Pigments and tattoo quality: is there a connection?

The vast majority of those who have done permanent makeup some time ago know from personal experience that in fact the level of quality of tattooing changes over time. In order to understand the mechanism of this phenomenon, one should know what the pigment is for the body and what happens to the paint in the skin.

Permanent makeup and immune processes

Pigments for permanent makeup have a very complex composition, but an important component (in accordance with the purpose of the pigment) is the dye itself, which gives the skin the desired color. In order to achieve the desired shade and quality of the pigment, its composition will include from three to ten dyes combined in certain proportions. If some of the constituent elements of paints, which give them certain properties, freely enter into metabolism, then it is the dye particles that are accepted by the body's immune system as foreign elements. In accordance with this, the process of phagocytosis is launched: the dye particles are simply destroyed by the cells of the immune system - macrophages. After that, they enter the lymphatic system and are excreted from the body. The success of phagocytosis depends on the size of the particles and the type of tattoo ink. Therefore, different colors are excreted from the body at different rates. Based on the described process, it becomes clear why, during the "wearing" of permanent makeup, the pigment in the skin is transformed: the proportion in which the various dyes were mixed initially changes, and, consequently, the color of the pigment changes.

The largest components of the dye, or the most solid accumulations of them, very easily withstand the attacks of macrophage-devouring cells, and then another process of the immune system's reaction to the presence of foreign bodies in the body is launched. The components of the dye are encapsulated by a special protein shell that isolates them from the body. The protein coat, on the one hand, prevents the possible aggressive effects of a foreign body on the body, and, on the other hand, interferes with the active effects of phagocytes. The effectiveness of the formation of this protective capsule is quite different in different people. It becomes clear why the quality of tattooing decreases very quickly for some, and slowly for others.

In the process of permanent makeup, as well as during tattooing, pigments are applied to the skin at the tip of the needle, and the processes of the body's reaction to such an invasion during these procedures are the same. The success of these mechanisms in tattooing and permanent makeup differs for three reasons:

• superficial capillary blood supply to the skin and deep layers of the epidermis on the face is many times more abundant than on the surface of the body;
• the immersion of the needle during a tattoo, for the most part, is deeper than with permanent makeup, and as a result, the volumetric saturation of the skin with a dye during a tattoo is also greater;
• the elements of the dye for a tattoo are often larger than the special pigments for permanent makeup.

The first reason is the most important. It is in connection with the more developed capillary network in the upper layer of the skin that the quality of the tattoo decreases faster than the quality of the wearable tattoo.

For each person, the dye is removed from the body at an uneven speed. This happens for three reasons. First, the blood supply to the upper layer of the skin is individual. Moreover, even in the same person, it differs in different areas of the skin. Secondly, it must be taken into account that the efficiency of the formation of a protein shell, which isolates the components of the dye from the action of the immune system, is also special. Thirdly, the reaction of the complete complex of cells of the immune system to the body-specific presence of foreign bodies in the form of pigment particles is very peculiar.

In this regard, the intervals between the procedures necessary to maintain the initial quality of the tattoo for different clients also differ. As a rule, permanent make-up correction is carried out once every 1-2 years. But there are cases when the quality of the tattoo is sensitively lost after 6 months. This may be due to both the reasons mentioned above, and the fact that initially only one skin pigmentation procedure was performed. It is important to remember that tattooing is usually the result of 2-3 micropigmentation procedures. Procedures additional to the first are needed to achieve a more even distribution of the dye in the skin, correction of the pigment shade and greater tattoo stability. If the client is satisfied with the result of a single procedure, then this may mean that she was lucky and everything turned out well the first time, or she is not demanding on quality.

The master should inform that about a month after the first procedure, the client needs to come for an examination. The assessment of the level of the procedure by a specialist is more professional. Only the master is able to see what the client will not see, and a true professional can even predict the likely loss of skin pigment in the coming months in some areas and the appearance of various gaps. In this case, it is no longer necessary to have an additional procedure to the first one, which will improve the quality of the tattoo, but a truly complete procedure, equal in size to the first one.

Client expectations and reality

Cases where the result of the first procedure is surprisingly good, and the skin retains pigment for a long time, are quite rare and amount to less than 5%. Such clients are among the "lucky ones" whose tattoo quality will decrease only after a few years. However, as they say, the exception proves the rule. It is psychologically correct to set up the client that she needs to go to her master every year. It is worth paying attention to the fact that in the eyes of many clients, permanent makeup has discredited itself as a service worthy of attention, not so much because of the high percentage of non-professional defects, but because of the high expectations of clients regarding the shelf life of permanent makeup results.

The worst option, from a psychological point of view, is if the client does not receive what was promised. Clients who come to correct or remove low-quality (from their point of view) permanent makeup name many reasons for their disappointment. It often happens that, having signed up for tattoo removal, clients come with permanent makeup, which simply requires a banal corrective procedure. Disoriented by a poorly qualified specialist, the client may not even realize that she needs to come to the master for a second procedure that will maintain the quality of permanent makeup. Frustrated with the result, she wants to get rid of him.

The most honest answer to the question of clients: “For how long will I get permanent makeup?” - probably should be: "For the period for which you want to have it." After all, permanent makeup is not done in order to go to the master in 3-5 years, when everything is almost guaranteed to be bad. It should be already at the stage of a slight loss of the quality of the tattoo to come to support it, and this, according to statistics, once every 1-3 years. This time period is due to three factors. First, the features of the immune system; secondly, the client's level of attention to the quality of permanent makeup; thirdly, its organization. And if we cannot influence the first factor in any way, then the second and third are in the hands of a specialist. The master of permanent make-up, who is interested in his clients being able to act as a visual advertisement of his work, will always call the client in time and invite him for a consultation. In the end, both parties win!