be useful for both beginners and masters with experience.

Body reaction

What happens to the pigment that enters the skin during the application of permanent makeup?

During the PM procedure, the master introduces paint crystals into the papillary layer of the skin, damaging the epidermis and small vessels, which causes pinpoint hemorrhages. In response to external interference, the body begins to develop aseptic inflammation, as a result of which leukocytes and erythrocytes enter the tissues surrounding the damaged area. This is what causes swelling. Active macrophages, cells responsible for local immunity, enter into the fight against a foreign substance introduced into the skin.

They absorb destroyed epidermal fibers and pigment particles. However, unlike skin cells, pigment particles captured by macrophages are not digested in the cytoplasm, so that permanent makeup remains in the skin. This process is called incomplete phagocytosis.

Simultaneously with phagocytosis, the process of skin regeneration occurs, during which fibroblast cells produce elastin and collagen fibers that enclose pigment particles from surrounding tissues. Epidermal cells close the damaged area, and blood and lymph come to the surface and form a crust, which protects the wound from external threats during healing. An epithelial bag is formed around the pigment particles, which allows the paint to remain in the skin for a long time. It is through this process that the pigment remains in the skin after the permanent makeup has healed.

3 options for the "survival" of the pigment

Rarely, but this happens, the client is not satisfied with the result due to the fact that the pigment in the skin may simply not hold or remain in insufficient quantity.

So, based on practical experience and the study of professional literature, we can distinguish 3 degrees of "survival" of the pigment:

1. When there is an almost complete preservation of the pigment immediately after the first procedure and the client comes the next time in a year, two, three, without needing correction before.

This is the rare case when, after the first procedure, the pigment lay down evenly, without gaps, and the client is satisfied with the color and its saturation. This result indicates the high professionalism of the master, who has extensive experience, excellent knowledge of color and understand how this or that pigment will behave. But not only. The condition of the client's skin also plays an important role. Getting the perfect tattoo after the first procedure is most likely for owners of dry skin. In addition, the skin should not show signs of fibrosis, herpes, etc.

2. 30-50% of cases are accompanied by loss of pigment during healing - when gaps form, especially if herpes appears, or the color is not bright enough, this is absolutely normal and is a reason for correction. There may be several corrections. Sometimes this is due to violations of the recommendations of the post-procedural care master.

Partial pigment rejection is quite common. However, this can be avoided.

Partial pigment release occurs for the following reasons:

- Wrong choice of permanent makeup technique. For example, the use of hair technique when performing a tattoo on oily skin. In this case, it is better to work in the technique of spraying or shading;

- increased secretion of lymph, which pushes the pigment out of the skin and does not allow it to "take root". Unfortunately, this situation happens quite often and the reasons can be very different. To reduce the risk of increased lymph secretion, the master can use secondary anesthesia with a vasoconstrictive effect, for example, Sustain, and the client must stop drinking alcohol at least 48 hours before the procedure;

- the pigment was initially introduced to an insufficient depth. This happens when the master still has little experience, and he does not “feel” the skin well, working in the uppermost layer of the epidermis. Usually in such cases, the pigment completely disappears along with the crusts during healing. But this does not mean at all that you need to go deep into it. It is important to learn to understand at what depth the work is permissible, and constantly monitor this moment;

- use of tint pigments. In many palettes, there is a division of pigments into basic and tint. Basic - dense, they give the desired covering effect in the work. Tinted ones are not used independently, since they do not have a sufficient density of coloring particles. Therefore, to avoid this mistake, carefully study the recommendations for the palette of pigments that you work with;

- when working on fibrous, scarred skin. The technique of performing permanent makeup on scars is fundamentally different from the usual one. If you ignore the features of working on such skin, lack of experience or ignorance of the nuances, the pigment may completely or partially disappear after healing;

- relapses of herpes. Unfortunately, in 98% of cases, lip tattooing ends with this particular nuisance. Herpes is able to "kill" the entire work of the master - it spoils the contour and also affects the density of the pigment. Unfortunately, preventive measures involving the use of drugs do not always work. And, as experience shows, in such cases, two correction procedures are required to bring the result to the ideal;

- violation of the requirements of post-procedure care - accidental or intentional combing and tearing of crusts, prolonged contact with steam or water provoke errors in the healing of the work;

Often, clients begin to sound the alarm immediately after the convergence of the crusts, and in fact the final stabilization of the color occurs only 3-4 weeks after the procedure. You need to be patient. In the event of such cases, the master must necessarily establish the cause of the release of the pigment and draw the appropriate conclusions.

3. The most rare, but very unpleasant situation is when the pigment completely leaves the skin. Such cases are quite rare, but they occur, despite the experience and qualifications of the specialist. This may be due to the characteristics of the skin, the peculiarity of the structure of the epidermis, unusual metabolism, hidden or overt diseases, the state of immunity. It is impossible to tell from the general appearance of the freshly made work how long the pigment will last. Our complex organism perceives the pigment as a foreign body and tries to fight it.

Fortunately, cases of complete rejection or minimal engraftment of the pigment are the exception rather than the practice! According to various sources, this category includes from 2 to 7% of clients. There is currently no clear explanation as to why this is happening. Our body is a complex system and many things cannot be predicted. It is generally accepted that the reason for such an outcome of the procedure may be:

• individual features of the metabolic processes of the skin (visually they are not identified in any way);
• taking hormonal and some other drugs;
• diseases in the acute stage;
• state of immunity.

The reason that the pigment does not take root in the skin can be either non-compliance with the recommendations for the care of permanent makeup, or individual skin characteristics: a tendency to oiliness or pathological processes inside the epidermis. The risk group for pigment loss during the first month after the PM procedure includes the following clients:

• clients who ignore permanent makeup care tips during the recovery period;
• clients with individual characteristics of internal metabolism;
• clients with hormonal imbalance;
• clients with increased sebum production;
• clients with fragile or close to the surface vessels;
• clients taking medications that help thin the blood;
• clients with poor blood clotting.

How the depth of pigment injection affects its preservation in the skin and what factors contribute to the complete removal of the pigment - read in the continuation of the material.