I’d like to hear about your experiences and opinions regarding permanent makeup; that is, tattooing to achieve permanent cosmetic effects. I’m very fair and have blonde, sparse eyebrows. I know I look better when I use an eyebrow pencil to fill them in and extend them, but it’s a pain in the ass and doesn’t always come out the way I want. Also, living in northeast Florida, my temporary eyebrow makeup doesn’t last long due to the heat. Most days, I don’t even bother with any makeup because of the heat. I have tattoos, so the process isn’t new to me. But permanent changes to facial features are something I want to be sure about before doing it. There’s a tattoo place nearby that offers permanent makeup, and on its website shows examples of their work and the eyebrows looked natural (my main concern). I’m also interested in getting permanent color on my lips.
My mom had it done. It looks great, and she’s been really happy with it.
A woman I dated back in January had permanent tattoos done to her lips and around her eyes. I never knew until she told me. It really looked great, and she loved it. Hell, if I was a woman, I’d do it too. Who wants to spend that much time every day putting your face on? You don’t get to change it, but if it’s some look you’ve been comfortable with for some time, it seems like it is the only way to go.
Mine kind of give up half way, and are fair too and I live in the tropics so I’d consider it, it really makes a difference and it’s hard to find a pencil that matches my shade - would the tattooist be able to do a decent match? I’ve seen some really unnatural looking ones which has put me off, but I’ve probably seen some good ones and not realized they were tattoos. I wouldn’t want to have to shave my real brows off as I’ve seen people do. Can you get them tattooed and still have your real brows in combo?
Bam Boo Gut: Tattooists have a lot of different colors and can mix them to get the right shade you want. Having said that, if you’ve never had a tattoo and don’t know any tattooists, be cautious – don’t go with the first tattoo artist you come across. Visit the shop, view the artist’s portfolio (they have examples of their work on display), and ask questions. Get recommendations from anyone you know who has tattoos. I’ve seen some unnatural ones also (in magazines) and that’s my concern. Thanks everyone for your thoughts – I feel more confident, now that I know it can be done. I’m going to check out the local tattoo place.
Well, I’ve not had any tatoos, but a female friend has done so, and she is very happy with the results. Every few years she gets a go-over just to make it look good. The one thing that she told me was to be sure and check out the place carefully, as she had an infection from the last one.
Heck, I wonder if they do hair removal for those eyebrow hairs that I’m growing? Currently I just get them cut when I get a haircut. At least the younger ladies ask if they can trim them for me - the older ones just go ahead and do it.
I am a guy.
A childhood friend’s mother does that for a living. She is really good at it from the looks of her portfolio. Permanent eyeliner would be nice to have, but oooOoOOO I’m too afraid to let anyone near my eye that way.
Let us know if you decide to do it and post pics!
Sycorax I would only have it done on recommendation and if I’ve seen the results on someone else, with similar colouring to me,
sunstone: it may not be practical depending on how many hairs you’re talking about, but most women, including me, simply pluck stray eyebrow hairs. You can buy tweezers for this purpose. I don’t find it painful, but maybe it would be different for men – if the hairs are thicker, maybe? My hubby has rather wild eyebrows that appear to me would be in his line of sight. I yearn to pluck them, but they don’t bother him, so I don’t push it. You might want to give it a try. Plucking gets the hair AND the root out, so a new hair doesn’t grow in so fast. Thanks again, everyone, for your advice. I procrastinate, so I may not do anything about it for weeks or months. If I finally take the chance, I’ll let you know how it comes out.
Probably my experience was way too long ago to be relevant, but I had “permanent” eyeliner tatooed in before I went to Air Force boot camp. I have absolutely no color in my lashes or brows and of course you can’t put on make-up in Basic, so I thought I’d try it. This was in 1990. I gotta say, good thing I’ve got a high pain tolerance. It worked, I guess, but she didn’t use a dark enough color, so I did not see much of a difference, and it did eventually fade completely.
Would I do it again? Possibly, but what about the effects of aging? To make my very small eyes show up at all, I have to use very black pencil, and I’m not sure how that would translate to a tattoo or how that would work out over time. A pencil, I can adjust. I should have had my eyebrows done instead. I think once you find the eyebrow style that works for you, it doesn’t really change.
My mother and sister have tattooed eyebrows. I thought their natural, unplucked eyebrows were fine. But, I’m a man so what do I know?
Personally, I prefer my women free of make up whether applied to the surface of the skin or underneath it.
ETA- I didn’t notice the tattoos until mom and sis told me about them. They look somewhere between pencilled on and natural eyebrows.