Permanent Makeup Guide: Everything You Need to Know About the Cosmetic Treatments

Semipermanent cosmetic enhancement artist Dominique Bossav starts by assessing the scar and custom-blending a pigment to match her client’s skin exactly. She implants the pigment in fine layers less than one millimeter below the skin’s surface. The finished product will take two to three sessions, scheduled five to six weeks apart to allow for healing between each session.

Who should get scar camouflage?

Anyone with scars lighter than their natural skin color is a generally great candidate for this service. Typically, this treatment does not work well on scars that are brown, purple, or red. If you are looking to cover up brown, purple, or red scars, a laser and bleaching treatment should be done first, then you can undergo camouflage tattooing. 

It’s also important to note that the scar needs to be fully healed before undergoing any tattooing, which usually takes eight to 12 months. This is so any residual redness or purple colors have totally dissipated and disappeared altogether, leaving the area with a disruption in the melanin production. 

Though this treatment works well on hypertrophied scars, keloid scars are not a candidate for this treatment. “Because I deal with texture and color in one procedure, this works especially well on stretch marks, which have not only lost their melanin, but their collagen and elastin as well,” semipermanent cosmetic enhancement artist Dominique Bossavy explains. People who have hyperpigmentation spots are also usually good candidates — again, because of the patches of skin that are lighter than your overall skin tone. Most often these are caused by acne or sun damage.

How long does scar camouflage last?

Since scar tissue has a thicker texture and no sweat glands, scar camouflage lasts longer than other types of permanent makeup. Bossavy tells her clients that results will last for years, especially if they have minimal exposure to the sun and a gentle skin-care routine.

What are scar camouflage potential risks?

According to Bossavy, the most common risk is shoddy artistry. “Some technicians just plaster together a mix of white and brown to try to resemble a skin tone,” she says. “Because of the molecular structure of the color, the brown will most often turn orange over time and the white remains permanently bright, which has the opposite effect of making the scar even more obvious.” As with every type of permanent makeup, do your homework and make sure your artist’s technique resonates with you.

How much does scar camouflage cost?

Price varies depending on scar size, but you can usually expect a range from $2,500 to $4,500.

Freckle Tattoos

TORONTO, ON – FEBRUARY 6 – Gabrielle Rainbow, a tattoo artist from Montreal, marks the spots where she will tattoo freckles on client Sarah Strange, 20, at Chronic Ink, February 6, 2017. A trend story about people who are doing this (Andrew Francis Wallace/Toronto Star via Getty Images)Getty Images

What are freckle tattoos?

Think of freckle tattoos as the rebellious little sister of the permanent makeup industry. Some artists don’t perform them due to the difficulty of maintaining an even fade on the face, while others would argue that freckles are naturally uneven anyway.