Lori Milliron’s cosmetic bag is much lighter these days. In fact, it’s almost empty.
Even so, she jumps out of bed each morning with a face that’s ready to greet the world. Her lips are lightly colored and her lashes are lush and dark against a backdrop of eyeliner.
The 25-year-old York County, Va., resident looks this way 24 hours a day, seven days a week, because she wears permanent makeup.
“Being in the business, appearance is everything,” says Milliron, who sells Redken’s hair products for Columbia Beauty Supply. “It’s great because I’m always ready to go, and I don’t have to worry about my lipstick coming off.”
Permanent makeup lasts two to four years, or longer, depending on how you care for your skin. Anti-aging creams, sunlight and facial peels can shorten the effect.
“Skin on the face changes faster than the rest of the body,” says registered nurse Laraine Housh, who does permanent makeup procedures and treated herself to the luxury of permanent eyeliner.
“The makeup fades in six to eight weeks, but then stabilizes and can last 10 years.”
The long-lasting makeup is applied like a tattoo, except pigmentation–not dye–is used to achieve the desired color. A hand-held motor guides a cluster of five small needles as they pierce skin tissue and implant color. Depending on where you have your makeup done, a topical numbing cream or local anesthesia is used to dull the mild pain.
In addition to giving you ready-to-go lips and eyes, permanent makeup can camouflage scars, make beauty marks, enhance light or disappearing eyebrows or create the nipple and areola area of the breast after a mastectomy or breast reduction. Prices start at $250.
Depending on where you have permanent makeup done, each procedure takes two to three steps. Milliron’s lips were done in two sessions, but she returned a third time to darken the eyeliner on her upper lid. Each procedure takes about an hour.
Makeup matters
Skin-care specialists say you should consider these tips before getting permanent makeup:
– The technician should have training from an accredited school, but standards vary and there is no central oversight or licensing.
– Avoid using brown around your eyes. It fades to pink and draws attention to the natural redness in your eyes.
– Sunlight, anti-aging creams and facial peels affect color retention. Follow your technician’s instructions.
– Ask for names of others who have had the procedure and call them.
– If you suffer from herpes fever blisters, cold sores or mouth blisters and want permanent makeup on your lips, you need to get a prescription for a herpes-control medication such as Zovirax a week before the procedure.
– Make sure the technician follows sanitation and safety procedures, wearing gloves and using disposable needles and an applicator tip.
For more information, contact:
– American Institute of Permanent Color Technology (www.aipct.com).
– American Academy of Micropigmentation online at www.micropigmentation.org.
