Tired of Applying Eyeliner Every Day

In July 2019, I had "permanent" eyeliner done again by a different provider. I'm now 100% convinced that it had nothing to do with the provider and this is as good as it gets for me. I've seen other women who have had the same procedure and their more vibrant results have lasted many, many years longer. I think it has a lot to do with skin type. My skin has always been very dry and flaky. I use moisturizer every day, several times a day. My eyeliner is fading but I won't have it done again.

For years I wanted permanent eyeliner because I was tired of applying it every single day. Unless I bought an expensive one, the liner would smudge, fade or run. I found someone in my area who came with good reviews and experience. She was more expensive than others I considered but I figured "you get what you pay for", right? Since this was my face, I didn't want to economize and she offered a six-week touch up appointment with the price of the procedure. I'm now 18 months post-procedure and unfortunately I'm not as happy as I'd hoped. The liner has faded considerably and I still apply my own eyeliner every morning . I considered going back to her to get another touch up but it's $250 and I'm not sure the cost and pain will be worth going through especially if it's not going to be dark enough again.

On the plus side, she was very clean and methodical. I never had any concerns about infection or her professionalism. It took every bit of two hours (maybe a little more) to have both upper and lower eyelids done. There was considerable prep work which was fine because she explained a lot as she was working. The one comment that still keeps coming back to my mind is "We'll be finished when you tell me it's (the liner) too dark". It was NEVER too dark. She said that the liner would fade over time (which it definitely did) and she wanted to make sure it was a little overdone to start.

I was a bit nervous about someone working with a tattoo gun so close to my eyes but like I said, I had been preparing myself for this for years and I was ready. She used a cotton swab to apply topical anesthetic for pain and artificial tears because my eyelids were open while she worked on the bottom lids and she pulled back at the outsides of the eye near the temple dramatically to get a straight flat line. I'm not going to lie, even though I'd taken ibuprofen before my appointment and with the topical pain cream, this process hurt; especially on the lower eyelids. I have always applied my pencil/crayon style eyeliner in the area closest to my eye (she called it the "wet ledge"). I knew ahead of time the permanent liner couldn't be applied there but I still wanted it as close to my eye as possible. I've never had any sort of tattoo and wasn't aware that the process involves breaking the skin with the tip of the tattoo gun and then going back over it to deposit the ink. I'm sure the reason that it hurt so much was because she had to keep going back over it because it never got what I considered to be "too dark". It finally got to the point where I couldn't take the pain anymore so we stopped. I figured I could go back for the 6-week touch up after things had healed a bit and I could get it darker. After the procedure, my eyelids were red and sore but it wasn't horrible. She sent me home with antibiotic ointment and cotton swabs. By the evening, I could see that everything was healing well.

I was pleased for the most part but I was definitely ready for my 6-week touch up when it was time to go. The disappointing part is that the intensity of the liner never got to the point I really wanted. My review is not so much about De'Ette as it is about my results. Maybe I'm just a wimp who can't tolerate pain but I actually thought I did pretty well considering I've given birth to three children. Ha!

These pictures are current; 18 months post procedure. I don't have any before pictures.