Watercolor lip technique in permanent makeup: useful life hacks

The watercolor lip technique involves filling the entire surface of the lips with pigment and shading it. The color filling gradually fades to its own ebb of the mucous membrane, in contrast to the lipstick technique with a dense filling of the entire surface. This makeup looks natural and beautiful, and the color is chosen close to natural. Therefore, when the permanent makeup heals, the result looks natural and shimmers with a slight tint.

What can be done with watercolor technique:

1. Fill the colorless contour and visually increase the volume of the lips;
2. Align asymmetry;
3. Give the lips a beautiful shade;
4. Disguise scars;
5. Refuse to use decorative cosmetics (for hypoallergenic purposes).

Pigments for this type of tattoo are selected by the master, taking into account the wishes of the client and focusing on the tone of the natural mucosa. All pigments in a healed form look natural and it is difficult to guess about any manipulations in the lip area. Immediately after micropigmentation, the tone of the permanent is brighter by 40-60%, then the films come off and the saturation decreases.

And now let's look at the features of the watercolor technique and share some of the secrets that are in the arsenal of permanent makeup masters with solid work experience. Since questions like “is it possible to increase the lips with a permanent”, “why should you not go beyond the edge (rim) of the lips with a tattoo”, “how to stretch the lip correctly” or “how to work in the corners of the lips” are always relevant and worry many novice masters, we will try to give answers to them.

Nuances of watercolor technique

When creating a sketch, it is important to remember that you should not paint over the area where the lips meet with a permanent. You can work with color only up to the closure line. If the client's lips have a pronounced edging, you should not go beyond it, as the result will not look aesthetically pleasing. In addition, permanent makeup will come off differently from the skin and mucous membranes, and after six months the shade on the lips and above the edging will be different.

To check the sketch, ask the client to purse the lips strongly and carefully consider if there are any discrepancies and differences on the right and left sides of the lip sketch, also check the symmetry of the drawing. Lips in a calm state cannot always display possible flaws in the drawing of a sketch. Then check the sketch in the smiling state.

Primary anesthesia is recommended to be applied along the lip area, slightly protruding above the contour. You can apply the anesthetic from a syringe with a cut needle. In order not to "tan" the lips, do not cover the place of anesthesia with a film. The exposure time of anesthesia is 10-15 minutes.

It is recommended to start the work of the master from the contour part, without stretching it, but simply twisting it in such a way that the sketch line is clearly visible. The needle should be held perpendicular, with overlapping movements to work out the contour zone. Since the creation of a clear contour in this technique is not implied, it is enough to walk along the contour once and not return to it again. The task of the master is to evenly distribute the color around the entire perimeter of the lips, which will help maintain the composure of the shape. We use the 80:20 formula, when 20% is forward movement, and 80% is the return movement of the needle. Due to the fact that this movement is very fast, it allows you to gently fix the shape, not "contour" it. The stroke is long, since a small stroke gives a clear color.

Most often, a problem arises in the "Cupid's bow" zone - this zone is difficult to fix. Masters recommend grabbing the upper lip with two fingers, tightening it from both sides, and immediately the line will become convenient for fixing.

For many novice artists, it is very difficult to work with nude colors due to the fear of losing the outline on the first pass. If you still do not feel 100% skin and doubt your technique, you can use the following “secret” of experienced craftsmen: take any warm red shade (coral, for example), dilute it with water for injection or a special thinner, thereby lowering the consistency of the color and brightness. Make the first pass along the outline easy with this color. In this case, you will not lose shape in the future.

After passing through the contour, make the first pass on the upper lip to "open" the skin, so that after the application of secondary anesthesia. Work with a stroke, making a slight stretch of the lips so that there is an even canvas. Even with such an easy pass, the minimum paint still remains. At this stage, do not try to make the color uniform. After working on the upper lip, apply a secondary anesthetic and repeat the same pre-pigment process on the lower lip. After that, apply secondary anesthesia to the lower lip as well.

It is not convenient to work in the corners of the lips, therefore, when working in this area, it is necessary to twist the lip a little and move the needle not along, but, as it were, diagonally. It is recommended to work with fast catching movements on the selected area of the surface, moving forward by 20% and returning by 80%. Near the contour of the movement can be slowed down. It is important to lay the strokes tightly to each other, but easily, without pressure, at the very end of the needle.

It is important not to stretch the skin of the lips too much. There should be a stretch, but it should be light. After all, the more we stretch the skin, the thinner it becomes. You thin it, and the needle is sharp enough and this will lead to unnecessary trauma and, as a result, swelling. A small discharge of ichor in some places is the norm. The ichor on all lips signals that you need to change something: reduce skin tension or, conversely, even out the area.

Remember to turn the client's head to maintain the correct needle angle.

If you overexposed the anesthesia and the skin is “tanned”, you can lubricate this area with petroleum jelly: the petroleum jelly will soften the skin and it will be easier to work.

If the lips are pinned up with hyaluronic acid preparations, then the swelling on such lips can be more pronounced, since the traumatization of the permanent makeup procedure is “superimposed” on the moisture-attracting hyaluronic acid, which will give such an undesirable result.