Pain is the greatest matter of concern when it comes to any invasive procedure. In fact, for many people, it is the only thing holding them back from getting cosmetic procedures such as permanent makeup.
The good news is that the makeup industry has taken notice. Along with various methods to make permanent makeup safer and more natural, the industry has also come up with ways to minimize pain and discomfort.
The level of pain also fluctuates with the person experiencing it. Some remain so unbothered during the procedure that they fall asleep. Others claim to feel slight discomfort. There’s only a small percentage of people who feel pain during the process, and there are ways to eliminate that too.
What is Permanent Makeup?
Permanent makeup has been around for centuries. However, it is only recently that its practices and techniques have been perfected thanks to the advancements in medical research and technology. Permanent makeup can now help us keep up with the latest beauty trends and attain features that we weren’t born with, or lost due to aging or bad lifestyle choices.
While the techniques and the tools differ, every type of permanent makeup works the same way. Micro-sized needles or blades are used to inject pigment just under the surface of the skin. Some of the most popular permanent makeup include powder bows, lip blush, and permanent eyeliner.
Is Permanent Makeup Painful?
Absolutely not! Here at The Brow Babes, we use medical-grade numbing (a mixture of 20-20-10 BLT benzocaine lidocaine & tetracaine) to ensure our clients feel no pain. We also use a secondary numbing of lidocaine & epinephrine to keep any discomfort at bay while working.
It’s also to be noted that everyone reacts differently to pain. People with an amazing capacity for pain tolerance are likely not going to feel a thing. In fact, many clients often fall asleep during permanent makeup procedures.
The area of your body that is being worked on will also affect how much pain you experience. Since some parts are more sensitive to pain than others. Here’s what to expect from different types of permanent makeup procedures:
Permanent Eyeliner
It might come as a surprise but permanent eyeliner isn’t a painful permanent makeup procedure at all.
During this treatment, pigment is injected into the lids, right above the lash line. Since it is a very sensitive area, an experienced makeup artist will bear no expense applying a numbing cream to ensure clients don’t feel a thing.
From our experience, most of our clients say it feels like plucking hair or like a tingling sensation of a slight burn. This sensation lasts for less than 5 minutes and afterward, you will feel mostly nothing. One can also always ask the artist to re-apply the numbing cream if the treated area starts to feel uncomfortable.
Permanent Lip blush
This procedure is a tad more uncomfortable than permanent eyeliner. As it is hard to numb unopen skin the only time a client is likely to feel any pain is during the lip outline. However, once the outline is done the artist will gently graze over the lip and reapply numbing cream. After this, the client shouldn’t feel anything at all until the procedure is done.
The most discomfort is felt after a permanent lip blush procedure as the numbing wears off. Most people describe the discomfort as a slight sunburn. However, this is nothing you can’t handle if it means years’ worth of never doing your brows, eyeliner, or lips!
A permanent lip blush procedure allows you to walk around without having to apply any lip stain. It gives your lips this natural color and makes you look fresh and ready all the time! Not every technician can perform this treatment. It requires years of experience and a steady and light hand to perform it precisely and pain-free.
Permanent Eyebrows
Permanent eyebrows, which include microblading and powder brows are the least painful of the three. Nonetheless, professional makeup artists still use numbing cream to ensure clients feel no discomfort.
How to Ensure a Painless Treatment?
Although cosmetic procedures can be uncomfortable, there are a few gaffes that can cause unnecessary pain. To avoid the discomfort that you shouldn’t feel in the first place, here’s what you can do:
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Stay Away from Cheap Deals
If there’s a permanent makeup deal that sounds too good to be true, it probably is. These salons cut costs wherever they can and as such can afford such killer deals. One of the biggest savings is made on the numbing cream.
Cheap deals might also be offered by an unqualified or inexperienced artist that lacks the training and experience required to do up these procedures perfectly. Lack of cleanliness, sterilization, and proper tools can further ruin the experience and can even lead to infection.
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Discuss Anesthetics During Consultation
What’s the worst thing your makeup artist can say shortly before the procedure? We don’t use anesthesia. Make no mistake, permanent makeup is painful without any numbing cream or anesthesia. Unless you have very high pain tolerance, make sure you discuss the pain aspect during consultation. If they don’t use anything to dull the pain, we suggest walking out.
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Take Precautions Before your Appointment
While you can’t do anything on your own to minimize the pain, you can ensure you don’t maximize it. Some day-to-day activities can cause our skin to become sensitive and sore, making the procedure more painful than it is. Here are some precautions that are recommended before your permanent makeup procedure.
- Stop using retinol and retinoids in any form, at least a month before the procedure. This includes serums, tretinoin cream, adapalene, etc.
- Do not consume caffeine or alcohol on the day of your appointment.
- Sunbathing and tanning make your skin super sensitive. Prevent from doing either for up to two weeks before the procedure.
- Don’t wax or pluck for a week before the appointment.
- Stop all kinds of facial treatments a few weeks before the procedure. This means no acid peels, no hydra facial, etc.
For the Best Experience – Find a Professional Permanent Makeup Artist/Studio
Your permanent makeup experience can be as smooth or as horrible as the choice of your makeup artist. A trained, professional, and experienced artist would give top priority to your comfort. You’d be pampered and prepped and treated like royalty in a reputed salon. Every measure will be taken to reduce the pain and eradicate any negligence that can lead to side effects.
You should only feel slight discomfort during your procedure, which will be worth it because the benefits outweigh the risks. If you are in search of reputed permanent makeup artists in Louisville, KY, look no further. At The Brow Babes, we lead the market by staying proactive. We use only the most top-notch tools, high-end products, and the latest and most advanced techniques in the industry. We make sure that you are comfortable and pain-free during the treatment and deliver flawless results. Book an appointment with one of our experts today!