It is important that no matter the procedure you desire (permanent makeup, botox, plastic surgery, etc.), you make sure to research the technician, doctor or nurse who will be performing the procedure. Never hesitate to ask questions, request certifications and credentials and be sure to feel comfortable with what is being done at all times. When searching for a technician, do not base your decision on price. I cannot stress this enough: A cheaper price isn’t always your best deal! You must base your decision on so much more than price: before and after photos, credentials, licenses, credibility, client testimonials, doctor endorsements, continuing education, etc. Be sure that no matter where you go, look at before and after photos, and ask the technician to pencil your eyebrows, eyeliner or lip shape before they begin tattooing. If you aren't happy with what they look like penciled in, then you probably will not like them tattooed.
NEVER sit in someone’s chair and allow them to just start tattooing you or
working on you before you approve of what they are going to do! This is how people get hurt, wind up with procedures they didn't desire or even get "botched!"
Many of my clients who seek my artistry for corrective work did not do their "homework" in the first place, which left them with black "Spock" eyebrows (true story), black lip liner and uneven, misshaped eyeliner.
Keep in mind, it is more expensive to have a botched procedure fixed as opposed to having the work done right the first time. There are many technicians out there who literally take a weekend course and set up shop. There are also numerous technicians who are using fake before and after photos. I have researched and studied many photos from several technicians in California who uses special computer software techniques to make the before and after photos seem real. Not only are they doing a disservice to the industry that I so proudly represent, but they are also fooling people into thinking that their services produce “perfect results".
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| This set of before and after photos is taken right from my portfolio. I have many before and after photos of my corrective work - but here is an example of corrective eyebrows. It is important that your technician understands color theory to know how pigments will turn out on each client! Everyone has different skin undertones and therefore the same pigment will not work on everyone. Also - eyebrows should be designed specifcally for each and every client - no two sets of eyebrows should be alike. Everyone has different bone structure, facial features and personalities. |
Currently, I have a client who initially went to another technician in the area. My client found her website, thought it was professional-looking and decided to go in for two permanent makeup procedures: lips and eyeliner. During the process, my client was in so much pain and, in her words, “crying tears of blood” because this technician did not anesthetize properly. Just because someone takes a course on permanent makeup doesn't mean that they have the artistry to create beautiful eyebrows, lips or eyeliner. The technician then tried to correct her own botched work by using solid white pigment on her eyes, including her waterline (the waterline is above your lower lashes and below your upper lashes). I was always instructed by my mentors and ophthalmologists to never tattoo the waterline. Additionally, you should never use white pigment by itself. Her lips were uneven, misshaped and blotchy. When she came in, and I saw her "botched permanent makeup," I was astounded! I couldn’t even believe that someone would do this to anyone! It looked as if the technician was blindfolded. To make the story worse, my client, her mother and her aunt all went together to receive different procedures and all three of them ended up with "botched permanent makeup.” My client now has permanent conjunctivitis and eye damage because of the procedure that she received.
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| This set of before and after photos is taken right from my portfolio. I have many before and after photos of my corrective work - but here is an example of corrective eyeliner. Once again, it is important that the technician understands color theory so that the pigment will not turn green or another undesired color on the client. Also, the technician also must learn where to NOT place pigment. It the below photos, the technician used white pigment and placed it in the mucus mucus mucosa region of the eye. Unfortunately the pigment migrated and now there is permanent damage. To be able to correct this procedure has been a process consisting of numerous treatments and patience from the client as well as myself. |
If I revealed this technician, revealed their website and before and after photos you would think that they seem really professional, have an incredible portfolio of work, their website is informative and makes them look like a skilled permanent makeup technician. Instead, this technician is inexperienced, with no artistry and amazing at Photoshop!
Something else you will see on this “technician’s” website is fake doctor endorsements. I have researched these "so-called" doctors and they do not exist. I also noticed that this “technician” claims to be apart of one of our permanent makeup organizations; in reality, they are not. My recommendation to you is to always double check to be sure that their credentials and endorsements claims that they make on their site are accurate and truthful.
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| This set of before and after photos is taken right from my portfolio. I have many before and after photos of my corrective work - but here is an example of corrective eyeliner. The above set of photos is an example of a technician placing black pigment or a very dark pigment outside of the client's natural lip line. The bottom set of photos is an example of a technician placing white pigment on a client's lips to "erase" what he or she had already done to this client. Both sets of lips I have corrected and both sets took large amounts of patience from the clients. Corrective work can be difficult, very time consuming and takes multiple treatments. These photos were taken directly after the procedure. |
I am not trying to BASH anyone, as I do not want to share any of the names with you. I am not "bashing" anyone because they are my competition. I am only trying to protect our industry as a whole and the innocent public. I love what I do and I love the industry that I am in and that I so proudly represent, however, these kinds of "botched procedures" shouldn't be happening! I wanted to share one of my client's stories to help you to understand her experience so that you can avoid the pain and suffering that she went through. I can't stress this enough: Anytime you are considering permanent makeup, check out the technician's Yelp reviews, filtered Yelp reviews, look up the doctors who are endorsing them, look at before and after photos, carefully make sure that they have continuing education certificates from the SPCP or some other reputable source, and don’t be afraid to ask questions and know exactly what you are getting yourself into before agreeing to move forward with the procedure.
I get several calls a month from people who have had botched permanent makeup procedures from technicians from all over California... they all thought that they were going to a talented permanent makeup artist, but instead were put through agonizing pain and horrible results. Some of them even did "research" but didn't realize that the before and after photos they were looking at were completely photoshopped! Don’t let this happen to you! Please do your research - don't settle for the first person you look up on Google!
To learn more about Athena's work, see before and after photos
please visit her website FoolingMotherNature.com
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