How well your permanent makeup heals is not entirely down to me. Roughly half of the healed result comes from what you do in the days either side of your appointment.
None of it is difficult. It is mostly a matter of leaving things alone when every instinct is telling you to pick.
You will get these instructions in writing on the day. This page is here so you can read them before you book, and find them again during healing.
Before your appointment
- No caffeine or alcohol for 24 hours beforehand. Both thin the blood, and blood in the treatment area affects how the pigment settles
- No aspirin or ibuprofen for 24 to 72 hours beforehand, unless your doctor has prescribed them. Do not stop prescribed medication without asking your doctor first
- No Botox in the brow area within two weeks of your appointment
- Wash your hair before you come. Your brows need to stay dry afterwards
- Stop using retinol, acids and exfoliants on and around the brow area
- Arrive with healthy, unbroken skin
After your appointment
- Keep your brows completely dry for the first 48 hours where you can, and avoid heavy moisture for seven to ten days
- Apply a thin layer of the healing balm for three to five days, as directed. Thin is the important word
- Do not touch, rub, scratch or pick the area. Flaking is normal and it will lift on its own. Pulling it off takes pigment with it
- No makeup directly on the brows until fully healed
- Sleep on your back if you can, to keep the brows off the pillow
- No swimming, saunas, steam rooms, heavy exercise or sunbathing while healing
What is normal
Flaking, itching, patchiness as the flakes come away, and the colour looking lighter than you expected before it settles. All of this is part of the process. The result you judge is the one at four to six weeks, not the one at day five.
Applies to both lip blush and lip neutralisation.
Before your appointment
- Keep your lips well hydrated in the weeks leading up to the appointment. This is the single most useful thing you can do and it needs starting early, not the night before
- Gently exfoliate any dry skin a few days beforehand
- No alcohol or caffeine for 24 hours beforehand
- No aspirin or ibuprofen for 24 to 72 hours beforehand, unless prescribed
- If you are prone to cold sores, speak to your GP or pharmacist about antiviral medication before your appointment. The treatment can trigger an outbreak, and it is much easier to prevent than to manage
- Avoid sun exposure and sunburn to the lips
- Arrive with healthy, unbroken skin on and around the lips
After your appointment
- Keep the lips clean and moisturised with the recommended aftercare product
- Do not touch, pick or peel the dry skin, however tempting it gets
- Avoid spicy food, very hot food and drink, and prolonged water exposure for the first few days
- Use a straw where you can during early healing
- No swimming, saunas, steam rooms or heavy exercise for seven to ten days
- No makeup on the lips until fully healed
- Once healed, use SPF on your lips. Sun is the main thing that fades lip pigment
What is normal
Swelling for the first day or two. Colour that looks far too bright at first. Dryness, tightness and flaking through the first week. Then a stage where the colour looks like it has vanished entirely, before it comes back softer as the skin settles.
That disappearing stage catches almost everybody out. It is not a failed treatment. Wait for the four to six week mark.
When to contact me
Get in touch if you have any of the following, rather than waiting for your top up appointment:
- Spreading redness, heat or swelling that gets worse after the first two days rather than better
- Any discharge from the treated area
- A fever
- A cold sore outbreak after lip treatment
- Anything that simply does not feel right to you
None of these are common. You can reach me via the contact page, and I would much rather hear from you unnecessarily than not hear from you at all.
Ready to book?
Every treatment starts with a free, no obligation consultation and patch test.