If your lips are kept clean and moisturized then only a thin film (not a scab) will appear. The film will start peeling off by itself around day 3 and may not exfoliate evenly. During this time, your lips may feel tight, cracked, chapped and itchy as the flakes are coming away. Leave the film alone; picking will cause irritation, can lead to scars and will lift color from the treated area resulting in unevenness and blank spots. Let the area heal naturally for best results and keep your lips moisturized at all times to help soothe and heal them. The color implanted will fade by 50-60% during the first healing process.
While the film is peeling, it may seem as though the treatment hasn’t worked well. The color may look weak or it may seem as though the pigment has disappeared. Why? Lip tattoos are not as deep as a ‘normal’ tattoo – your new healing skin is covering the pigment and when your skin and the pigment start to settle (between weeks 2-4), you’ll notice that your lip tattoo starts coming back. It didn’t disappear in the first place; it was just harder to see through a thicker layer of healing skin. If the color is still weak/patchy at weeks 5-6, don’t worry! This is a delicate tattoo to heal, and is why we do 2 sessions.
Healing is specific to each client and it’s important to realize that you’ll need a color boost every 12 / 18 / 24 months to maintain the vibrancy of your lip tattoo. Your lifestyle choices, age, genetics, and skin type will contribute to the retention of your lip tattoo. If you regularly bite your lips, use lip exfoliator, use tanning beds, sunbathe, don’t use sun protection, smoke, use anti-aging products (on your lips), or get your lips filled after having your lips tattooed, your lip tattoo WILL fade faster and you’ll need more regular touch ups.
Permanent makeup is an art, not a science. Your results will vary and using lip liner, lip gloss or lipstick may still be needed, especially when wearing heavy coverage make up. This is not necessarily a no maintenance treatment, but a low maintenance treatment.