How to prepare for your Permanent Makeup Appointment (Health Edition)

A blog post detailing the timeline and preparedness schedule before cosmetic tattooing. This edition focuses on medications and health conditions related to cosmetic tattooing.

There are a few basic qualifications when deciding the date for your procedure.

1. You cannot be pregnant

2. You cannot be breastfeeding

3. You cannot currently be in active chemotherapy

4. You must be 18 or older (I prefer clients to be 25 or older)

Our skin is a living, breathing, changing organ. The chemicals we put into our body and on our face will change our skin. Once the pigment is implanted into your skin, the pigment and your cells will go through the healing process. The skin will push a bit of pigment out, as it’s supposed to, because the pigment is technically a foreign object in our body. Beyond this normal healing process, though, there are outside factors that contraindicate permanent makeup.

Part 1: Medications

• Blood Thinners, antibiotics, Fish Oil, Insulin, Heart Medications, Accutane, etc.

  • Blood thinners should be stopped 24+ hours in advance of your appointment. These increase your risk of bleeding.

  • Antibiotics could alter the color of the pigment. If you are taking antibiotics, you most likely have an infection, and we need to be in good health for permanent makeup.

  • Fish Oil increases your risk of bleeding, please stop 1-2 weeks before your procedure.

  • Insulin can alter your healing. This does not mean you cannot get permanent makeup! (Your diabetes must be controlled)

  • Heart Medications can increase your risk of bleeding.

  • Accutane compromises the skin and affects healing time. Must be off Accutane for 6 months before appointment.

Part 2: Beauty products

• Retinol

  • Retinol/Retinoids/Retin-A all increase the rate of cell turnover. The faster your cells turnover, the quicker the pigment is pushed out of the skin. You MUST discontinue Retinol products for at least 2 weeks before your appointment.

• Acid peels/chemical peels/toners

  • Glycolic acid, salicylic acid, azelaic acid….basically anything with “acid” in the name will alter the skin. We do not wants acids and permanent makeup mixing. F you use acid products, keep away from your brows and stop using them around your brows for a few days before your appointment, and especially for around 10 days after your appointment.

• Botox/Dysport

  • No Botox less than 2 weeks before your brow appointment (for regular Toxin users), and no less than 4 weeks (for new Toxin users). Your facial muscles are extremely important in the mapping process. If your Toxin treatment is not yet settled, and we map your brows and tattoo them on, and your muscles are still reacting to the Botox…..your brows WILL be uneven. Wait 2 weeks after PMU to get Toxins.

Timeline:

6 months → Off Accutane, chemotherapy, and radiation. Must be cancer free 6 months.

4 weeks → No Botox/Toxins if you are a new Toxins client.

2 weeks → Stop all brow serums. Must be off antibiotics for 2 weeks. No Botox. Stop Retinols.

1 week → Stop all Fish Oil, juicing.

48 hours → Must be off all blood thinners and pain pills.

24 hours → NO Alcohol and NO Caffeine