truecolors

I can't tell from the photos you posted, but I can tell you this--lip exercises won't work. And you shouldn't be in a position where you have to do 'lip exercises' in the first place. That's not what you paid for. Your surgeon already knows this, or if she doesn't, she should.

I had lip implants, and mine came out really nicely. When I had them done, the surgeon told me that I could have them replaced if I personally felt the implants should be larger. That implies that your surgeon could and should be able to readjust the implants that you have.

Speaking just for myself--if I were you, I would seek the opinion of another plastic surgeon who is experienced with doing lip implants. If he/she feels the implants are off-center or whatever, then he can write up his opinion, which you can then take back to your surgeon and ask to have it re-adjusted. This should be done without further cost to you for surgical readjustment.

I personally think that your surgeon is taking advantage of you because she thinks you won't know how to stand up for yourself. So surprise her. Stand up for yourself. Her recommendation that you do 'lip exercises' is total bull___. The exercises don't work, and it's NOT what you paid for in the first place. She should be ashamed of herself. Tell her I said so. And if she disagrees with me, contact me through this website and I can have at least three plastic surgeons tell her how wrong she is!

Dear Laura,
Not 'every' mistake can be erased. I've been told by more than one person (including laser physicians) that the tattooing on my lower lashes cannot be removed because of the risks involved. And I've spent over $2000 to date trying to have my eyebrow tattoos erased but they STILL aren't gone--they sit 'way too high on my face and make me look harsh and arrogant. I just hate the way my eyebrow tattoos look.

Dear Kate,
I had the same experience with the lips--the color faded quickly--and I'm middle age. I won't waste money having it done again.
Regarding the eyelids? I, unfortunately, was referred (by a cosmetic surgeon, no less--and to think I trusted her!) to a minimal-skill permanent makeup artist who did a hideous job on my eyebrows. To date I've spent over $2000 trying to get the tattooed eyebrows removed but the discoloration still remains. Regarding the permanent eyeliner? I now see a competent permanent makeup artist who also removes badly-done tattooing. Unfortunately, the thick line of tattooed-on eyeliner that's under my eye cannot be removed. Even physicians who specialize in laser removal will not remove lower lid liner because of the risks involved, so now I'm stuck with unflattering thick black lines on my lower lid. If you find a permanent makeup artist who's really skilled, then permanent eyeliner is great. But the majority of permanent makeup artists have minimal skills and use pre-shaped stencil kits for the eyebrows that don't even line up with your real eyebrows, as happened with me. The results NEVER look natural.
WHAT'S MORE,the pigments in the cheap dyes they use change color on your face in just 2 or 3 years. My eyebrows turned orange, and I've seen photos of women whose eyebrows turned blue-green! I urge all women to be VERY cautious about permanent makeup, lest they end up paying the $1,000s I"ve had to pay to (partially) repair the damage.

Hi Yan Yan,

Thanks for your question. To answer: 1. It was not an accident. The tattooist used a cheap 3-stencil kit on all her patients. If the doctor didn't realize this, she should have given that she was referring patients to this tattooist. 2. The doctor either didn't have enough 'face-sense' to recognize a bad job when she saw one, or she didn't care. However, ANY plastic or cosmetic surgeon who works on cosmetic improvement of the shape should have SOME knowledge of the art of shaping a good brow. Gees, you need only to go into Macy's or Lord and Taylors and any of the makeup sellers can skillfully shape a brow for you.

What happened in my case is that the cosmetic surgeon, whom I'll call Dr. M., who referred me to this tatooist (whom I'll call 'V.') had a financial arrangement with V, which means that the tattooist worked out of Dr. M's office made a % profit off any work the tattooist did. So it was basically just a financial agreement between the 2 of them, something I hadn't understood at the time. It had nothing to do with the tattooist's skill. Another thing that misled me was that V. was listed in the yellow pages as being 'medically certified,' which gives the false impression that she is 'skilled' at her work when, in truth, all it means is that V was trained in proper sterilization procedures to reduce the risk of infection. HOWEVER, my eyebrows looked so obviously horrid after I had them done that, as the #1 rated plastic surgeon in NJ told me when I sought him out for a consultation on my bad eye work, "You don't need to be a plastic surgeon to tell how bad the eyebrows look--anybody could tell you that."case.

SO REGARDING YOUR QUESTION, YAN YAN, WHICH WAS: "Is that an accident or your doctor doesn't really know how to put eye brow tattoos?" IT wasn't an accident on V's part because I specifically asked her her professional opinion on the temporary eyebrow shapes she drew in first, and V said "In my professional opinion they look very soft and feminine and lovely,' which HAD to be a LIE coming from someone who should know SUMP'N about attractive brow shapes for each individual face.

Regarding the surgeon? Who CONTINUED to refer patients to V. even after she saw the HIDEOUS results of MY eyebrows? If she couldn't see with her own eyes how bad my brows look, then she certainly doesn't didn't know much about the importance of eyebrows for an attractive-looking face (which makes you wonder, WHO on earth would WANT a surgeon who didn't understand the importance of attractive, well-shaped brows for an attractive face?"

And my eyebrow thing was NOT a one-time accident, because I learned later that V. used $10 tattooist kits which contains ONLY 3 eyebrow stencil shapes per kit, the same 3 for ALL clients to choose from! That' the sloppiest, cheapest way to go, the stuff of low-end tattoo parlors! GOOD permanent makeup artists ALWAYS SHAPE the brows to the individual's face and NEVER use pre-cut stencils (ie, 'one size fits all') because no two people have identically-shaped brows!

I'm a medical professional myself, though not a face surgeon. But like most medical professionals, I value my integrity and I always put my patients' best interests comes first and foremost. I would NEVER BETRAY my patients by putting $money before quality care like Dr. M. Did! I couldn't live with my conscience if my patients received low-quality, cheap-looking tattoos because they had trusted ME to refer them for quality work.

ONE OTHER THING--NEVER was I forwarned that over time that my tattooed brows would change color, given the cheap dye that was used. So my brows are now ORANGE-colored in spots. I also saw a photo of a woman's whose brows are now a hideous DARK BLUE GREEN.

Dear 8212 Anon,

I am now going to a Cosmetic Makeup professional whom I genuinely trust, partly because a very meticulous plastic surgeon I trust recommended her (although don't trust all plastic surgeons to recommend you to someone good because surgeons themselves don't usually seem to know much if anything about quality Permanent Makeup. But right now the focus is on removing my old eyebrow tattoos, which have turned orangy as they faded over the past 7 years. She uses Magnesium Oxide to 'tattoo out' bad-looking brows. However, she has cautioned me that the results of my tattoo removal may not be that good in my case since I previously had them lasered and because they were old. What's important for you to know: THE SOONER YOU HAVE YOUR EYEBROWS REMOVED WITH MG02, THE BETTER--so don't waste any time pursuing getting your bad eyebrows removed. This makeup artist that I like has an office in Doylestown PA. I'll keep you all posted as to how the removal goes.