Permanent makeup, or cosmetic tattooing of the eyelids, eyebrows and lips has exploded in popularity in the nineties. More and more women, and some men, want to “Wake Up with Makeup”. The most common reasons women seek permanent makeup are for convenience, difficulty applying conventional makeup, allergies to makeup, visual impairment, arthritis, active outdoor lifestyles or demanding work schedules. Few want to look like Cleopatra… rather they want to look like themselves - only better. Camouflage helps many with unsightly scars and vitiligo and requires advanced training. Permanent makeup can give back what the years have taken away and save time and money for women who ordinarily spend 30-60 minutes every day applying makeup, only to have it smudge, smear and disappear with time.
The critical difference between traditional tattooing and cosmetic tattooing (micropigmentation) is the location of the tattoo. Special safety considerations need to be taken when working near the eye for eyeliner. Unlike traditional tattooing, control of pain, swelling and bleeding is vital for the successful practice of permanent makeup. Clients are not uncommonly baby-boomers and their mothers who may suffer from a variety of common and rare medical problems such as high blood pressure and multiple sclerosis. Others have a history of herpes simplex (lips) or other conditions which the practitioner must take into consideration prior to performing the procedure. Pregnancy and clients taking blood thinner medication are absolute contraindications for cosmetic tattooing.
The variation in skin thickness, elasticity and color on the face presents special challenges for the dermatechnician. Traditional black tattoo inks are not flattering when used on eyebrows due to the grey-blue hues that result as time passes. Streaking or migration of pigments and inks used around the eyes for eyeliner often needs laser or surgical removal. Lipcolors may “pull blue” even in the hands of experienced practitioners. A thorough understanding of color is needed to achieve the desired result in permanent makeup. Mixtures of pigments may look good in the bottle but result in bizarre brow and lipcolors when healed.

Posted on September 2nd, 2008 by admin
Filed under: Cosmetic tattooing | No Comments »

With all these small holes being made in the skin, some bleeding is quite natural and should be expected. If it is overly excessive, double check the needle depth and check the needle points. Try a slower power on the machine. Bleeding would be called excessive when it drips down the arm or when an area is finished and the only thing that can be seen when the tattoo is wiped off is blood.
As sections of the tattoo are completed and wiped, a thin coat of Vaseline might help the situation. Occasionally, carefully wipe away the bottom of the tube tip where excess ink and Vaseline tends to accumulate. Some customers bleed a lot regardless of how well the machine is tuned. Some body parts tend to bleed more than other parts due to differences in skin texture. Bleeding must be accepted and do the best possible job, wiping a lot.
To shade properly, make sure the bridge is set and stable (consult Chapter on Holding Machines) as should be always done. With the machine running, set the needles down gently in the skin along the outline. All four or six needles should be in line with skin surface at all times. No one side should be any deeper than the other side. With the machine running and the needles riding against the outline, make sure the tip of the tube is touching the skin before starting. Right at this point, the machine is swept away from you with a flick type wrist motion. This sweeping motion brings the needles up and away from the skin.
When this happens, the needles go from full depth in the skin to gradually getting shallower and finally out of the skin at the end of the motion. Hence, when at full depth, full strength black is inserted and while the needles are swept away, the black ink gets toward the surface of the skin and creates grey tones. That beautiful effect is called feathering or shading. If the shading is to be light, the sweeping motion should be quicker paced. Don’t let the machine dwell on the outline for any length of time. If it is to be dark, a slower motion is needed. How much shading is achieved or the quality of feathering is determined by the speed of the sweep and the angle of the machine which is being “whipped” out of the skin. It does require a certain feel or touch, and many hours of practice are needed to fully acquaint oneself with the results that are desired.

Posted on September 1st, 2008 by admin
Filed under: Outlining | No Comments »

Tattoo lettering is varied and endless in its styles. After you have a few traditional alphabets under control, you can experiment and create your own designs. Certain styles are more suited to personal tastes than others. You can get quite fancy if it is practiced first on paper. With practice, anything is possible, even slick looking Old English style.

Personalized letters are great trademarks, and eventually everyone will letter differently, even when doing the same alphabet. A few different alphabets are illustrated above to give you some examples and stimulate your imagination.

When actually tattooing names and letters, on the skin. You will still need some sort of guidelines on the skin. Very few people tattoo without them and get satisfactory results. The guidelines are drawn on the skin with a skin type marker or a fine line ink pen.

These lines are not to be tattooed in, but used just as a guide for the letters. Later they will be wiped off to leave just the letters in perfect height. Do not guess with the spacing of letters, they rarely come out right. Always remember the sign “plan ahead.”

Remember that spacing isn’t always a mechanical measurement between each letter but a flowing style of placing letters together which look correct to the eye.
When tattooing letters that are inside of banners, be sure to tattoo on the letters first and then the banner second. This is done so that if the banner has to be adjusted at the last second, it could be.

Posted on September 1st, 2008 by admin
Filed under: Lettering | No Comments »

There is a different way to adhere the transfer to the skin with acetate stencils. Before going into this though, there is one more method of cutting an acetate stencil other than with the stencil cutter. This way is using an electric engraver or electric stencil cutter. This really lightens the pressure on the hands and it saves time. The only drawback is it must be engraved on a thick sheet of plate glass (or light table). If engraved on a board or desk, the grooves seem to flatten out and distort. The thick glass (at least one-half inch thick) keeps the grooves in the acetate sheet sharp and clean, making a good print on the skin.
The method of transfer in using an acetate stencil involves the use of stencil powder and vaseline. There are several kinds of stencil powder available but be advised that “willow charcoal” is not the best, and be sure you get a professional grade of black stencil powder from a reputable dealer. Take the stencil with the groove side up then shake a little powder on it. Rub it in with your finger. Hold it over a basket (this stuff can get messy) and give it a good flick with your fingers. Sometimes a slight wiping with a towel also may clean it up. This step is to ensure all the excess is removed and just enough powder is left to fill the grooves. The stencil is now prepared for transfer. This next step should actually be done first before powdering the stencil because your hands are now all dirty. Wash and scrub them up. Vaseline comes in two varieties. White and carbolated (yellow). The kind to use is the carbolated kind because it is more sticky. After shaving and preparing the skin, smear a thin layer of carbolated vaseline around the area. The most common mistake here is to smear on too much.
It should be just enough to make the skin glisten and any more will smudge the image. Center the stencil and put it on the prepared spot. Keep it pressed in there and work it in with your fingers, rubbing it in on all areas. The next trick is to quickly zing it away from the skin. Don’t pull it off slowly. A fine clean tattoo design should be left. If it doesn’t look too great, just wash it off and try again. This should not be on one of your customers, but on yourself. It should be perfect the first time for the client, and once again, lots of practice on yourself will perfect the technique. Only when you can transfer a design perfect every time are you ready for any kind of professional tattooing.

Posted on September 1st, 2008 by admin
Filed under: The Stencil | No Comments »

One of the most popular ways of tattoo designs transfer is with the acetate stencil. Acetate sheeting is acquired through your tattoo supplier in rolls or sheets which measure in approximately .020 inch thickness. The most practical way is in rolled sheets that you cut to size yourself. The curl in the sheeting is easily removed by running under hot water after it has been cut down to size. The hot water softens it up and allows it to be flattened out.

How to do an acetate stencil.

Materials needed: A design, acetate sheet to cover design and a stencil cutter. First the design is taped or secured to a drawing board or sheet of glass and the acetate sheet (already cut to size), placed over it. Both are secured to keep from moving and the plastic sheet should be about one inch bigger around than the design. The stencil cutter is a pen-type holder which grasps a sturdy stainless steel scribe pin. You then follow the lines of the design with the stencil cutter engraving the lines of the design right into the acetate. Work slowly and get your lines smooth. Don’t include any shading. When done, the acetate should have the lines of the design etched right into it like little grooves. It isn’t necessary to cut your way all the way through the other side, just a solid groove is good enough. The stencil must then be deburred. To do this, take another piece of acetate about one square inch in size and hold it upright with your fingers so the piece is vertical and the stencil is horizontal. The idea here is to rub the stencil back and forth with the edge of the other piece of acetate.
This scraping will take the little burrs out of the stencil, making the transfer come out cleaner and sharper. When this is done, remove the acetate stencil from the table and round off the corners with a pair of scissors, so there are no sharp edges. The acetate stencil is now complete. One great advantage to this style of stencil is if you want a reverse image, just flip over the stencil and etch the image on the other side, creating two stencils, one on each side, of the same design. Number each stencil according to the design sheet and put your name on it. Another advantage is their shelf life. They last quite a long time and can be used over and over again. Clean them up and file them away for the next person wanting that design. Since they take longer to prepare, the beginner should stick to the pencil or ink method of transfer at first, slowly building up the collection of acetate stencils. It saves a lot of time to have acetate stencils cut with your most popular designs on them first, so they don’t have to be repeatedly drawn over and over when you are real busy.

Posted on September 1st, 2008 by admin
Filed under: The Stencil | No Comments »

After your client has chosen a design tattoo and you have come to terms, accept the payment and fill him/her out a receipt. Have them sign a disclaimer (explained in a later chapter). Wash your hands using a good grade hospital approved soap (tincture of green soap, betadine) and a brush. Scrub, don’t just wash, up to the elbows paying close attention to the nails and skin folds at the finger joints, etc. Rinse under running water. Put on your latex gloves, proceed to the work area and assemble your machines. Place the assembled machines in a tube rack that contains a solution of Benz-all until needed.

PREPARING THE CLIENT
Pour a small sterile basin (1 qt.) about 1/2 full of sterile, distilled water (HOH). Remember to keep the inside of the cap pointing up when you remove it from the bottle. Recap the bottle and place it out of the way. Assemble what equipment will be used for the tattoo and replace the table cover over the remaiivmg.
Remove 12 4″x4″ gauze pads from a 2 qt. sterile, covered stainless can with a pair of pick up forceps (set in about 2″ of Benz-all) and place them on the table. These pads can be prepackaged in Kraft paper or a sealed plastic bag and autoclaved. Fold 2 4×4’s as shown in figure 3 and hold them as shown in figure 4 to form a scrubber.

Posted on September 1st, 2008 by admin
Filed under: Sterile Techniques | No Comments »

The Work Area
The area where the actual tattooing is done has to be considered the “STERILE ZONE,” so never allow clients’ friends or onlookers beyond this obvious point. The decking should be covered with an elite grade of inlaid linoleum that does not have to be waxed. Wax and carpet in this area are forbidden, as bacteria thrive on and in both surfaces.
The worktable top should be covered with formica or high grade, non-porous Micarta, colored white. White shows dirt, dust, blood, ink, etc., more readily and sure looks good. A cover for the table and its contents can be made from a clear plastic or white #70 Denier nylon, coated with Scotchgard. This cover will protect the area from dust and dirt when not in use, and that area of the table that is not used when tattooing is in progress.

When you open the shop, put on a plastic apron and a good grade of commercial rubber gloves. Prepare a solution of Sodium hypochlorite 5.25% (1/4 cup of bleach to 1 gallon of water), and wipe down the table and chairs. Use the same solution on the floors, and re-cover your table. 70% alcohol is excellent to wipe down the table with, but it is also flammable. One may want to weigh its advantages against this disadvantage.
The work area should be well lighted at all times, even when you are closed, as bacteria like the dark. Utilize an air conditioner and a ceiling fan to not only cool, but dry the air and keep it circulating. Hot, dark spaces invite bacterial growth; a humid, stagnant area also adds molds and fungi.

The Tattooist
As we well know, bacteria love hair and the subaceous glands that lubricate it. If you wear a beard, it should be cropped short and your hair arranged in such a manner as not to compromise sterility. If you think it’s clean, have your doctor culture it for you. The results will shock you.
Keep your nails clean and cut short. They should be free of hangnails that can cut and puncture surgical gloves. Wear clean clothes and be fully clothed, e.g., shoes, pants, shirt. No rings or watches should be worn. The wearing of latex gloves (or vinyl) is MANDATORY while you are tattooing. A lap cloth of a disposable type is a good idea, as it should be changed between clients. If you have a skin disorder, such as an eczema on your hands, you are not to tattoo until it is resolved.

Posted on September 1st, 2008 by admin
Filed under: Sterile Techniques | No Comments »

In the year 1650, a doctor named Lewanouke opened up the gates to a whole new world as he viewed a drop of pond water through his latest discovery… a microscope. As crude as this monocular magnifying device was, it introduced him and his “little animals” to the rest of the world. He spent his remaining years studying and classifying these “little animals” and earned the title of “The Father of Bacteriology”. Through the years as the listing grew in numbers, these “little animals” were divided into Genus, Order, Family and Species. Their association with disease and disease processes was not suspected for many years after their existence became known.
Dr. Joseph Lister, an English surgeon, developed a device he called the “Lister lamp”. When lit, it put a mist of carbolic acid into the air that he believed would control infections. At this particular time, this is where they believed infections came from, the air. Diseases, so named, bare this point to be true, e.g., malaria: “mal-” meaning bad, and “aria” meaning air.
Dr. Lister had these lamps in his office and he required them in any operating room suite where he performed surgery. In addition to his lamp, he employed strict hand-scrubbing techniques, spotless linens, and cleansing of the operation site. Infection in Dr. Lister’s patients was reduced considerably if his precautions were strictly adhered to. He became known as “The Father of Antiseptic Surgery”.
Mankind is plagued today by some 400 diseases, 375 of which can be transmitted by a tattoo needle. Does that sound fantastic? Well, I should say it does, especially when that came from a newspaper article back in 1958.
You see, we’ve known about the problem for years, and it’s about time that we, as professionals, put infections and disease out the back door of the tattoo studio where they belong.

With the above thought in mind, this writer will lead the horse to water. We will cover just a few of the more common organisms that we confront every day in the tattoo shop. Most of these organisms have a particular place on the body where they are more prevalent than others, but as we all know, 1.) bacteria do not read the books, and 2.) add two scratching hands, and we can grossly re-arrange that pattern.

Most bacteria live on hair follicles, the superficial layers of skin and in the sebaceous glands. Most, but not all sebaceous glands have hair follicles associated with them (see figure 1). Many pack themselves into the ruts and cracks of the cornified or surface layers of the skin.

Posted on August 20th, 2008 by admin
Filed under: Sterilization | No Comments »

Don’t tattoo below the wrist, on the hands or fingers. If you wonder where to stop, don’t go within inch of the first wrinkle you make when you bend your wrist, on the top and bottom of the wrist. Tattooing over the wrist bone is fairly tender. If possible, pull the skin to one side, off the bone. Your needles shouldn’t be set so deep that they go clear to the bone. Your nerves are wrapped around the bone and it can get fairly painful for your customer before you are through.
Don’t tattoo below the ankle bone, or on it if you can get out of it. The ankle is also a lively spot. For some people, it is next to impossible to hold still for a tattoo in this area. A better place is just above and slightly ahead of the ankle bone, on the outside where it’s more meaty. If someone wants it on their ankle, on the inside, the area slightly behind the large bone is a good spot. Again, don’t go near the foot. Stay on the side of the first wrinkle when you bend your foot. The reason you don’t want to tattoo below the wrist or on the hands is because the skin is too loose and stretches easily. It gets put in grease, dirt, garbage, dishwater, pockets and everything else You can think of. As a result, it leaves a tattoo in this area very susceptible to infection, which you don’t want anywhere near your work. You don’t need that kind of headache.
Don’t tattoo on or near the feet because they are near the ground and can get infected more easily. Also, it seems that tattoos which are lower to the ground take longer to heal and give customers more grief during the healing period.
Don’t tattoo above the collarbone, or on the neck or face. Besides being a poor choice of locations, it is very painful there.

Posted on August 20th, 2008 by admin
Filed under: Skin | No Comments »

Depending on where the tattoo is located, (some on the left side, some on the right) and what the tattoo looks like, you may need two stencils of the same design. On acetate, just engrave both sides, having both a left and right image. Before randomly applying a stencil, give it a couple of turns and try different directions to see which way the design would look its best. Try to be a little artistic and spend a little time shuffling the stencil around.
Skin has wrinkles, scars, stretch marks, lumps, cysts and all kinds of surprises in store for you. Stay away from all the problem areas and work around them if you can. Don’t tattoo moles. Avoid working on heavy scar tissue because it doesn’t heal well. The same for pimples and hickeys. Try to incorporate these blemishes into the design whenever possible. You can actually get quite creative here if you wish. For example, in a butterfly or leopard, a mole can sometimes be hidden as one of the spots.

Parts such as fingers, hands, faces, heads, necks and feet are poor places for a tattoo. Besides being culturally unacceptable, these places are most prone to infection anyway and should be avoided. Even if a customer begs you, make up your ethics beforehand and don’t get talked into doing these things.

Posted on August 20th, 2008 by admin
Filed under: Skin | No Comments »