A cosmetic tattoo is meant to be on your face for well over a year, with many people maintaining their tattoos indefinitely. This procedure should never be handled by untrained technicians.
At Hyper Real Academy, we perform thousands of cover up procedures every year to erase the mistakes of artists from other studios. Unfortunately, not every bad PMU tattoo can be covered up without first completing an expensive tattoo removal procedure. We’ve heard many horror stories from clients with botched work done by other PMU studios. Many of these stories involve red flags that were ultimately ignored.
Here are some common red flags that may expose a PMU technician as unskilled, untrained, or even unlicensed. This list is organized to show red flags that may be observed at every stage of the permanent makeup process, from the consultation to the procedure.
Lack of Communication Before Procedure
Discussions of pre-procedure care, informed consent, and client consultation are all important points of communication for a successful PMU procedure. As a client, you must have the opportunity to ask questions, review potential risk factors, and discuss your goal aesthetic for your PMU before the procedure begins. A lack of communication or transparency from your artist is a huge red flag and could jeopardize the success of your procedure.
Edited Portfolio Photos
PMU photos should not be edited and should never be filtered. The purpose of a PMU artist displaying photos in a portfolio is to showcase their tattoo skills and makeup artistry. When a photo is edited, blurred, or filtered, there is no way to review the quality of the artist’s tattoo. Artists that choose to hide their tattoo skills (or lack thereof) in their own photos should not be trusted.
Lack of Technician Credentials
Every tattoo artist is required to display their license in their place of work. An artist’s license must be displayed with their legal name in a prominent location in their studio. In many states, a PMU artist must verify their completed training, health certifications, and business insurance. If you cannot verify that your PMU artist is licensed, do not trust them to do your tattoo.
Unacceptable Workstation Conditions
There should be absolutely no food or drink placed in the artist’s work area. The artist must wear PPE, cover their machines, and provide new needles that are sealed in sterile packages. These steps must all be done with no exception in order to avoid cross contamination that could lead to lifelong diseases. All used needles must be stored in a biohazard container. If an artist has unsanitary workstation conditions, they are putting your health at risk.
Lack of Makeup Artistry Knowledge
A good PMU artist must be as good of a makeup artist as they are a tattoo artist. Knowledge of makeup is important so that the PMU artist can create the aesthetic that the client is asking for. If a client asks their artist to adjust their eyebrows to appear more “youthful”, the artist should be able to do it. Many subpar PMU artists are actually excellent tattooers, but inexperienced makeup artists. If you see that an artist only uses one shape, style, or technique for every client, it is a red flag that they lack the makeup knowledge to create a custom look.
No Adjustment After Mapping
While mapping is a useful technique for ensuring symmetry, it is important to understand all of the other elements that make a successful PMU design. Every PMU design should be adjusted after mapping to ensure that it is suitable for the client’s face shape, facial features, muscle and tissue structure when showing emotions, and the client’s own aesthetic choice. There are so many elements that must be adjusted for; so much so, that an artist cannot simply tattoo into their mapped “frame”. Not adjusting the PMU design after mapping is a small tell of a big red flag.
Bleeding, Excessive Pain
PMU is often done under a small amount of topical anesthetic. The anesthetic is optional and there should be little to no discomfort during the procedure. If you experience excessive pain at any point during your procedure, it is important to inform your artist so that they can stop the procedure to avoid injury. Bleeding is not common with tattooing by machine, and excessive bleeding is a major red flag that your artist may have injured your skin. If you notice flowing blood at any point during your procedure, the procedure must be discontinued immediately and you must treat your injury to prevent scarring.
PMU technicians that exhibit even one of these red flags may not be capable of providing quality work.
Are you unsatisfied with your PMU? You may consider getting emergency tattoo removal if you suspect that your tattoo may have been botched. Botched tattoos cannot be corrected without first completing a tattoo removal procedure.
