Permanent make-up and tattooing: the real differences between two related worlds… by Toni Belfatto

Permanent make-up and tattooing

One of the social trends that has taken on an ever more important role in recent years is undoubtedly tattooing, in the broadest sense of the word.

Specifically, permanent make-up, artistic tattooing, paramedical dermopigmentation and tricopigmentation are just some of the terms used for aesthetic specialisations that share one common action: injecting specific pigments into the dermis with single-use needles. The dermis is the layer of skin where the pigment molecules are deposited, whether the work is an eyebrow arch, a periareolar scar (that is, on the edge of the areola) or a bold tribal heart drawn indelibly.

Differences

These are aesthetic worlds that have many features in common. The fundamental differences, on the other hand, fall mainly into three categories:

1. technical
2. chemical
3. motivational.

The first concern the equipment and materials used, the so-called “machines”. These devices have different structures and, above all, higher pulse rates and frequencies for classic tattooing, slower and softer for permanent make-up, and very realistic for hair-stroke eyebrows.

Needles also play an important part, differing in number and shape: up to 41 needles in body tattooing, but only seven in dermopigmentation.

The second, chemical differences, mainly concern the pigments used. They certainly differ in their chemical and organic nature, but above all in the micronisation of the molecules. Colourants for micropigmentation have molecules smaller than 20 microns, so that they can be engulfed by macrophages, digested and eliminated over a period that cannot be predicted but is certainly limited.

Those used for classic tattooing are larger, which makes phagocytosis impossible and gives them unlimited persistence.

Another fundamental difference is the acrylic resins contained in the pigments used for artistic tattooing, which prevent macrophages from “reading” these colourants.

In both specialisations, all equipment and pigments must comply with current law and come with certificates of conformity, 16-section safety data sheets and declarations of non-toxicity and safety.

As for motivational differences, whether it is an artistic tattoo or permanent make-up, the reasons that lead someone to a dermopigmentation treatment are countless.

What is certain is that the choice is personal and, as such, must always be respected, even when it may seem hard to understand. Marking an important moment in one’s life, remembering a loved one, celebrating the birth of a child, or simply the pure pleasure of the look.

These are just a few examples of what can motivate the decision to get an artistic tattoo. The reasons behind choosing permanent make-up are perhaps more immediate and easier to understand.

It has always been recognised as a corrective tattoo, meant to soften facial imperfections – one eyebrow thinner than the other, an uneven lip line or a barely visible lash line – and it is also very useful for enhancing and harmonising facial features that are not necessarily a problem from an aesthetic point of view, or for giving that impression.

Toni Belfatto