| Frequently Asked Questions |
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What Are Cosmetic Tattoos? |
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Cosmetic tattoos are real tattoos, using needles and pigments. It is a method of implanting pigment or ink through the epidermis layer of the skin into the upper dermal layer of the skin to create a desired illusion of shape and color. |
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Do Cosmetic Tattoos Hurt? |
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Unlike body tats, the cosmetic tattoo procedure uses numbing agents. The process is usually so painless, all you notice is the soft buzz of the machine. One of my deaf clients fell asleep while I inked her eyeliner! The lips are the most sensitive, so we prenumb for 10-15 minutes. On a pain scale of 1 - 10, most clients report a 0-1 on brows, a 1-3 on eyeliner and 2-3 on lips. |
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Are Cosmetic Tattoos Safe? What are the risks? |
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All clients are carefully screened to reduce the risk of contra-indications. Leah ink uses vegetable based pigments to reduce the risk of allergic reactions. All needles are one-use only, and are disposed of after each treatment. The risks include: Dissatisfaction, assymetry, allergic reaction and infection. Allergic reactions are rare, and infections are almost unheard of. The Leah ink technicians use an interactive process to reduce or avoid the possibility of dissatisfaction. |
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Why Do Cosmetic Tattoos Require 2nd Steps? ___Is There a Fee For this? |
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Permanent cosmetics are occasionally, but rarely, applied in only one visit. Most patients require two visits to complete a procedure. Lips can require 3 visits.
Your skin will initially heal over the first layer of pigment, resulting in the appearance of a very light tattoo. The more collogen your skin has, the more this effect happens. On the 2nd step, much more pigment will remain on the surface of the skin.
Is there a Fee For the 2nd Step? Yes, all new needles, ink, numbing agent and all associated supplies are required for a touch up. However, Leah Ink 2nd step procedures start at only $50. |
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5 |
Are they truly permanent? |
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Permanent cosmetics procedures are considered permanent because the color is implanted into the dermal layer of the skin. As a result, the pigmenting components remain in the body. However, as with any tattoo, fading can and often does occur due to many factors. The predominant reason for the fading is decomposition of pigments due to exposure to the sun, however, your health, consumption of medications, and use of facial products containing exfoliation properties all contribute to the need for maintenance. Every few years, the color in your procedure will in all likelihood require a "mainenence touch up". |
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Who Benefits From Cosmetic Tattoos? |
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Everyone who wants to wake up with make up. Busy women who don't have time for it. Physically active people, because it stays on through sports. Those who are vision impaired, motor impaired or have allergies to cosmetics. People who have undergone injury, chemotherapy or have alopecia or vitiligo. |
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7 |
Who Decides the Shape of My Eyebrows? |
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As a beauty professional, I will have suggestions for you, but ultimately, you will get the brow shape you like best. It's an interactive process, and computer simulated images are available. |
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Is there swelling? When can I go back to work? How long is the healing? |
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There can be minor swelling, usually gone within a few hours. Some more sensitive skin types may require 24 hours. You should be able to go right back to work, same day if needed. The healing process requires a full week of application of vaseline. You should not get a cosmetic tattoo within 10 days of any special event where photos will be taken. Shiney eyebrows just look silly in photos! In 3 weeks, you'll be healed with final the color and shape. That's the time for your first touch-up. |
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What Should I Expect Afterwards? |
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You will be given an aftercare sheet with full details and instructions. For at least one week, vaseline is required. No tanning or swimming for at least a month. A month after the procedure, when the old epidermis has been replaced with new, translucent cells, the permanent makeup will look softer and subtler than it did when it was new. Eyeliner which may have looked like liquid liner when you left the office now should look like a soft kohl pencil, because you are seeing the color through diffusing layers of skin cells. Lip color which was bright will be a delicate blush. And brows which looked hard should be much softer looking. This natural process makes your permanent cosmetic enhancement look soft and natural. It’s easy to add more color in subsequent visits, but very hard to remove unwanted color. |
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Will a Brow Tattoo interfere with my brow hair? Should I Remove my Brow Hair? |
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No, a cosmetic tattoo only enhances your natural brow, and fills in gaps and reshapes your brow as you desire. It will blend in nicely. No, if your brow hair is arched to the shape you desire, leave it there! Tattoos do not usually interefere with hair growth. |
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I wax/shave my brows, can I do that before my tattoo? |
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Waxing or shaving too close to a tattoo procedure can make you more suseptible to bleeding, rashes and infection. Have at least 5 days between proceedures. |
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What About Exfoliating, Alpha Hydroxy or Chemical Peels? |
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They are effective in removing wrinkles and lightening your tattoo. I don't recommend that. Get your facial treatment about a month before your tattoo procedure. If you do get peeled after, be sure to avoid the tattooed areas by a wide margin. |
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Are You Licensed, Certified or what? |
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At this time, there are no licenses required by State or Federal laws. I am certified, and was trained by a tecnnician with 20 years experience. If licensing becomes available, I will easily qualify and become licensed immediately. Cosmetic Tattooing is illegal in a traditional beauty salon (for hair and/or nails). My salon is strictly cosmetic. |
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What If I Don't Like My Tattoo? |
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The good news is that your first tattoo is going to fade by 40-70%, so if there are any lines too thick or not placed right, they are likely to blend or heal back to something you to like. But, to be candid, that is a risk you assume when you undergo any cosmetic procedure. However, the Leah ink "Client-in-control" technique is so highly interactive, where you see and dictate each pass of the needle, it's never been an issue.
The risk of cosmetic-tattoo-gone-wrong at Leah Ink is very very low. (hasn't happened so far) |
| 15 |
Can Men Get Cosmetic Tattoos? |
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Of Course! Men do it all the time. Most are to reshape the brow, fill in or color where there might be some greying or scaring. For men, we call it a "Man Tat" instead of "cosmetic". ; ) |
| 16 |
What kind of Inks Do You Use? |
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Leah ink pigments are all vegetable based.i There has never been an issue with discoloration, migration or allergic reaction to my ink.
A friend of mine told me that she works with a woman who got her eyeliner done in one procedure, and didn't require a second step. She boasted the ink had iron oxide in it, so it stayed black and didn't need the 2nd step. She thought she had saved money and time. Unfortunately, this isn't the case. The truth is, iron oxide based pigments are black for a while, and then they turn blue, and have a good chance of migrating. Pigment migration will look like you smeared your makeup downward, and is very difficult and expensive to remove. Within 6 months, this poor woman needed a touch-up with color correction to fix the blueish tint. Color correction is more expensive, requires several visits, and much harder to do than doing it right the first time. ck here for more technical details.
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