On point...

Gurnaaz Kaur

Women and their love for make-up is known; it’s a relationship that has lasted for centuries. There is a new option every few days to enhance your beauty and look your flawless best. Adding to this enchanting world of make-up is the trend of semi-permanent make-up. Open your Instagram and your feed will be inundated with hashtags such as #semipermanentmakeup, #permanentmakeup and #micropigmentation. 

But what is it all about? “Every woman loves to look beautiful. Just like you would wear your perfect outfit, you would also want make sure your eyebrows and lips and other facial features look as stunning. But the truth is not everyone is blessed with perfectly arched eyebrows or flattering rosy lips. So, they can now opt for this technique where we artists use pigments to create natural-looking brows, fuller lips and defined eyes,” explains Sakshi Behal, a permanent make-up (PMU) artist, who works by appointment at the Immortal Tatoos in Sector 26. Having trained in Germany, this certified PMU artist performs microbladding (individually tattooed eyebrow hairs), lash lifting, permanent eyeliner and lip contouring.

Saving time

Permanent makeup, semi-permanent make-up, micro-pigmentation, cosmetic tattooing, these are all names for the same technique, which help put pigment into the papillary layer of the skin.  Beauty correction is not the only reason why people are opting for semi-permanent make-up; they like to save their time in front of the mirror, pencilling and powdering only to do the retouch every few hours. 

And, what more, it lasts anywhere between eight months to two years, depending on the skin type! “We started SPMU in 2017 as many of our clients would ask for permanent fixes. They like the idea of looking beautiful 24x7, even when they are swimming or at the gym. Eyebrows, lips, eyeliners are what we do and it takes a minimum of three-four hours, and the results last for about two years with a touch up done once in six to eight months generally,” shares beauty expert Vandana Luthra, the founder of VLCC.

Organic pigments

While imperceptible lip colour starts to give the illusion of a fuller pout, eyebrows have no gaps, eyes get the drama with liner and lashes look all curled up, it is eventually inserting ink into your skin, which literally means getting a tattoo! What is different about this one then? “Tattooing lasts for years but this one fades over time, giving you the independence of altering the colour and shape every 18-24 months and thus being in-tune with the latest make-up trends. Another important difference is that it is less invasive, even lesser than botox. It only penetrates till the middle layer of your skin. Lastly, the colours used are organic pigments specially made for face,” explains Sakshi.

Word of caution

Surprisingly, it may be trending as SPMU today but it has been there long before. Dermatologists have been practicing it as micro-pigmentation for years. “With this procedure, a trained doctor or specialist can inject iron-oxide pigment into the middle layer of your skin (the dermis) for results that last longer. I treat injury or post–acne scars, vitiligo, areas of hair loss (scalp micro-pigmentation (SMP), which creates the illusion of fuller hair, etc,” tells Dr Vikas Sharma, a dermatologist.

He also explains about the downside of this treatment and says it is not for everyone. “It is mostly safe if the pigments are of good quality and the equipment sterilised.  But there are some adverse effects one has to watch out for, which are allergic reactions, urticaria and angioedema. So, to avoid any of these conditions, we do a patch test and wait for 48 hours. If the patient feels no itching or redness, he is good to get it done.”

gurnaaz@tribunemail.com