TATTOO TRUTHS

IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT BROW COLOUR SELECTION

Choosing the right pigment for your brows involves much more than simply selecting how light or dark you would like them to be. As cosmetic tattoo artists, there are several factors we need to consider before choosing a colour, including:

• Your natural brow hair colour
• Your skin type, texture and condition, including whether your skin is oily, dry or mature
• Any existing cosmetic tattoo and the colour it has healed or faded to
• Your desired healed result, together with our professional recommendation

FRESH BROWS WILL NOT LOOK LIKE HEALED BROWS

The colour you see immediately after your appointment will not be your healed result. Freshly tattooed brows will appear warmer/redder, darker and much more intense.

The redness you see immediately afterwards is largely due to the skin having just been tattooed and a wound being created. It does not mean we have tattooed your brows red. As the skin heals, this redness will gradually subside. Once the initial flaking/scabbing has finished, most redness will have disappeared, although some warmth can remain for several weeks while the skin completes its healing cycle.

Your true healed colour should not be assessed until approximately 4 to 6 weeks after your appointment.

WHY WE START LIGHTER

At your initial appointment, we will generally choose a pigment approximately 1 to 2 shades lighter than your natural brow hairs. This is intentional.

Every skin type accepts and heals pigment differently, and we need to ensure your tattoo does not heal too harsh, dark, cool or saturated. We would always prefer your brows to heal slightly too light after the first session than permanently too dark.

Starting conservatively also gives us much more flexibility at your 6 week touch up, where we can deepen or adjust the colour if your skin has healed well and it is appropriate to do so.

Going too dark too soon can create an obvious contrast between the tattoo and surrounding skin and, depending on the skin type and pigment used, may cause the brows to heal or age excessively cool, grey or blue. Once pigment is implanted into the skin, correcting an unsuitable colour can be extremely difficult, which is why we take colour selection so seriously.

YOUR SKIN TYPE MATTERS

Skin type plays a significant role in how cosmetic tattoo pigment heals. Pigment choice, technique, depth and pressure all need to be considered to achieve the best possible long term result.

Unfortunately, we cannot predict with absolute certainty how every individual will retain and heal pigment. This is one of the reasons your 6 week touch up is so important. It allows us to assess how your skin has responded before deciding whether the colour can safely be made darker or needs adjusting.

Some clients, particularly those with skin that is more difficult to implant or retain pigment in, may require more than one touch up to achieve their desired result.

COSMETIC TATTOO IS NOT MAKEUP

One of the most important things to understand is that healed cosmetic tattoo will never look as dark, saturated or pigmented as your everyday brow makeup.

Makeup sits on top of the skin, allowing it to appear bold and highly saturated. Cosmetic tattoo pigment sits within the skin, so the healed result is softer and more natural.

Cosmetic tattooing is designed to enhance your natural features and give your brows definition when you are not wearing makeup. It is not designed to permanently replicate the appearance of a dark brow pencil or pomade.

We will always listen to your goals and take into consideration what you do and don't like. However, please understand that colour selection cannot be based on preference alone. Our priority is not just how your brows look on the day of your appointment, but how they will heal and age in your skin long term.

As trained cosmetic tattoo artists, we use our experience and knowledge of pigment behaviour, skin type and healed results to recommend the safest and most suitable colour for you.

WE WILL STICK WITHIN YOUR NATURAL BROW SHAPE

Cosmetic tattooing is designed to enhance your natural brows, not create an entirely new shape. Tattooing too far outside of the natural hair growth can result in an obvious contrast once healed, where the tattoo sits separately from the brow hair rather than blending naturally.

For this reason, we will always work within your natural brow shape as much as possible. We may make small adjustments to correct noticeable asymmetry, however, even then there may be a slight difference between where your natural hair grows and where the tattoo sits.

One of the most common requests we receive is, “Can you create a new, lifted tail for me?” Unfortunately, the answer is always no. Often referred to as a “fox brow”, creating a new tail significantly outside of your natural hair growth can look very obviously tattooed once healed due to the contrast between the pigment and your natural brow hair.

There are limitations to how much we can alter your natural brow shape with cosmetic tattooing. As artists, our priority will always be creating a result that suits your face, natural brows and skin, while also ensuring the tattoo will age well over time.

If the shape you are wanting falls outside of what we believe can be safely and naturally achieved with cosmetic tattooing, we may refuse to tattoo outside of these boundaries.

YOU WANT US TO OVERDRAW YOUR LIPS? YOU’RE GONNA WANT TO READ THIS…

Much like brows, we stand by never tattooing outside of your natural lip border. While an overdrawn lip can look amazing with your everyday lip liner, permanently implanting pigment beyond the natural lip tissue is very different and can create unwanted healed results.

The skin surrounding your lips has a completely different texture to the lip tissue itself. It contains pores and natural oils, meaning pigment can heal differently, appear more blurred and create an obvious contrast between the tattooed skin and your natural lips. In some cases, this can leave a darker or more noticeable outline around the perimeter of the tattoo.

We will always stay within your natural lip border as much as possible. The only exception may be very minor adjustments to improve symmetry or areas where previous trauma or scarring has altered the natural lip line.

These boundaries are there to ensure your colour heals evenly, stays defined and looks natural, while reducing the risk of pigment migration, discolouration and an artificial-looking outline once healed.

Our goal is to enhance the lips you naturally have.

YOUR BROWS MAY NEVER BE 100% SYMMETRICAL - HERE’S WHY

Even with cosmetic tattooing, your brows may never be 100% perfectly symmetrical, and that’s completely normal. Our faces are three-dimensional and naturally have differences in bone structure, muscle movement, eye shape, brow position and hair growth.

One brow may naturally sit slightly higher, one arch may be more prominent, or the muscles around each eye may move differently when you smile, talk or make facial expressions.

During the mapping process, we will always aim to create the most balanced and proportionate result possible. If there is noticeable natural asymmetry, this may mean spending a little more time adjusting and perfecting the shape before we begin tattooing.

However, there are limitations to how much asymmetry can or should be corrected. Achieving perfect symmetry could sometimes mean removing a significant amount of natural brow hair or tattooing too far outside of your natural brow shape, neither of which we recommend.

Ultimately, we would much rather preserve your natural brow hair and create a beautifully balanced result than compromise the integrity of your brows in the pursuit of perfect symmetry.

WE’RE HERE TO TELL YOU WHY a 6 week touch up is worth it!

After your initial appointment, we will always encourage you to book a 6 week touch up. By this stage, your brow or lip tattoo has had time to fully heal and settle into the skin, allowing us to see how your skin has actually retained the pigment.

Your touch up gives us the opportunity to:

• Perfect any patchiness or uneven areas
• Adjust the colour if needed
• Add more pigment where required to improve longevity
• Assess how your skin has healed and retained the tattoo
• Make any final adjustments to achieve the best result possible for your skin

It’s important to remember that your initial appointment is only the first part of the process. Every client heals differently, and factors such as skin type, lifestyle, aftercare and natural pigment retention can all affect your healed result.

At your 6 week touch up, we’re no longer predicting how your tattoo might heal. We can see exactly how your skin has responded and make any adjustments from there.

Think of your first appointment as creating the foundation, and your 6 week touch up as perfecting the finished result.

YOUR SKIN WILL ULTIMATELY DETERMINE THE HEALED RESULT

As artists, we are in control of the shape, pigment and technique we choose, however, your skin ultimately determines how that pigment will heal.

We could use the exact same technique and pigment on two different clients and achieve completely different healed results. This is because factors such as your skin type, natural undertones, lifestyle, previous tattooing, medications, aftercare and pigment retention can all influence the final outcome.

This is also why we will always guide you towards the technique and colour we believe is best suited to your individual skin, rather than simply choosing based on preference.

For example, skin that is particularly sensitive, red or acne-prone may bleed more easily during tattooing. Excessive bleeding can interfere with pigment implantation and retention, meaning the tattoo may heal lighter, patchier or require more work at the touch up.

Your first appointment creates the foundation. Your touch up allows us to see how your skin has actually responded to the pigment and make any necessary adjustments from there.

Cosmetic tattooing is a process, and sometimes achieving the best result requires a little patience!

WE WILL ALWAYS PRIORITISE A LONG TERM RESULT RATHER THAN A CURRENT TREND - HERE’S WHY

During your consultation, there may be times when we have to say no to certain requests or ideas. This isn’t because something is too difficult or because we aren’t listening to what you want. It’s because cosmetic tattooing can’t be removed as easily as makeup can, and the decisions we make together need to look good not only today, but for years to come.

Trends change. The brow shape, colour or lip style that is popular right now may look completely different in a few years, whereas your natural features are unique to you. This is why we encourage our clients to choose a result that complements their face rather than trying to permanently recreate a current makeup trend.

If you are extremely particular about the way you draw your brows or overline your lips each day, cosmetic tattooing may not always be the right treatment for you, and that’s okay! There are limitations to what can be safely and successfully achieved with tattooing.

We will never perform a technique, shape or style that we believe will heal poorly, age badly or look unnatural over time. Doing so can result in unwanted pigment build-up or the need for laser removal much sooner than necessary.

Our responsibility as artists is to enhance your natural features while creating a result that is appropriate for your skin, your face and, most importantly, the long term.

COSMETIC TATTOO MAY NOT BE RIGHT FOR YOU IF…

We will always be 100% honest during your consultation. If you are extremely particular about your brows or lips and want complete control over exactly how they look every day, cosmetic tattooing may not be the right choice for you.

Unlike makeup, cosmetic tattooing is designed to remain in the skin for years. While we will always listen to your preferences and work with you to create a shape and colour that suits you, there are limitations to what can be achieved. Your healed result will also be influenced by your skin type, facial anatomy, natural features and how your body retains and heals the pigment.

If you love regularly changing your brow shape, experimenting with different colours, heavily overdrawing your lips or having the freedom to create a different look from day to day, traditional makeup may be better suited to you.

Cosmetic tattooing is designed to enhance what you naturally have and make your everyday routine easier, rather than permanently replicate a particular makeup look.

We would always rather be honest and recommend against a treatment than perform something we don’t believe will give you a beautiful, natural and long-lasting result.