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Cosmetic tattooing

CAMERA-READY: Cosmetic tattooing techniques have evolved to create natural-looking eyebrows

THIS PROCEDURE allows you to transform your face with lasting results. This technique can be used to enhance one's features but also for more serious reasons such as nipple reconstruction for women who have had breast cancer or semi-permanent eyebrows for anyone undergoing chemotherapy.

The Voice's Life & Style spoke to cosmetic tattoo artist Amanda Huynh, who has been in the beauty industry for the past 14 years and has been tattooing for over half a decade. Huynh originally trained with Nouveau Contour and has recently qualified with Princess Brows in micro-blading.

How it’s done

Tattooing involves a needle that penetrates the skin and pigment then being released into the hole. The same process has been used for hundreds of years to create designs on skin. However, in more recent years, greater attention has been focused on proper sterilisation techniques.

Micro-blading

Unlike a regular tattoo, micro-blading is a form of tattoo artistry where pigment is implanted under your skin with a manual handheld tool instead of a machine. Speaking to Amanda about this technique, she said:

“I draw hairlike strokes with the tool to mimic natural hairs in your brows to create a more prominent brow, which is especially good for those with very faint brows.”

What to expect

A patch test is done to find out if you are likely to have an allergic reaction to the pigment that will be used. A colour that best suits your complexion will be chosen. The technician then sketches the area to be tattooed with a sterile surgical pen. A topical anaesthetic gel is applied to the area. Using a hollow vibrating needle, the technician applies the pigment into the top layer of the skin. Each time the needle penetrates the skin a droplet of pigment is released into the hole made by the needle, which can cause a slight stinging sensation.

Benefits

We’ve all witnessed a few horror brows in our time, whether they are uneven, over plucked or even non-existent. Cosmetic tattooing will solve all of these problems.

“You can wake up with perfect brows - especially great for women on the go, who have no time to worry about drawing on brows in the morning,” said Amanda. She added:

“This technique means mimicking hair like strokes for a more natural result as apposed to thick, solid looking brows done the old way. Also creating an arched brow for some of my older clients lifts the face creating a more youthful appearance.”

Recovery

It takes about three weeks for the colour to fade to its permanent shade.

Cost

Cosmetic tattooing doesn’t come cheap but the overall results are worth the price tag. For micro-blade brows, prices start from £250 which normally includes a complementary top-up treatment within a 6-8 week timeframe, post initial treatment. Lips start from £300.

Medical tattooing

Whether you are coping with alopecia, cancer, surgical scarring, vitiligo or any other condition that has had an impact on your appearance, medical tattooing can help provide a solution.

Uses

• Restore the appearance of brows and lashes lost through alopecia, chemotherapy or other medical conditions

• Replicate the appearance of realistic looking areolae and create the illusion of nipple protrusion for clients who have had mastectomy and breast reconstruction surgery

• Reposition, recolour or reshape the overall appearance of nipples and areolae

• Lip shape correction for cleft lips

• Diffuse breast uplift or reduction scars

• Camouflage radiotherapy marks, areas of pigmentation loss, scars and burns.

For more information on cosmetic tattooing, email Amanda at info@amandahuynh.com or follow her on Instagram (@ah.brows).

Chantelle Kimberley Azille is the founder of Daisy Anai Skincare and is also a qualified beauty journalist and therapist.

Contact Chantelle Kimberley:

Instagram: @chantelle_kimberley @daisyanai
Twitter: @chantelle_k1m
Website: www.daisyanai.co.uk
Email: chantelle@daisyanai.co.uk

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