How to Prepare for Permanent Makeup Treatments

Makeup isn’t just about looking your best — it’s about feeling your best, too. When you wear makeup, you can enhance your best features and downplay your worst, so you feel more confident about your appearance.

But even though makeup offers lots of benefits, it can still be a hassle to apply it and then reapply it throughout the day. Taking it off before bed is no fun, either, but if you skip it, you can wind up with breakouts.

Fortunately, permanent makeup provides an alternative that can save you time and money, too. In fact, permanent makeup is extremely popular for both women and men. The tricks to getting the best results: Choose an experienced provider, and follow a few simple steps to prepare your skin before your appointment.

Led by Michele Meinhart, FNP, the team at Starkey Medical Esthetics helps women and men in Salem, Virginia, get the “look” they want with customized permanent makeup application. If permanent makeup is in your future, here’s what you should do to prepare.

Wear sunscreen 

Sun exposure can increase the risk of irritation by stressing out your skin. You’ll need to protect your skin after your application, but you should protect it in the weeks before your visit, too. 

Avoid tanning, including topical agents

Tanning can alter your results, and it can make it difficult to achieve just the right shade of makeup for your skin tone. Plus, many tanning products — including tanning beds — irritate skin, potentially increasing the risk of infection.

Skip shaving, waxing, and plucking

Nobody likes unwanted hair, but any of these techniques can irritate your skin. Before your application, you want your skin to be at its healthiest and best to enjoy the best results. So skip these routines for at least a week ahead of time.

Skip exfoliation, too

Exfoliation plays an important role in skin care, getting rid of dead surface skin cells so moisturizers and other products can penetrate. But if you exfoliate in the days before your permanent makeup visit, you can wind up irritating your skin, potentially making it more prone to infections or possibly scarring.

Stay hydrated

Skin needs water to stay healthy. For a couple days before your treatment, drink plenty of water to give your skin a healthy “boost” prior to application.

Avoid caffeine and alcohol for 48 hours

Although water is good for skin, caffeine and alcohol are not. In fact, both caffeine and alcohol sap your skin of moisture, which means it’s best to avoid alcoholic beverages as well as coffee, tea, and energy drinks for a couple days before your visit.

Ask about medications

Some medications make your skin thinner. That includes vitamin A derivatives, like retin-A, retinol products, and Accutane. Other medications increase the risk of bleeding. During your consultation visit, be sure to discuss all the medicines you take, along with any vitamins or supplements, including herbal supplements.

Wear sunglasses

Sunglasses provide UV protection to the sensitive area around your eyes. Wearing them in the days and weeks leading up to your treatment means your skin won’t be stressed before makeup is applied. You’ll need to wear them after your appointment, too, to protect skin once it’s treated, so don’t forget to take them with you.

Take regular glasses, too

If you’re having any makeup applied around your eyes, including eyeliner, you’ll need to avoid wearing your contacts the day of your application and for a day or two afterward, too. Dig out your glasses, and take them with you to your appointment.

Follow the provider’s instructions

Finally, one of the best ways to prepare is to follow the instructions you receive at your consultation visit. These instructions will spell out all the details you need to make sure your skin is ready for your permanent makeup application visit. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to call the office.

The New Year is a great time for a new look, and permanent makeup is a great way to look your best without the hassles of a complicated makeup routine. To learn more about permanent makeup application, call 540-389-0909, or book an appointment online at Starkey Medical Esthetics today.