Permanent makeup: beauty or trend?

Elena Kondratyuk, international expert in advanced permanent makeup techniques and medical micropigmentation, certified trainer of teachers, practicing master, author and developer of exclusive camouflage techniques, founder of the BeProfessional school of professional masters of semi-permanent makeup

Permanent makeup is an art. And, like any art, PM does not tolerate overabundance, sameness, similarity. Unfortunately, more and more often we see drawings on faces that seem to have come out from under one pattern - eyebrows, lips, arrows. Moreover, we make them so ⎼ the same. Individuality is an important quality for every person, and individuality in appearance, such a highlight, is no exception.

Let's start with questions

Why are there more and more PMs offering training, but the level of craftsmen and quality work is not growing? Why does the number of laser tattoo removal specialists increase in proportion to the number of PM masters? Why are most novice masters concerned about finding the strongest anesthesia? Why do some courses start with the shading technique, and in other schools, on the contrary, with the hair technique? What is powder and what is pixel spraying, how does one differ from the other? Is microblading less traumatic than tattooing? Oily skin is not suitable for hair technique?

The list of these questions can be continued for a very long time.

Most of the questions arise from the pathological confusion in the minds of both masters and clients. Perhaps this is the cost of the fact that the field is still too young (by and large, some 30 years is not a long time for history at all) and not many schools offer fundamental basic education. Or perhaps just a frivolous, unconscious attitude to this procedure creates misunderstanding between specialists and clients.

Let me bring some clarity to the overall picture, relying solely on my own experience and knowledge (I have been working in the field of aesthetic camouflage and PM since 1993).

Today, there are already clear demarcations of the directions of microdermopigmentation. This:

• artistic tattoo;
• decorative tattoo makeup;
• aesthetic camouflage;
• Permanent makeup.

Origins of PM

How did it all start and where did it all come from? Let's try to figure it out. For more than five thousand years, humanity has been using a tattoo - pricked patterns - as a way to decorate your body, stand out from the crowd, emphasize social status, etc. I think that this way of self-expression will be in demand among certain segments of the population in different countries of the world for a long time to come.

In the second half of the twentieth century, a new era began in the production and use of decorative cosmetics. Until the 40s of the twentieth century, only women from high society and representatives of creative bohemia used decorative cosmetics. After World War II, fashion houses began to bring new trends in clothing and makeup from couture collections from the catwalk to the masses in ready-to-wear collections. Serial production of decorative cosmetics began. And by the 60s, every decent girl (woman) adorned her face with decorative arrows on her eyes, her favorite lipstick color, etc.

In the 80s, the disco era brought new trends (laziness is the engine of progress). Why spend time every day on morning makeup when you can make it permanent and indelible? The first were biker girls. They tried to apply makeup with a tattoo. And, of course, the rest of the sorority, quickly orienting themselves, introduced this innovation into general use. Thus, the direction of decorative tattoo makeup appeared. Note that the purpose of this service, again, is the desire to decorate your face, put on an indelible image, express yourself, in the end.

Also in the middle of the last century, plastic surgery began to actively develop. However, postoperative scars, even if they turned out to be perfectly flat, required color correction (damaged skin always differs from healthy skin in color). From this came the service of cosmetic camouflage as the final touch to achieve the perfect result. The goal is to even out skin color after intervention or damage. That is to hide flaws. And I think that it is from this that the development of the direction of classic permanent makeup as such originates. Hide flaws and emphasize advantages, correctly place accents. And so that the mosquito does not undermine the nose. After all, all the work is aimed at ensuring that no one knows about the manipulations done. All mine, nature rewarded.

Works by unknown masters, subject to correction. Photos provided by the author

Beauty or trend?

So, let's take a closer look.

Decorative tattoo make-up is a decoration of the face in order to create a long-term indelible make-up, replacing the daily use of decorative cosmetics. In this case, artistic tattoo techniques are used. Bright colors on the lips, replacing the color of your favorite lipstick, shape correction (going beyond the red border in order to increase volume). Also applying colored shadows and arrows to the eyelid area, blush. And, of course, the theatrical eyebrows. Unfortunately, many clients do not fully understand and understand the implications of this step. How many of us choose and use the same image in different life situations? After all, we don’t go in for sports in stilettos and we don’t go to the theater in a tracksuit. So makeup is selected for each individual case. Moreover, the development of the fashion industry does not let you get bored at all. World brands of decorative cosmetics several times a year present new collections, texture, colors, shapes change. How many sane women are ready to put on this season's decorative mask and wear it for the nth number of years? However, there is demand, so there will be offers. Usually, the services of tattoo makeup specialists (as a rule, they use the word “tattoo” to define their activities) are inexpensive due to the low cost and mostly dubious professionalism of the masters. From this, it becomes possible for many "unformed" minds to create something of this kind with themselves.

And then the excuses: I didn’t know, I got to the wrong master, they did it before, etc. This gives rise to the permissiveness of “specialists” to experiment on clients’ faces using unprofessional, cheap equipment, uncertified pigments and untested technologies. The results are, unfortunately, deplorable. In all the years of my work in the field of aesthetic cosmetology and microdermopigmentation, I have not met a single client who, after performing tattoo manipulations on her face, has not stopped using decorative cosmetics. Only the goal has changed - to hide and correct the shortcomings of permanent makeup. It is worth considering that at present, 80% of women who have indelible tattoo makeup on their faces want to get rid of “traces of past glory”, and this happens quite quickly from the moment it is applied. This also includes the craze for the newfangled words “microblading” and “6D eyebrows”. Allegedly supernatural, safe, and as a result, an increase in the number of sufferers in laser tattoo removal clinics. The reason for such a rapid and successful promotion of this service is the crisis. And, of course, the opportunity to make a profit with minimal investment (the cost of consumables for microblading is very affordable). From a purely medical point of view, the process of skin regeneration after an incision (microblading) and after microperforation (hardware PM techniques) proceeds completely differently. And, accordingly, the results differ significantly.

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