So many names for Permanent Makeup! What you need to know.

Permanent Makeup, Cosmetic Tattooing, Micropigmentation, Nano Brows, Powder Brows, Combo Brows, Hairstroke Brows, Digital Microblading, PMU, SPMU, Microblading, Signature Brows, Feather Brows and soooo many more names! It’s confusing isn’t it! We are going to let you into a secret. Its not really as complex as you think. Tell me more you say?

Okay …… drum roll please ….. It’s all the same thing! All of it. Its a tattoo on your face, a very delicate, refined tattoo, but a tattoo all the same. The rest are just names we give for styles, for slight differences, tools and sometimes just for nonsense to make it seem like something else. If you see a super duper nano bladed shaded digital eyebrow. Its a Combination brow (some hairstrokes and some shading) made with a blade and a machine. Nothing more. At the clinic we refer to our Eyebrow, Lip and Eyeliner tattoos as Permanent Makeup. We actually prefer Micropigmentation, but run with Permanent Makeup or PMU for short. For our Scalp, Areola or Scar tattoos we like Cosmetic Tattooing. It’s all but a name, it’s still a tattoo but it helps us bracket it and makes life easier when posting and advertising.

We feel a little info on Semi-Permanent Makeup or SPMU is helpful too. There is no such thing as Semi-Permanent. It’s an oxymoron, it doesn’t exist, contradiction at its best! They will absolutely not disappear or definitely vanish in 6 months. It’s a tattoo. That’s not how the body works. Are you shocked by this? Many people are! Unfortunately it’s not always the technician at fault, it comes from their trainers. Poor education often means inaccurate information. Historically this term was used to describe Permanent Makeup as it fades (all tattoos do) and needs maintenance but it’s very misleading.

Last but not least. One more myth for you. Microblading is a tattoo too. Machine, blade, twig or whatever instrument you like to use to create. Ink placed into the dermis (that’s the bit under the epidermis that you cant see) is a tattoo. We do not blade at the clinic, we can, but never will. That’s a post for another day! Did anything in this post surprise you? We hope it’s helpful. It’s important to know what you are getting. Tattoos are there forever unless removed and even then there will be traces.