Tattooed eyeliner is one of our favourite treatments. Smokey, stardust, Latino style , winged, shaded and so many more options! It is pretty, subtle and when done properly its timeless and classic. So beautiful!
As with everything there can be risks involved so we thought we would provide you with a little insight into this procedure to help you make an informed choice.
We have used an image from a recent public social media post to explain some of our points of discussion. This is not our work.
What we have shown here are two separate issues. The first is the black shadow out with the eyeliner wing. This is known as migration and usually happens when the tattoo is placed too close to the corner of the eye (the outer canthus, in this instance). Knowing the safe zones around the eye area is incredibly important! Tattooing into the eye corner or beyond the last lash is PMU 101, or it should be! Sadly that is not always the case. So to help you understand the safe zones, we will tell you the areas that cannot be tattooed safely so you can look for things to avoid.
We cannot tattoo the waterline for two main reasons. The first being that it is just too close to the eye, it is dangerous! The second of tattooing the waterline means that the needle is running over the oil glands in that area damaging them. The result of this is permanent irreversible dry eye.
We cannot tattoo into the innermost or outermost corners of the eye (the inner and outer canthus). The risk of migration is very high here and the skin very very thin, it is too risky.
Further considerations are very raised or visible capillaries on the eyelid. This may limit the styles and design options. The good news is that a good artist will know all of this and talk you through the options available.
The second issue in this image is the means being used to correct the first mess. Black Ink always has a grey/blue/green hue to it in the skin. The reasons are fairly complex and definitely a blog for another day. The hue showing here is pretty green in tone. This technician has chosen to cover the old ink with skin coloured ink. This is the worst possible thing that could have been chosen here for a number of reasons. Let us share them with you to make sure you never have the repercussions of this to deal with!
Skin coloured ink is make up of a number of colours. One of which is a substance called Titanium Dioxide. Titanium Dioxide is the only substance used in ink or pigment to create an opaque or pastel tone, it is white. For skin tones there is no way around using this in the formula. Without going into too much detail we will explain what will happen in time to this cover up. It will turn a milky green and be very very obvious that something has been done to cover this mess. Ink does not lie in layers in the skin, it instead is held in the macrophages. These cells are not static and them moving is the reason older tattoos blur around the edges and fade, its your body trying to get rid of the foreign bodies. Its not like layering a pencil on paper for example,
This ageing and fading process means that this new skin coloured ink and the old black ink will merge. So this cover up is very short lived! It will not remain the same and will only get worse as the years go on. Large quantities of Titanium Dioxide will look like cottage cheese under the skin and it is very very difficult, if not impossible, to remove. Please never choose this as a means to cover a mistake. If an artist suggests this, we suggest you run!
If you are unfortunate enough to have had to experience this, please consult a professional artist or removal expert who can help you. Laser is an option but not one we will carry out or recommend, The light from the laser can blind you, it is too risky for us to contemplate. We prefer a chemical removal process, it is not the most pleasant of procedures. but it works and is not so risky and will age much much better than these other alternatives.
Please don’t be put off by this info, this is to help you make a good informed choice of technician. Most are very careful and trained but sadly not all! Tattooed eyeliner is a game changer! Now you have the info to make sure you choose wisely x
Paula’s Work
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