Dark Skin Permanent Makeup

Well, I was told because my lips are dark I had to neutralize them. Now that my lips are fully healed there is a light tint of pink left. I guess that the outcome I​ was supposed to get.

Yes this normal but she should’ve told you a second session is required to put on a nice pinky orange tone all over the lips.

As a highly experienced permanent cosmetic practitioner, I can tell you that dark skin is NEVER a good candidate for lip tattooing. You already have lots of natural pigmentation to the lips and the tattoo color just gets absorbed into the lip. You can use the strongest color available and it will never show up the way you expect. the other HUGE risk is the color turning very dark, almost purple/black looking. Your skin tone and lips are already very cool (blue). When you add pigment to that it needs to be warmed up or neutralized, however, the more orange needed to do so, the lighter the pigment will become. This causes the color to be too light to override the natural lip tones. The reason you are seeing the thin bright orange line at the top is that the color is likely partially in the skin, not the actual lip vermillion and will be the only area that you see the color after all the healing is complete. It is normal to have the color "disappear" after the initial healing due to the process of exfoliation and turn-over of the new skin cells that causes an opaque appearance that hides the pigment. However, in your case, it is not very likely that the color will "bloom" at about 3 weeks as it will will lighter skin tones. My rule of thumb is I will only tattoo on skin tones Fitzpatrick I to IV. You can google what that is if you do not know. It refers to the amount of melanin in the various skin types based on ethnicity. If you were to ask any highly experienced permanent makeup artist they would all say the same thing. I have lectured at conventions and educational seminars on this very subject. Your best bet is NOT to go back for the touch-up and hope it just fades out.

Thanks for sharing your experience. I am a slightly darker skin tone than you, and my biggest concern is finding a service provider who is experienced with dark skin. I have scarring on my lips that I want corrected. I feel more comfortable finding a doctor who corrects scars.