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I was in a pretty bad car accident when I was 16...
I was in a pretty bad car accident when I was 16 years old. Due to the accident, the left side of my face was dragged down the road. I had to have three reconstructive surgeries to fix my face, and it also scrapped the outside half of my brow away.
To deal with the brow being gone, I began using eyebrow pencil to fill in the portion that was missing. While this worked in theory, I was always very self-conscious whenever I would being playing a sport or swimming, anything that would wipe of my brows.
I began checking into permanent cosmetics in 2005, but at the time I didn't live somewhere that had anyone nearby that did that sort of thing. I ended up having the procedure done when I lived in Raleigh, in 2007.
I checked out the artist and saw some of his work on other clients. It looked ok, and I decided to go with him to do my permanent brows. I am a dark haired girl, with almost the darkest color brown you can have. The gentleman didn't have many permanent cosmetic colors (these are different than tattoo inks...these are pigments) and used black and beige to "mix" what was supposed to be dark brown. He told me that they would look really dark at first, but would lighten over time. He was right...they looked extremely dark at first. The only problem was that they were BLACK, not dark brown.
I called him crying saying that they were black, not dark brown. He kept reassuring me that they needed to heal, and that they would fade to the right color. I told him that I understood the whole "fading" process, but how could something lighten from black to brown? He said it would and offered to do a touch up if it didn't. Sadly, I was right. They faded alright...to grey. I was definitely not going to go back to him and let him mess them up even more. Luckily, I drew the shape, so that was fine. But from then on, I still had to use a pencil to cover up the grey. Not exactly what I had in mind. I even had three procedures of laser tattoo removal done trying to get rid of them. With the removal procedure, I'd say that they lightened about 20% --- after another $900.00 for that. So total, at that point, I had spent $1,200.00.
I had periodically throughout the years since my original experience looked for artists who could "fix" the first botched job. But everytime I'd come close, I'd get chickened out and worry I would end up worse off and not do it.
Around Christmas of 2010 I came across an artist in the Charlotte area who I went to see for a consultation. After telling her my story, she told me that she couldn't say that the grey would be 100% gone, but that it would be a great improvement on what I was dealing with now. Her cost was $500.00, which was $200.00 more than my original procedure.
She (unlike the first artist) had a multitude of pigment colors...probably 30 or more. She actually used a combination of two dark brown pigments on me. After the first time, during which she used some orange pigment to cancel out the grey, they looked much better than before. I still used the pencil after they healed because there were a few spots that didn't take well. I must emphasize that at this point, I only used the pencil very sparingly...not like before.
The artist also offered a free complimentary touch up within six weeks of the original procedure, which I had done on 02/23/2011. After this touch up, I am very glad that I went to her and had the courage to try one more time to fix it. Now, I no longer need the pencil at all, and though there are some tiny spots that I can still see some grey coming through, no one else will.
***THE PROCEDURE ITSELF AND THINGS TO LOOK FOR IF YOU ARE THINKING OF HAVING THIS DONE
Permanent cosmetics can be a great time saver, but in my case the first time, it ended up making it worse rather than helping. The procedure itself is not that bad. I have never had a tattoo before this, so I don't know how to compare it to any other areas of the body. I will say that the brows are on the bone, which may make it a little worse. The artist will typically numb you with a topical cream first, and then add more as they made the lines with the needle in the gun. Overall, it is very tolerable. Sometimes you get that feeling like you might sneeze, but it is ok for the most part. Afterwards, your brows will be sore. It is important to keep the ointment on them. Some people "ooze" more than others, but you should try your best not to let them form bigs scabs as that dimishes the color.
After the procedure, your browns will be very dark, or darker than you were expecting, I should say. As they heal, they do lighten, so remember that if you are happy with the color the day you have it done, you will NOT be happy with the color once it has healed.
Also, this is a BIG DEAL. Having a tattoo on your face takes full commitment. Luckily, my problem was only a color issue. Sometimes people can be ruined by hideous shapes and incorrect or unnatural colors. Do your research. Make sure the artist is not a tattoo artist just trying to do this in conjunction with his main practice. If you see only a handful of pigments that they use, you should probably get up and walk out right then. A true artist who does permanent cosmetics only will have a multitude of pigments with every color they should need. An artist should never have to "mix" together your color. Trust me!
Just try and know all you can about this BEFORE you have it done. After all, you will be looking at the results every time you look in the mirror.
And just a note, the provider I listed is the lady who re-did them for me, and I am very satisfied with her work.
To deal with the brow being gone, I began using eyebrow pencil to fill in the portion that was missing. While this worked in theory, I was always very self-conscious whenever I would being playing a sport or swimming, anything that would wipe of my brows.
I began checking into permanent cosmetics in 2005, but at the time I didn't live somewhere that had anyone nearby that did that sort of thing. I ended up having the procedure done when I lived in Raleigh, in 2007.
I checked out the artist and saw some of his work on other clients. It looked ok, and I decided to go with him to do my permanent brows. I am a dark haired girl, with almost the darkest color brown you can have. The gentleman didn't have many permanent cosmetic colors (these are different than tattoo inks...these are pigments) and used black and beige to "mix" what was supposed to be dark brown. He told me that they would look really dark at first, but would lighten over time. He was right...they looked extremely dark at first. The only problem was that they were BLACK, not dark brown.
I called him crying saying that they were black, not dark brown. He kept reassuring me that they needed to heal, and that they would fade to the right color. I told him that I understood the whole "fading" process, but how could something lighten from black to brown? He said it would and offered to do a touch up if it didn't. Sadly, I was right. They faded alright...to grey. I was definitely not going to go back to him and let him mess them up even more. Luckily, I drew the shape, so that was fine. But from then on, I still had to use a pencil to cover up the grey. Not exactly what I had in mind. I even had three procedures of laser tattoo removal done trying to get rid of them. With the removal procedure, I'd say that they lightened about 20% --- after another $900.00 for that. So total, at that point, I had spent $1,200.00.
I had periodically throughout the years since my original experience looked for artists who could "fix" the first botched job. But everytime I'd come close, I'd get chickened out and worry I would end up worse off and not do it.
Around Christmas of 2010 I came across an artist in the Charlotte area who I went to see for a consultation. After telling her my story, she told me that she couldn't say that the grey would be 100% gone, but that it would be a great improvement on what I was dealing with now. Her cost was $500.00, which was $200.00 more than my original procedure.
She (unlike the first artist) had a multitude of pigment colors...probably 30 or more. She actually used a combination of two dark brown pigments on me. After the first time, during which she used some orange pigment to cancel out the grey, they looked much better than before. I still used the pencil after they healed because there were a few spots that didn't take well. I must emphasize that at this point, I only used the pencil very sparingly...not like before.
The artist also offered a free complimentary touch up within six weeks of the original procedure, which I had done on 02/23/2011. After this touch up, I am very glad that I went to her and had the courage to try one more time to fix it. Now, I no longer need the pencil at all, and though there are some tiny spots that I can still see some grey coming through, no one else will.
***THE PROCEDURE ITSELF AND THINGS TO LOOK FOR IF YOU ARE THINKING OF HAVING THIS DONE
Permanent cosmetics can be a great time saver, but in my case the first time, it ended up making it worse rather than helping. The procedure itself is not that bad. I have never had a tattoo before this, so I don't know how to compare it to any other areas of the body. I will say that the brows are on the bone, which may make it a little worse. The artist will typically numb you with a topical cream first, and then add more as they made the lines with the needle in the gun. Overall, it is very tolerable. Sometimes you get that feeling like you might sneeze, but it is ok for the most part. Afterwards, your brows will be sore. It is important to keep the ointment on them. Some people "ooze" more than others, but you should try your best not to let them form bigs scabs as that dimishes the color.
After the procedure, your browns will be very dark, or darker than you were expecting, I should say. As they heal, they do lighten, so remember that if you are happy with the color the day you have it done, you will NOT be happy with the color once it has healed.
Also, this is a BIG DEAL. Having a tattoo on your face takes full commitment. Luckily, my problem was only a color issue. Sometimes people can be ruined by hideous shapes and incorrect or unnatural colors. Do your research. Make sure the artist is not a tattoo artist just trying to do this in conjunction with his main practice. If you see only a handful of pigments that they use, you should probably get up and walk out right then. A true artist who does permanent cosmetics only will have a multitude of pigments with every color they should need. An artist should never have to "mix" together your color. Trust me!
Just try and know all you can about this BEFORE you have it done. After all, you will be looking at the results every time you look in the mirror.
And just a note, the provider I listed is the lady who re-did them for me, and I am very satisfied with her work.
Provider Review
Permanent Cosmetics By Chong
helped correct an error that another provider made, and in the process made my day-to-day routine much easier. She accomplished what I set out to do the first time!