Cosmetic Tattooing - Lips, Brows And Eyes

By Margarita Nahapetyan

Many women today, regardless of their age, are increasingly getting attracted to tattooed brows, lips and eyes. Unlike regular body art tattoos which are added to the third layer of the skin, the cosmetic variety adds colored pigment to the skin's second layer, using a subtle colour palette and aims to naturally enhance the features.

The beauty experts call the procedure permanent make-up because people do not have to apply it on daily basis. But it is not permanent as such, it is semi-permanent, explained Michele Curran, cosmetic tattooist, and added that it is almost like taking ten ears off. Typically, results last a few years before they need to be touched up.

The design of the tattoo is being chosen during a consultation before the procedure itself. As a step number one an expert that applies a topical anesthetic to the area to be tattooed in order to make it numb. Healing process can take from 4 days and up to fourteen days, and the adjustments of colour and shape are generally made between one to two months after the initial procedure of tattooing.

The most popular among the requested procedures is eyebrows tattooing, however eye and lip liner as well as full lip colour are also in a big demand. Semi-tone and soft colors and textures always produce the best outcomes. According to the experts, the procedure of tattooing also has therapeutic side. For example, scar camouflage or reconstruction of the areola after breast surgery, or creating the look of hair is requested by many cancer patients and patients with alopecia.

Cosmetic tattoo specialist and educator Val Glover-Hovan, who does nearly forty treatments on a weekly basis, is confident in her belief that cosmetic tattooing gives women the opportunity to look their best at any given time. It just gives them much more freedom and self-confidence, she says. the expert herself was the witness of many changes since 1985, when she began to perfom tattooing, especially regarding people's attitudes. At first, she explains, people were very suspicious of the new invention. They had never heard of it and they were worried about the way it would look, she says. And it took nearly 8 to 10 years before individuals finally starting to accept cosmetic tattooing as quite normal and harmless thing.

However, some experts are of a different opinion and say that cosmetic tattooing can have a negative impact when it comes to body image. Dr. Meredith Jones, a lecturer at the University of Technology Cultural Studies, said that like Botox or cosmetic plastic surgery, cosmetic tattooing, which is a permanent makeup, is another by-product of people's obsession with makeover culture. "We are actually living in a culture where the more purchased your body is, the more valuable your body is," she said. In some extreme cases, she says, cosmetic treatments produce unrealistic expectations and bring more damage to a body image rather than improve it. Once individuals have their lips, brows or eyelids done permanently, they do not usually just stop on that thinking that now they are perfect. They go on to the next thing, Jones says.

Both Val Glover-Hovan and Michele Curran agree that the patients need to be always very carefully consulted before considering any form of tattooing, in order to ensure that all parties are happy with the results. They say that it is critical to look for a fully qualified practitioner with proven results and excellent design skills. Cheap prices should not be affecting people's decisions, they say, as cheap alternatives can at the end result in more expences if correction, or even removal, are required.