1. What is permanent / semi-permanent makeup? Is there a difference between the two?

They’re both cosmetic tattooing. Generally, in Europe it is known as “semi-permanent”, but in the U.S. you’ll most often see it called “permanent.”

2. What is the difference between 3D/6D, hairstrokes, nanostrokes, microblading, powder brows? I’ve seen so many expressions used for it, that I am completely lost what to choose.

One thing to keep in mind is that technicians will use many attractive words for marketing. So they might use 3D when their brows are nothing, but 3D; 6D when.. how many dimensions do we have? To give you a rough idea about the different types of brow permanent makeup out there, we have:

Powder/ Shaded Brows: Fully shaded in brows that give the impression of powder makeup when healed. More layers of pigment gives it a bolder, more defined look, a thin layer looks powdery and soft with skin still showing through.

Hairstroke Brows: Brows drawn hair by hair usually with one color (Can be done with a machine or with microblade)

Hairstroke 3D Brows: Brows drawn hair by hair with more than one color + sometimes powder effect to give the impression of volume (Usually only by machine)

At the end of the day the most important thing to look for is pictures! Lots of them! If you like the technician’s work, trust their expertise whether it’s called x, y, z, it doesn’t matter. The work will speak for itself. Please note in some cases only certain techniques work on a specific skin type.

3. Is it actually permanent? How is it different compared to a body tattoo?

It’s not, but certain pigments do last for a very long time. Please note, even though the pigment does fade through time, we should never guarantee that it will completely fade out. With some clients a few pigment molecules can still be left underneath the skin, so a faint color tinge can be present for many years to come even if you don’t keep up with color boosts.

4. How long does it last then?

It depends. I’ll give you some rough estimations, but do not take this as set in stone. Hairstroke brows would need a color refresher every 1-3.5 years, lips every 2-3.5 years. Everyone’s metabolism is different though. Don’t get touch-ups too often if you don’t need it.

5. What does lasting time depend on?

It depends on the client’s metabolism, type of skin, lifestyle and climate where they live. If you’re 20 years old, have severly oily skin, and you run and play tennis every day, you’ll probably need a touch-up on your brows yearly, because your skin regenerates itself quickly. If you have normal to dry skin, you’re 65 years old and use hats and SPF daily on your face, your brows could look fairly good even after 3 years. Steroids, thyroid issues and hormonal changes can also affect how quickly the pigment fades out. Every client is different. In all honesty we’ll only know these timelines after doing the treatment. In many cases of organic pigment use the brows will last for a very long time. Color refresher are still needed though to make sure they don’t turn ashy/taupey if that wasn’t intended as time goes by.

6. Is it worth it? I’m not sure how I feel about paying so much for my brows.

Definitely take into consideration if it’s worth it for you. We all know our budget and what is important to us. For some it’s lashes, for some nails, for some brows/lips etc. It will certainly save you time and give you peace of mind in humid climates/going to the pool, just walking around without always have to worry about your brows or lip color smearing off. A client has recently told me when she came in for her first touch-up that she has moved her alarm 20 minutes ahead since she had this done. Maybe that’s your case as well? I’m not one to convince people to get this done. Thankfully I stay quite busy and I like working on clients who are quite sure about moving forward with this treatment.

7. Can you correct my lip shape with lip blushing?

It depends. The main purpose for getting lip blushing is color - giving your lips a slight tint of color to make everything a bit more defined and healthy looking. I am trained also in cleft lip correction, I can go 1/20 inch outside of your natural lip, but if your main goal is volume and increasing your lip size, I would also recommend opting for lip filler. I just want to make sure whoever comes in for lip blushing doesn’t expect a huge change in their lip volume upon healing.

8. Do you accept walk-ins?

No, I only work by appointment.

9. How long in advance do I need to book an appointment?

Depends. Could be anywhere from 2 days to 4 months, so please plan in advance.

10. Do you have weekend appointments? I’m flying/driving from another city and would need to come during a weekend.

Yes, some parts of the year I do work Monday through Sunday. Please check our schedule or if you can’t find anything that suits your schedule, contact us by email at esthetic-lines@hotmail.com.

11. What is a first touch-up and do I need it?

You only need an initial touch-up if there’s a small correction that needs to be made after the first session. With hairstroke brows for example, when you leave the salon your brows might look perfect. However, when you heal and some of that pigment exfoliates off, you might have a couple of strokes that have overfaded. Or what if you choose to go with a light color the first time, just to be safe, and then you want it darker? The initial touch-up is the time when all of these can be addressed. That being said, I have clients that come back and they’re healed perfectly fine so there’s no need for one. Clients with no brow hair and/or sensitive skin should absolutely expect at least a touch-up to be needed.

12. Will it fade to a funny-looking color?

No, unless you keep asking for “darker” when Alexandra specifically explained you why we shoudn’t go darker. I can guarantee you if you don’t heavily tan and change your skintone AFTER the treatment, your brows will never ever have a shade of blue/green/purple etc. I have been using the current pigments brands for many years and know their chemical components well. However, if the color that we picked for your brows was copper or if we went with an ashy grayish tone, it is a high chance that you could be left with a slight peachy tone or a taupe-y brow when years go by and you haven’t had a color refresher in a long time - similar fading process to hair color. It does not look bad at all, it is just the obvious shade it fades too. Please note this is easily adjustable during color boosts; pigments are created from different ingredients and based on the client’s body chemistry some of those ingredients might fade out quicker than others. In general though, you should expect just lightning of the pigment. I highly recommend not using retinol products in the brow area and applying SPF when in the sun to aid with the color maintenance. VERY dark pigments used on fair skin will absolutely turn that ashy/grey/navy blue color in time so please understand with fair skin tones that we can’t make your permanent makeup jet black.

13. What if in two to three years from now I feel like my brows need a color boost? How much will that cost me?

As long as you come back for a color refresher at least every 1-3.5 years you’ll never pay full price again. Color refresher appointments are priced around 50% of the new brow appointments, currently at $485-$585. ($485 if your last visit was less than 2 yrs ago, $585 if it was in between 2-3.5 years.)

14. Do you offer training?

Yes. Please contact us at 2392000704 for training inquiries.

15. Will I be able to go to work right after I have my brows done? What if I need to attend a party? Can I go on vacation right after?

You can generally do anything you wish. That being said, the color will look slightly darker the first few days. It is also not recommended you expose your face in the sun for the first 10 days after you get this done. If possible, you should also avoid working out or sweating in the eyebrow area for 5-7 days after the treatment. Sweat and humidity can make the strokes spread before the pigment gets fixed in the skin. You also cannot get your face in ocean water/salt water/pools during those first few days.

16. My wedding is coming up and I’d love to have my brows done as soon as possible. Can you schedule me as soon as possible?

You know what they say not to try anything new for your wedding? I kind of agree with that. First of all, I’m not saying I cannot service you. However, bridal makeup tends to involve a full face of makeup. A large part of clients with permanent makeup, if attending an event where heavy, bold makeup is applied, they’ll still want to add some powder/pencil on top of their brows.

I’ve worked on many brides 2-3 months before their wedding. Results were beautiful and I was able to improve the shape of their eyebrow. However, you will need to try out a few pictures in advance and see if your permanent brows are enough with the smokey eye, or the bold lips you chose to go with. Flash photography also tends to accentuate any shiny areas, so if you have powder all over your face, some powder in your brows helps the entire look to be more seamless.

17. Will I need to wear makeup?

I hope not. Not for everyday tasks at least. If you were used to wearing heavy makeup on your brows, you might still feel the need to apply a little bit. Also, if your brows are extremely patchy to start with, maybe the big gaps that are now micropigmented still need a bit of topical products to help those areas blend in with the hair. Once again, if your goal is a fairly natural result, the hope is not to need topical makeup. But there are certain scenarios where clients still choose to use it. (very few)

18. Have you also worked on darker skin tones?

Of course! You can’t find loads of pictures of my work on Fitzpatrick 5-6 clients, because that’s just Naples demographics.

19. Do you work on pregnant women? What if I’m breastfeeding?

Nope, I do not work on pregnant clients. If I’m not wrong, I think it’s also illegal, but we mainly don’t want to expose the expecting mother to the possibility of infection. Breastfeeding is ok. P.S. I’ve never had a client develop an infection, but we want to be extra careful with future mommas.

20. Can I get an allergic reaction to the pigment?

You can, to anything. Thankfully I’ve had only 1 client in my entire career experience an allergic reaction and it subsided with treatment fairly quickly. It was also to a pigment brand from Milan, Italy that I used only in Europe, not on US clients. Laws are different in the European Union and I use different pigments in Naples compared to if I work there.