Permanent V’s Semi permanent

This issue is a rather contentious issue that has caused confusion both the client and the practitioner  The issue has been highlighted by insurance companies as an important aspect surrounding insurance claims, as a small number of alleged they believe the treatment they were receiving to be semi-permanent and that it would disappear over a period of 3-5 yrs., returning the skin to normal.  The suggestion of semi-permanent is that the skin returns to its normal pre tattooed state and this is simply not the case.  The pigments used can leave a residue in the skin for a lifetime.  The only way to categorise semi-permanent make up would be to place the pigment into the epidermis, meaning the pigment would only remain for 4-6 weeks, as this is the time taken for the epidermal cell regeneration from basal to desquamation, dependant on the clients age to take place.

It is therefore recommended that practitioners inform their clients that permanent cosmetic enhancement is a form of tattooing and that a degree of colour will always be visible.  It is at this stage its sensible to infirm a degree of maintenance procedures are required on a 12-18-month basis in order to keep the enhancement at its best.

This should then clarify that permanent cosmetic enhancements is a PERMANENT procedure which fades over time.

However, there is an exception to this ruling, and that is lip procedures that are located  on true lip tissue and do not encroach on the vermillion boarder.  Lips have a different tissue structure to that of normal skin, with infused pigment usually being visible for 2 – 3 years.  The practitioner must be very careful when creating lip enhancements as pigment laced outside the vermillion border into the surrounding normal skin, may last for an indefinite period.  This usually occurs when correcting asymmetrical lips or making lips fuller.  Infused pigment placed in the true lip tissue will last for a lesser period of time and it will therefore be necessary to have repeated procedures to maintain the appearance of the enhancement.

Even though we refer to permanent cosmetics as tattooing, there are fundamental differences between the two.  Tattooing is performed using inks and dyes which are dissolved in a wetting agent, whereas pigments used in permanent cosmetics enchantments the pigments are suspended in the wetting agents.  It is not recommended to use inks and dyes in permanent cosmetics as they may migrate.  Implantation of inks and dyes into the skin is deeper in tattoo procedures and therefore the  tattoos do not fade to the degree of permanent cosmetics..  Fading is necessary in the later, as gravity causes the facial tissues to drop and the long term enhancements would not be flattering.