Aftercare – what is it, and why is it so important?
If you’ve ever gotten a traditional tattoo, you’ll know that the process of taking care of your design in the hours and days that follow is paramount to how the design will heal, and ultimately how it will look in the long term. Unsurprisingly, the same principles apply to semi-permanent and cosmetic tattoo procedures.
Every Artisan Beauty client will receive detailed aftercare instructions following an appointment, including a small care pack of ointment, wipes and cotton tips. Ensuring you stick to these tips gives your brows the best possible chance to heal to an even, gorgeous colour as intended. If you don't follow or otherwise skip out on some of these instructions, you risk reducing the evenness of how your brows heal, compromise the end result or even increase your risk of infection.
So what are those golden rules?
For the first 10-15 days following an appointment…
DO:
- Use the ointment, pads and cotton tips provided to wipe and pat your brow area as instructed for the first few hours
- Wash your face (but avoid the brow area entirely)
- Sleep on your back - if possible!
- Keep them as bone dry as you can
- Leave them alone and let them heal as naturally as possible
DO NOT:
- Get them wet – at all
- Touch them with your hands (or other non-sterile implement)
- Work out or sweat
- Put ointment, creams, moisturisers, powders, lotions or makeup on them
- Intentionally stay in direct sunlight or go to a tanning bed
- Pick, itch or rub your brows
- Have hair touching your brows (tie or clip it up if you have a fringe)
- Use a sauna
By letting your brows heal naturally and sticking to the above guidelines, they will heal into the most gorgeous, natural-looking brows you could have ever hoped for. We promise!
…So why is aftercare important?
If you spend several hours getting your brows done by a professional, you want them to last the full amount of time before needing a touch-up. With most microblading/feathering, powder and combination brows, this can be anywhere for 12-18 months, but only if you take the time to ensure the pigment is retained by your skin in the way it was intended – which is entirely up to how you let your brows heal. Without the proper aftercare your healing and colour retention may be less than optimal.
The cosmetic tattooing processes are in fact more of a ‘scratch’ to the surface of the skin, between the dermal and epidermal junction. One of the major differences between regular and semi-permanent tattooing, this means the depth is not as deep as with a regular tattoo, so a little more care is required in the week or two following a procedure. It’s also a reason to be careful who you choose as your brow artist: if these ‘scratches’ are too shallow, the pigment won’t retain – but if an artist goes too deep, you can risk scarring or discoloration from the pigment.
As the pigment isn’t embedded very deeply into your skin (a reason why it’s a semi-permanent procedure – it fades over time), your body essentially tries to push the pigment out of the skin.
To minimise this, we always advocate dry healing through avoiding all water, steam, sweat, moisturisers, skin oils, etc. The drier you keep your brows during this 10-15 day period, the better they will look, and the longer they will last – it’s that simple!
If you use any substances such as oils, creams, lotions, etc, they can be absorbed by your skin and encourage the natural tendency of your body to ‘expel’ the pigment. Likewise, if you are working out and sweating your sweat will get into the tiny scratches and uneven skin surface that was just created. Similarly, when water gets into your brows from your shower it dilutes the pigment and the same phenomenon occurs where your body will speed up the way it heals around the pigment (in this case, absolutely not what we want).
We know it’s a bit of a pain avoiding all water, makeup and sweating during the healing process, but when you see your end result as picture-perfect, long-lasting and stunningly natural brows, you’ll realise it was totally worth it!