Success Stories: Interviews with Leading Permanent Makeup Artists

JUST LOVE WHAT YOU DO

Dossier: Evgeniya Frolova , founder and head of Evgeniya Frolova's beauty and permanent make-up studio (Kharkiv), international permanent make-up master teacher with 12 years of experience (on the territory of Ukraine, Russia and Turkey), specialist in laser and biochemical removal of PM and tattoos , winner of the First All-Ukrainian Permanent Makeup Championship "Picture Beauty" (2013), winner in the nomination "Sympathy" of the Union of Permanent Makeup Specialists of the South of Russia (2013), champion in the nomination "Eyebrows: Hair Apparatus" at the Permanent Style Ukraine Championship - 2014, winner of the open championship Beauty Without Limits in the nomination "Combined eyebrows" (pro category) (Georgia, 2016), winner in the nomination "Art of calligraphy" and silver medalist of the championship of healed works "Aerobatics" (nomination Cover up) (2019), author of his own permanent make-up technician, trainer-speaker of international conferences

Dmitry Erin , master teacher of laser tattoo removal and permanent makeup, conference speaker

Permanent : We are pleased to introduce the guests of our editorial office - Evgenia Frolova and Dmitry Erin.

Master PM - and a specialist in laser tattoo removal and tattooing, tell us how such a tandem has developed? Zhenya, why did you choose this direction, how and where did you start, where did you study?

E. F .: It all started with the fact that in 2007 I learned permanent makeup from a private master. I worked from home for three years. Then she completed a basic course of study at a training center, after which she worked for five years in a rented office. While still working in the salon's office, I purchased my first laser and took up the removal. After some time, more advanced lasers appeared on the market. It was decided to buy a new one. It was necessary to follow him to Kyiv from his native Kharkov. My husband Dmitry Yerin, then a fire inspector, came with me. Dima attended the laser technology training with me. Even during the training, it became clear that this kind of technique is closer to Dima than to me. He, like a man, quickly figured out this equipment. After training, Dima slowly began to engage in removal. Soon he was much better at it than I was. I've completely retired from laser work. This is how our tandem was formed.

Permanent : Do you have any idols? Who inspires you? Whom do you look up to in your work, what level do you aspire to?

E.F.: Yes, I have an idol in permanent makeup, this is Elena Onika. That's what I look up to. Probably, any good master always wants to improve the quality of his work. Therefore, it is difficult to say what level I aspire to. No matter how high the level of my work, I always want to be even better.

Permanent : How would you describe yourself in a few words?

E.F.: A good person. I hope that by my thoughts and actions I have earned the right to characterize myself with these words.

Permanent : Dmitry, a question for you. In your opinion, what qualities should a specialist working in the beauty industry have?

D. E .: It seems to me that a specialist working in the beauty industry must be one hundred percent sure of himself and what he is doing! Since the uncertainty of the master is noticeable and causes fear and doubt in the client! Also, nowhere without patience, because clients are very different, and, of course, you need to love what you do!

Permanent : Describe your biggest achievement and most impressive failure.

E.F.: You know, I can’t say that there were big failures in my life. Although, if you think about it, the biggest failure can be called the fact that I spend little time with people close and dear to me. And my biggest achievement, I'm sure, is yet to come. I do not think that working moments can be called a great achievement in life. When I have children and I can raise them to be good people, this will probably be my greatest achievement in life.

Permanent : Dmitry, can you call yourself an accomplished professional? If yes, what is your secret to success?

D. E .: I can call myself an accomplished professional, although I am still improving. The main secret is the constant desire to develop, invent something and learn new things! Progress does not stand still, and you need to keep up with it!

Permanent : Evgenia, how did your career as a PM teacher start and how did you get the idea to organize your own studio?

E.F.: My teaching career began in 2013, when representatives of one of the training centers in Kiev found me on social networks and offered to organize their branch in Kharkov. After working at the training center for some time, I realized that I could conduct training on my own. The idea to organize a studio was rather my dream. But when I decided to move from a rented office in a beauty salon to my own office, I realized that this is the very right moment when I can realize my dream.

Permanent : Training new masters is a very responsible step. Tell us, how is the training in the studio of Evgenia Frolova?

E.F.: My six-year experience as a teacher has taught me how to conduct training as correctly as possible, in my opinion. After each group, we introduce some innovations into the learning process, analyzing the experience gained. We do not give a lot of unnecessary information that can only confuse a beginner. We try not to complicate the color scheme, we give the opportunity to start mastering permanent makeup on latex skin. And only after practice on artificial skin do we start working with people. All our students take an exam, after which they go on a free voyage. We always support our students and after training, we are always in touch, we are happy to answer questions that beginners have in the process of work. Our graduates no longer need a lot of time to understand the intricacies of their chosen profession. They do not need to figure things out on their own and do not need to repeat our mistakes. We stuffed the cones, we experimented. To enable the next generation of PM masters to skip this stage, because we teach them to work competently from the first steps.

Permanent: Evgenia, how do you feel about correcting other people's mistakes in the PM?

E. F .: On the one hand, correcting other people's mistakes, if we are talking about overlapping, is not a very rewarding task. Since it is always easier to work from scratch than to correct an existing tattoo. On the other hand, it's always interesting. And when you can make a candy out of an ugly work, then, of course, first of all, the master himself, I think, is happy. It's difficult, but interesting. Ideally, in such situations, work in tandem with Dmitry. After laser removal procedures, we always get the highest quality result.

Permanent : Question to Dmitry . What are the typical mistakes of the masters with which clients most often come to you for the procedure for removing low-quality PM.

D. F.: In my opinion, beginners make the main mistake when they choose where to take a basic course in permanent makeup cheaper! Since now there are a lot of masters who themselves have just unlearned, less than a week after they started working, but they are already teaching others! Naturally, he takes little money for this, but, unfortunately, he shares little experience! And already from this, the wrong depth of implantation of the pigment into the skin comes up, which leads to blue eyebrows, and the wrong shape, and the wrong color.

Permanent : Zhenya, what are your strengths, what do you do best? Do you have a favorite technique or work area?

E.F.: I believe that my strength can be called the overlap or correction of low-quality tattoos. My favorite area is the eyebrows, because they are the most able to change the appearance of a person. The shape of the eyebrows can even visually change the mood! With an unsuccessful eyebrow shape, girls can look gloomy, sad. But with the help of the shape of the eyebrows, we can visually open our eyes or make a woman younger, we can even change the perception of others around her. That's why eyebrows are my favorite area to work on.

Permanent : Were there cases of distrust on the part of clients towards you as a specialist? And how do you then convince the client of your competence?

E.F.: Of course, there were. I'm not even trying to convince those who have any distrust of me as a master. As a rule, my clients come to me on the recommendation and know that I am a really good specialist. Therefore, they have a high degree of trust in me. At a time when clients didn't trust me, I didn't trust myself very much. And when you're not sure about what you're doing, it's better to let go of a client who is in doubt. To avoid further conflict situations with him.

Permanent : How would you characterize the prospects for the development of permanent makeup? What new can we expect in this area?

E. F.: To be honest, it’s hard to even imagine what new things can appear in the field of permanent makeup. It seems to me that everything that was possible has already been invented. Wait and see. I think that in permanent makeup there is no need to reinvent the wheel anymore, but to work on honing the skills of those techniques that have long been invented. Unfortunately, many masters have a growing range of services in the field of permanent makeup, but the quality still suffers. Therefore, I am in favor of honing existing techniques.

Permanent : What are your goals for the near future in the profession?

E.F.: I would like to reach a slightly different level, so that I could work less, but not earn less. (Laughs.) I would like to devote more time to my family, relatives and friends.

Permanent : Do you have any professional secret that you can share with our readers?

E.F.: The biggest secret of success is just to love what you do. Each work should be done as if you are doing it on your face. If you make every effort to ensure that each of your work becomes better and better, this will surely lead you to success.

The material was first published in Permanent No. 1(13)/2019