I already have my brows done. Can I get this done?

Yes. If you need them corrected or reshaped or have botched brows, you have come to the right place. Corrections are my specialty. Please take note that if you have previous work done, it is important to send clear photos of your cosmetic tattoo as in some cases you would need to book lightening sessions first before I can work on them.

As time goes by, the Cosmetic tattooing industry grows and learns.  Some older work needs to be lightened first before it can be corrected.

Can I get this done if I’m breastfeeding?

Yes. Although I do encourage to go read up about it and make your own decision. You must make sure the artist is reputable and works clean, so it doesn’t cause an infection. Some people are concerned about the numbing and pigment crossing into the breastmilk.  I use numbing with 6% Prilocaine, 5% Lidocaine and 1% Epinephrine. Feel free to do your own research regarding this. I have done many breastfeeding mom’s brows, without complications.

I’m pregnant. Can I get this done?

Unfortunately, not. There have been absolutely no safety tests done. It’s too much of a risk. Enjoy your pregnancy and I’ll see you when baby is born 😊

Where are you situated?

27 Rust Ave Kowhai Courtyard

Unit 5, Whangarei, NZ

What is the difference between Microblading vs Shading. (Microblading – Feather touch)

Microblading is Hair strokes and Shading is a powdered look. You can get either or the combination. With the combination the shading will be added to fill up the microblading where your own hair isn’t growing as full as the rest of the Brow. Or Shading can be used to give you a bold look too.

Although not everyone is good candidate for Microblading.  The perfect candidate for Microblading is a young person with normal to dry skin.  The skin should not be thick or thin. No sun damage, No underlying conditions, on no chronic medications and no visible pores.  If this is not you, Microblading is not recommended as it will heal and age terribly and will require corrective work in the future.

Microblading lasts 6 months to 2 years, depending on the individual.  Factors like, skin immune system, skin cell turnover, skin type, skin care products, sunscreen, exercising and sun exposure all plays a role in this.

Cosmetic tattooing will never replace makeup. As makeup sits on the outside of the skin where Cosmetic tattooing sits underneath the skin and is implanted with integrity, so that it will age nicely

What is a powder brow?

Powder brow is designed to look like you have lightly filled in your brows with eyeshadow powder.  Everyone is a candidate for it.  It can last anything from 1 to 4 years in between top ups, depending on the individual.

Factors like, skin immune system, skin cell turnover, skin type, skin care products, sunscreen, exercising and sun exposure all plays a role in this.

Please take note that all Cosmetic tattooing is a tattoo.  It does lighten over time but it will never fade away.  It is for that reason important to do your research on who you pick to be your artist. To avoid corrective work in the future, which is tedious and costly.

Cosmetic tattooing will never replace makeup. As makeup sits on the outside of the skin where Cosmetic tattooing sits underneath the skin and is implanted with integrity, so that it will age nicely

What is Lip Blushing

Lip blushing is a form of cosmetic tattooing which is designed to give your lips new life.  It is very a very subtle enhancement.  Think of giving your lips a light watery colour.  On the day it looks very dramatic but during the healing process you lose around 60% of the pigment. 

Cosmetic tattooing will never replace makeup. As makeup sits on the outside of the skin where Cosmetic tattooing sits underneath the skin and is implanted with integrity, so that it will age nicely

What is Lipstick Look

Lipstick look is a more filled in look with more saturation of pigment.  Please note that not all people are candidates for this as we want to avoid hyper or hypopigmentation.  Cosmetic tattooing will never replace makeup. As makeup sits on the outside of the skin where Cosmetic tattooing sits underneath the skin and is implanted with integrity, so that it will age nicely, and it stays timeless.

Dark lips neutralization

Cosmetic tattoo to lighten and brighten lips with more than one tone.  In some cases, this needs to be done prior to getting lip blushing or lipstick look treatment done.

Laser Lipo

40min-Ultrasonic Fat Cavitation uses ultrasound to melt the fat which is then flushed out by the body’s metabolic processes. The emptied cells remain in the body. It is very important to keep exercising and drink a lot of water to have the full effect of the procedure. This is recommended for people with an active and healthy lifestyle to get rid of stubborn areas.

20 min-Thermal Lipolysis. It works by a process called thermal contrast lipolysis which uses a combination of hot and cold temperatures to target fat cells and destroy them. 

20 min-Radiofrequency (RF) therapy is a nonsurgical method of tightening your skin. The procedure involves using energy waves to heat the deep dermis layer of your skin. This heat stimulates the production of collagen. Collagen is the most common protein in your body. RF once a month only.

What Is Cosmetic Tattooing?

 Cosmetic tattooing also referred to as’ permanent makeup’, ‘micropigmentation’, ‘micro pigment implantation’, deposits coloured pigment into the upper layer of the dermis, procedures are performed using various devices, including the traditional tattoo coil machines, the pen or rotary machine (includes the digital rotary machines) and the non-machine method or hand device (microblading) and can dramatically reshape sparse, poorly arched and uneven eyebrows, to add colour, fullness and definition to the lips and to enhanced the eyes to create an overall enhancement of the natural features of the face.

Does cosmetic tattooing hurt? 

Marili uses a very good numbing agent. Pre-numbing is applied for 20 minutes during the consultation.  More numbing is applied during the session to make sure you are comfortable. It is essential to recognize that pain threshold levels vary from person to person and our client’s comfort throughout the entirety of the procedure is of utmost importance. Personal circumstances such as the timing of a menstrual cycle may increase discomfort throughout the procedure, and the topical anaesthetic may lose its intensity for regular smokers. If you have been diagnosed with Fibromyalgia, be conscious that this may affect your sensitivity tolerance to the procedure. Majority of our clients fall asleep during the procedure and or say they don’t feel a thing.

What happens at your appointment?

Do you need to completely shave off the eyebrows first? NO, absolutely not. Occasionally I may tidy up the surrounding area first with a disposable razor and/or tweezers. An in-depth consultation will be done to make sure you and I (Marili) are on the same page about your goals and what we can achieve. The brows are measured according to your bone structure, features and natural brow shape, to make sure the brows suit you and they will be timeless.  You approve the measurements before we start.  The colour is chosen to match your natural brow hairs to prevent heavy future maintenance.  Therefore, it is important to come to your appointment tint free and ungroomed. Remembering that every face has two sides, and they are not exactly the same, we aim for symmetry, but we also know brows are sisters and not twins, then 6 to 8 weeks after your initial procedure, the touch up session will determine how the skin has responded to the pigment and any alterations can be made then if necessary.

With Lip tattooing it is important to know that we can not adjust your natural lip shape.  We have to follow the natural lip up to the vermilion border. 

How long does cosmetic tattooing last?

 Cosmetic tattoo treatments generally last for one – three years as each unique skin type holds pigment differently. It takes typically two appointments to be complete. Client revisits approximately 8 weeks after the initial appointment for their touch up appointment. In most cases there will be areas that haven’t taken to the pigment; the areas that need addressing are generally very minor, resulting in a short appointment. It should be acknowledged that fading occurs due to many reasons out of our control including genetics, skin type, how each client’s skin type retains the colour of the tattoo pigment as well as the skins natural healing rate

What factors will affect my cosmetic tattooing?

It is important to know that the results of your cosmetic tattooing will be based on the health, quality of your skin and aftercare. Results will vary from person to person, and if you have a pre-existing skin condition or are on medications. A multitude of individual and lifestyle factors will affect the longevity of your cosmetic tattoo including the following:
• The time it takes for your body’s skin cells to regenerate will affect how the skin grasps the pigment. The longer this process takes, the longer the pigment will hold.
• Lighter pigment colours such as blonde will fade faster than a dark brown pigment.
• Bleeding during the procedure reduces the amount of pigment absorbed.
• Smoking causes faster fading.
• Sleeping on your face in the first 10 days
• Laser treatments, chemical peels or other medical procedures to the facial area should be cautious of the tattoo area.
• Sun exposure will decrease the appearance of the pigment.
• Picking, peeling, consent touching, rubbing, prematurely exfoliating (all can cause scarring and patchy results)
• Sweating ie working out (sweat produces salt, salt fades pigment)
• Not following aftercare instructions properly

How many treatments are needed?

As each person’s healing rate is different, typically a minimum of two sessions is needed which occur at least 6 weeks apart. During the first week of healing, they will appear darker than on the initial appointment.  This is due to scabbing.  Scabs are old blood, blood that gets old, turns dark.  As the scabs/skin naturally sheds, they will appear lighter than expected.  This is due to the new layer of skin that has formed, has not matured yet and is not as translucent as the normal top layers of the skin.  This layer can shed, or it matures between week 4 and 6 and you will see the color return.  Only after 6 weeks we can see how your skin as held on to the pigment and perform a touch up accordingly.  Some mature clients need 8 weeks in between sessions. Any desired adjustments can be made in the touch-up session to create a darker or bolder tattoo. 

 In some rare cases a third session will be needed.  This session is not free.  Please speak to Marili to determine the price as it will vary on the amount of work that needs to be done.  People that typically require a third session are people with underlying health conditions that causes them to not heal normally, bleeders, pickers (scabs) , side sleepers and people who don’t follow aftercare.  These are out of Marili’s hands and just like any tattoo there is a start-up fee which is the bare minimum to avoid making a loss.

How will I look immediately after? What is the healing process?

Healing is different for everyone, In the first few days following the procedure, pigment will appear dark, thicker and intense, redness and swelling may incur, most likely will experience some sort of peeling, itching, flaking and scabs may form, it is imperative that you follow the aftercare instruction thoroughly, after the healing process, the pigment may then gradually disappear and appear lighter in the first few weeks or so, but will then gradually reappear. Please note, that the proper aftercare of your Permanent Cosmetic Tattoo investment is vital, it is the responsibility of the Client to take care to avoid infection and to consult a medical doctor if any symptoms of infection occur.

After the healing process

Once healed, sunscreen is to be applied to the area daily to reduce the risk of fading.

How will my cosmetic tattoo look like in the future?

As mentioned above, individual and lifestyle factors will affect how the tattoo will fade but the majority of our client’s tattoos stay true to colour and fade naturally over time. although over a period of time some will find the pigment colour can change, it is recommended that clients return every one – three years for a yearly top-up appointment to correct any colour that may have changed and as fading will generally create a lighter and softer and more faded look.

Will cosmetic tattooing work well for me?

NOT everyone is a candidate for this procedure. Unfortunately, there are some cases where cosmetic tattooing will not work depending on skin type, health/medications, existing hair and/or lifestyle choices, although rare it is to be noted that some skins just do not accept pigment. Iron-deficient or anemic clients should be advised that increased bleeding may occur during the procedure as well as a faster fading of the pigment over time. This is also the case for frequent smokers. Clients with oily or darker skin types should acknowledge that machine hairstroke eyebrow tattooing will not work well as the constant oil production and larger pore size will gradually soften the look, blurring/bleeding the hairstokes, a powder look maybe more suited for you. For clients with little to no existing eyebrow hair, the results will appear much less natural and may give a less 3D look to the eyebrows. You may not be a suitable candidate for a lip procedure if your skin type is fitzpatrick lll or above as the risk of hyperpigmentation is very high. There ARE NO GUARANTEES made as to how your body will heal.  If they fade, blur or not take well, that is the result of your skin, your lifestyle….not a result of the technique or the technician.  NO one knows how the client’s skin will heal.  This is a potential risk all clients take when consenting to this procedure.

Tattoo lightening/removal

It is important to the process and integrity of the skin that 8 full weeks of healing take place before another lightening session can be done. No exceptions

Lightening and/or removing unwanted pigment is a long process and patience is required. This is true whether you are choosing a lightening product service or laser. Please be patient and give the process a fair chance to work. Expect visible and wanted results in 2 to 5 sessions. How many sessions needed will depend on how saturated the pigment is, how deep it was implanted and how much needs to be removed for the desired result. In many cases, only a percentage of the pigment needs to be lightened/removed and then we can continue the correction process by colour correcting or colour shifting. In those cases where we have pigment misplaced or in an unwanted area, colour correcting will not be an option and removing as much of the pigment as possible will be our ultimate goal.
Results cannot be foreseen, predicted or guaranteed. For some people complete removal can take up to 2 years.

How many sessions will tattoo lightening/removal take?

How many sessions will depend on many different variables:
The pigment to be removed?
– Titanium?
– How many layers?
– How deep was it implanted?
– How saturated is the pigment?
– Where on the body are we removing?
– The clients own skin and healing process?
– The client aftercare regimen?
– How much pigment needs to be removed?

After the tattoo lightening/removal healing process

– The area can stay pink or discoloured for several weeks
– On some people, it may take a few months for all the pink/redness to completely heal away
– This may be post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation
– Then there may be others where the skin may always be slightly discoloured

CONTRAINDICATIONS

 I cannot progress with the procedure or I may require a doctor’s note/clearance before performing a service:

• Extremely nervous, overanxious
• Extensive use of steroid creams
• HIV / Hepatitis
• Blood pressure disorders
• Couperose
• Contact lenses
• Very dry lips
• Pregnant, nursing, or trying to get pregnant
• Diabetes
• Chronic Acne, Eczema, Psoriasis, Dermatitis, Rosacea or Keratosis pilaris around the facial area
• Frontal fibrosing alopecia
• Heart Conditions, murmurs, palpitations
• Glaucoma
• Certain Medications
• Thyroid condition (Hypo, Hyper Thyroidism, Graves’ disease)
• History of Shingles
• Haemophilia-Bleeding Disorder
• Hair transplant for your eyebrows
• Platelet Disorders
• Moles, (if removed, not before 6 to 9 months)
• Telangiectasia or birthmarks in and around the treatment area
• Accutane / Roaccutane / Isotretinoin (acne medicine) within the last year
• Auto Immune Disorder of any kind (ie MS, RA, Lupus, MRSA, Some types of Alopecia)
• Extremely Thin skin (Transparent, Translucent or very vascular)
• Recent laser or cosmetic surgery
• Prosthesis across the bridge of the nose
• Keloid scarring, or if you have a history
• An allergic reaction to anaesthetic, pigments or sensitive to makeup or colours
• Infection
• Epilepsy/Seizure
• Hyperpigmentation or Hypopigmentation

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