Scars and permanent makeup: factors affecting the result

Kristina Rudko, coach of the Rudko ArtLine training center, participant of international congresses and conferences, winner of the international creative competition in the nomination "For the subtlety and elegance of lines", tattoo and tattoo removal specialist, master colorist of TM Purebeau

Many clients sign up for a permanent makeup procedure with scars on the skin (traces of injuries, operations, skin diseases). They are often localized on the eyebrows, eyelids or lips - that is, where we have to lay the pigment.

A scar (lat. cicatrix, -icis, f.) is a dense connective tissue formation that is formed as a result of tissue regeneration after surgery, damage or inflammation. Scars is the common name for scars.

Recently, many girls come with traces of the old traumatic tattoo - microblading on the eyebrows, scars after blepharoplasty on the eyelids, with scars after exacerbations of herpes on the lips. These areas are not large in size, but require a special approach to work. In addition, camouflage with the color of scars on various parts of the body, where you should work especially carefully, is becoming popular.

Photos provided by the author

What you need to know before the procedure

Before starting work, the master needs to assess the condition of the scar. It is very important that the scar tissue is completely healed! Pain during the procedure and the final result directly depend on this factor. Scar tissue differs significantly from healthy tissue both externally and in structure. It consists mainly of collagen and has reduced functions. For example, in such tissues there are no sweat glands, hair follicles also often do not recover and do not function.

As a rule, it takes 6 to 12 months for the formation of a mature scar. A mature scar that can be taken into work should not be pink or red!

If the master works on an unformed scar, this will be a secondary tissue trauma, which can lead to the fact that the pigment is completely rejected or worse, a more voluminous scar will form.

Types of scars

Not all scars can be worked on, so it is very important to determine the type of scar.

1. Atrophic - "minus tissue" - when depressions form on the skin. They are located below the level of nearby skin areas and are characterized by sagging tissues. A typical example is stretch marks (stretch marks) or band wounds (microblading).
2. Normotrophic - are on the same level with the surrounding skin, pale or flesh-colored, have elasticity close to normal tissues.
3. Hypertrophic - rise above the surface of the skin and can spontaneously regress. You can work on such scars only with the permission of the doctor, because they can easily be confused with keloid. And it is better to take preliminary measures to smooth the scar to the state of normotrophic.
4. Keloid - usually protrude above the level of the skin and have a sharply defined border. Often accompanied by itching, pain, burning. They are dense, with a bumpy texture, pink or purple-cyanotic color. It is strictly forbidden to apply a permanent on such scars! This may lead to their further growth.

Based on the above, we can safely work with atrophic and normotrophic scars , etc.

Scar work. Photos provided by the author

I strongly recommend that the client sign an informational consent to the PM procedure (where it is indicated that the master does not give guarantees when working on such tissues) and verbally consult the client about the possible nuances of healing, the need for additional correction.

If time permits (and especially in the case of a large area of the scar), it is better to make a test - choose a color and work out a small area of skin. After healing, analyze the result, correct it if necessary, and, having drawn conclusions, carry out the main procedure.

Carefully inspect all exposed areas of the client's body. As a rule, on the most traumatized area (on the hands) you will see a lot of scars, which indicates the predisposition of the skin to the formation of scarring (when the human body has an increased content of the enzyme responsible for the production of collagen).

The connective tissues of the scar are not the best area for the work of a permanent makeup master. Therefore, it will require knowledge of certain subtleties and the use of unique techniques.

Technical nuances of work

• Scar tissue is unpredictable. She can eagerly accept the pigment, or completely reject it. But its color saturation in any case will differ from the result on healthy tissues.
• In such areas, we work in a certain tactic - shorter strokes at low speed.
• If during application you see that the pigment does not lay down, make the stroke even shorter, or work pointwise.
• If you have added pigment and it has taken root brighter, do not worry. It will only become brighter immediately after healing, it will soon catch up with the general skin color and then gradually go away.
• If you have applied the pigment too deep (under the scar), it can linger there for a long time.
• In such work, a unit needle, diameter 0.35, is used. If the area is large enough, you can use a 3RS needle
• It should be noted that scar tissue is often very sensitive in work.

Take care of your customers, work neatly and superficially.

For more information about working with scars, see the video on our channel.