01/09/2024
Colour boosts/refresh/ top ups
Whilst chatting with one of my lovely long standing clients Lisa Guthrie during her recent colour boost appointment, we were discussing the reason behind why you need to keep coming back for (top ups / colour boosts/ refresh) for your permanent makeup (PMU) over conventional body tattoos where you tend to only have done the once. There is many different words used for permanent makeup such as micro-pigmentation, semi permanent makeup, micro blading, soft tap regardless of the method used, pigment is implanted into the skin and therefore is classed as a tattoo. With all tattoos whether it’s a body tattoo or PMU it will go through the same healing process. ❤️🩹
When initially implanted the colour will look more vibrant as it sits on the surface of the skin. When choosing the colour the PMU artist will be accessing your skin tone and most importantly the undertones of your skin, the reason being as once healed the pigment will settle in the top layer of your skin known as the dermis, hence the healed results will appear duller and more faded, depending on your skin tone it can give off different hues to the initial colour used, as it is now sitting under the top layer of skin. It’s a bit like painting if your canvas is white the colours will be pretty much the same once it dries but if your canvas is pink or brown the colours will be totally different. 🌈
The healing process goes through different stages, without boring you too much with the science behind this, I mainly want to focus on one part that is very relevant to why the colour fades. Once pigment has been implanted into the skin it doesn’t all stay exactly where it was put. Particles are known to travel or migrate over time, this can be locally, or particles can migrate through the lymphatic system. We have cells in our bodies called macrophages, these cells also known as scavenger cells search for bacteria and foreign substances in the body to destroy. Because these cells see the pigment as a foreign body they will try to break down and destroy the pigment. Depending on the colour of the pigment used some colours break down easier than others for example black known as carbon breaks down easier than white known as titanium dioxide. So when tattoo pigment is in the skin, part of the permanence of the pigment is down to the macrophage cells. The macrophage cell engulfs the pigment when implanted and stays there for the lifespan of the cell before being re-released and then re-engulfed by a new macrophage cell. Macrophage cells aim to move towards the lymphatic system, this plays a part in the fading of the tattoo as the years go on and also to the migration. You will notice this especially with old body tattoos that the definition is lost and line work gets thicker. These particles are being gradually broken smaller and pulled deeper into the layers of the skin where our cells are less compact and allow more movement. This leads me to the reasons why to keep your PMU looking fresh we recommend a colour boost. I personally don’t give my clients a time frame when to get a colour boost as everyone is different. Older skin which is thinner the colour lasts a lot longer than younger thicker skin, oily skin the colour fades a lot quicker than drier skin. Medication and autoimmune disease can be another factor to consider for the breakdown of pigment. Sun damage plays another massive part in the fading of your tattoo let’s face it the sun 🌞 can strip the paint off a car , bleach your hair and change the colour of your skin so it definitely will change the appearance of your tattoo especially if you do not use a good SPF 🧴
I felt the need to explain this as I often see other PMU artists, bringing down fellow technicians to make themselves look good and boost their own egos. This mainly happens with new artists due to their lack of knowledge and experience. It’s very unprofessional to see a post on social media where an artist has wrote “ not my work” “not initially done by me” “had to correct this bad work! “ when in actual fact they have only done a colour boost to refresh the appearance. All tattoos will fade its natures way.
I am very fortunate it doesn’t happen to me very often and I feel very blessed to have such lovely loyal clients who I look forward to seeing year in and year out. 🙏
Lisa’s before pictures was her PMU faded from 4 years ago and her colour boost immediately after. Also half way through showing the difference of one eye done to the other. Lisa sent me a photo a week since having it done you will see the difference already. The colour will change again once fully healed which takes around 8-12 weeks to fully settle.
Another nerdy fact I like to show my clients is the photo of the guys hand. He burnt it in a welding accident 😫 this shows the colour sitting under his skin is still as vibrant as when he had the tattoo done. It’s a great example to show the colour just appears to change as it migrates it becomes less visible to the eye therefore the deeper in the skin the colour changes
