Make-up you can take to bed
PERMANENT TATTOO STAYS ON FOR ABOUT 7 YEARS
NO ONE ever wakes up with a flawlessly made-up face, unless you are a music star or an actress in a scene from a soap opera.
But, what if there was a way for you to actually wake up looking flawless, with a face full of make-up? Well, there is! More and more women are turning to the trend of permanent make-up. Yes, it is make-up that cannot be removed, does not smudge, and one does not have to worry about wiping off with baby wipes before hitting the sack.
Beauty therapist Lezelle Havenga of the Donnazel Beauty Parlour in Sandton City, Johannesburg, takes us through the ins and outs of permanent make-up to find out what it is exactly.
Havenga, who does permanent make-up herself, says women are finding it convenient and very handy.
“Permanent make-up is a tattoo done on your eyebrows or eyes as eyeliner, or on your lips like lipstick. It stays on for about seven years, ” she explains.
“I use a tattoo pen that has needles in and insert it to any area that the client has asked for, for example eyebrows. We can actually draw on hair line strokes so that it looks a lot more natural. The pen has one needle in it and we draw in each and every hair with the ink.”
Because any tattoo is bound to hurt, does getting tattooed for permanent make-up hurt?
Havenga says it depends on the person.
“I have found out that for some people it does hurt, and with others it does not hurt at all. Personally, I didn’t find it to be sore when I got my permanent makeup done.”
Understandably so, this procedure is not for everyone, and she says she strongly advises against certain people getting it done.
“The people I would advise against using it are people that cannot take pain, people who change their look all the time and definitely young girls.
“Because the colour of the ink we will use on your lip will remain the same colour until years later, you might find it difficult if you are a person who likes to experiment with different shades of lipstick.”
So how does the actual procedure work?
Havenga says it is not as complicated as it sounds.
“For an eyeliner procedure, I numb the eye for about 10 to 15 minutes first. Then with a tattoo pen that vibrates and has three needles, I draw a line above the lash line without any ink.
“Then when the skin is open I put on another type of topical anesthetic used for open skin. I usually wait for about five minutes then I go in with the ink, mainly black or brown, depending on the client’s specifications. I use the same procedure for lips and eyebrows. With the lips, you of course get to choose the shade of colour that you would like,” Havenga says.
When it comes to the healing process, Havenga says it depends on the pro- cedure you have undergone. “The healing process with eyebrows is about a week. Eyeliner takes about three to four days but lips are tougher to heal and can take up to three to four weeks to heal completely.”
Just like any other procedure, there are risks involved. Havenga says there are a lot of things that can go wrong.
“For example, a skin problem like high pigmentation could erupt if I make a mistake. The person could land up with pigmentation problems where she never had any. Another risk could be that the eyeliner line could be badly affected if the tattoo gun could slip or the client moves unexpectedly and the ink goes into her eye, it could cause a cornea abrasion. ”
With the scary part over, Havenga says there are a lot of benefits to having permanent make-up.
“Your eyeliner never run, which is a big problem for most women. Last but not least, you go to bed looking amazing and you wake up looking amazing.”
How much does permanent make-up cost?
“The cost for each procedure depends on the place you get it done, but eyebrows usually go for R900, eyeliner are within the R750 range, and R1 800 to R2 000 for a lip tint or permanent lipstick.”