Who’d have guessed it?" exclaim many of the thousands of women who have had their eyebrows, eyeliner or other permanent makeup done in the past 15 years.   "Who would have ever thought I would have a tattoo! This is the best thing I have ever done for myself.   I wish someone would have thought of this sooner!”   Thanks to the art of tattooing, many woman in all stages of life and even some men are having their eyebrows, eyeliner and lips colored permanently, and loving it!

The earliest evidence of tattooing dates back to the ice age.  While some cosmetic tattooing was done thousands of years ago, it really came into its own as an industry in the late l970’s.   At that time, various tattoo artists around the country began offering permanent makeup/cosmetic tattooing and reconstructive pigmentation. In the l980’s aestheticians, electrologists, nurses, and cosmetologists became interested in performing these procedures.

Training programs were established throughout the country and the industry has grown rapidly since then.   Tattooing, whether it be for decorating the body or applying permanent cosmetics, should be considered thoughtfully before going ahead with the permanent color work.

How safe is cosmetic tattooing? Very safe, according to the Center for Disease Control as there has not been any incidence of HIV attributable to tattooing nor has there been any increase of Hepatitis B in the last 10 years. When the tattoo or permanent cosmetic work is done under proper conditions, there is no opportunity for disease transmission. If the technician is using an autoclave on their instruments, not reusing needles and has a clean, sanitary environment, the chances of developing any type of communicable disease are remote if not impossible.

The media opened up the chances of allergic reactions. The chances of developing an allergic reaction to pigments are extremely remote.   Less than .l% in over 100,000 estimated permanent cosmetic procedures performed nationwide over the last 10 years resulted in an allergic reaction, according to Micropigmentation, State of the Art", by Charles S. Zwerling. M.D.

As is true on many issues in this industry, the question of MRI safety has been incorrectly reported.    According to Dr. Frank Shellock of Tower Imaging in Los Angeles, CA, a top expert in MRI safety, only a handful of people have reported minor problems around the eye area and no problems around the lip or brow area. In those rare instances when redness and edema in the eye area occurred, it did not cause any permanent damage. Test studies have confirmed that the "iron" particles in pigment are too microscopic to react as true metal pieces but rather are more accurately compared with "metals" which already exist microscopically in the body.

Choosing the right technician for you is the most important decision to make when deciding to have a procedure done.  Your first concern should be to find someone who follows proper sterilization procedures and works in a clean environment. Next decide by appearance and conversation if this is a person you can work with. Do pictures of their work make you feel comfortable with them?  Done properly, permanent make up should look as natural and sometimes better than makeup.

Today, hundreds of thousands of women have chosen to have permanent make up procedures done. Many, many times women have exclaimed, "This is the best thing I have ever done for myself!" 

So many people have done permanent make up you can often ask doctors and salons and even friends to find a good technician near you. If not, look them up on the Society of Permanent Cosmetic Professionals website www.spcp.org  They are a large not-for profit society dedicated to safety, ethics and education in the industry. The website can give you more information about what to look for in a technician.

 by Cheri Durbin