Beards are by far the biggest male beauty trend of the decade. Gone are the days of daily shaving – men have embraced their facial hair and wear it with pride. But if you want to rock the beard trend, you have to take care of it, otherwise it looks kind of untidy.
One issue many men face, though, is beard patchiness. Or, they have sparse facial hair overall. Or, they may not have any facial hair due to certain conditions.
Whatever bothers you about your beard, PMU can fix it. Here’s a guide through cosmetic beard tattoo treatments.
What Is a Cosmetic Beard Tattoo?
A cosmetic beard tattoo is a permanent solution to issues with facial hair. It’s a form of tattooing, but it’s important to note that it doesn’t last forever. Cosmetic tattooing is meant to last a few years and eventually fade, so it’s different from traditional body art.
It’s not done with a tattoo machine, and the color implemented is not ink, but rather pigments that the body can gradually break down.
The fact that the results don’t last a lifetime is a good thing. It allows you to change your mind after a few years – you can just let it fade if you decide you don’t want to wear facial hair anymore. Plus, you get to change up the look of it every once in a while.
What Can Be Achieved with a Cosmetic Beard Tattoo?
A beard tattoo is a versatile solution, which means it can treat a whole range of facial hair imperfections, or recreate a beard from scratch. Here are the most common effects achieved with beard tattoo techniques:
Densification
This is what most clients need. If your hair grows more or less evenly throughout the facial hair area, but it lacks density and volume, you can get the entire area densified with a beard tattoo. The marks that look like hair will be added between the natural ones, creating an illusion of more density.
Image source: Instagram @scalpmicrosd
Sparse Patch Camouflage
Another very common facial hair imperfection that can be fixed with a cosmetic beard tattoo. Many men have bald patches in their beard, and it’s why some of them are reluctant to grow a beard. A cosmetic beard tattoo can fill in these patches and blend them into the natural hairs.
Shape Modification
Some clients come in wanting the shape of their facial hair modified. The natural outline sometimes ends too close to the jaw line, and they want it brought up a bit higher. The outline of facial hair can transform the face and enhance its overall look, so it can definitely make anyone look more attractive. It can give the illusion of sharper cheekbones.
Some men like the groomed look and they want the outline of their facial hair very sharp. This minor tweak can also be made with a beard tattoo.
Scar Camouflage
Hair doesn’t grow on scar tissue, so men who have scars in the facial hair area don’t like growing out their beard, as they’ll have bald patches. Scar, including cleft lip scarring, can be camouflaged with a beard tattoo very realistically.
Image source: Instagram: @caitlin.smpaustralia
Total Reconstruction
Then, there are clients who don’t have any hair and want a total beard reconstruction. The look of the entire beard can be recreated for clients with alopecia, those going through gender affirmation, cancer patients once they’re out of chemo, etc.
Cosmetic Beard Tattoo Techniques
Beard tattoos can be done in 2 ways: with a PMU machine, and with a manual blade.
Facial Hair Micropigmentation
Facial hair micropigmentation recreates the stubble look. A PMU machine with a very thin needle is used to deposit tiny dots of pigment into the skin, and the result looks like hair follicles, or hairs that are just about to grow out.
It’s a treatment very similar to scalp micropigmentation.
Who Is It For?
Facial hair micropigmentation can improve any beard imperfections listed above, and it can recreate the stubble look even if the client has no facial hair. Obviously, the marks always stay the same, they won’t grow with your natural hairs, so you’ll need to keep your actual facial hair trimmed.
How Long Does It Last?
The results last 3-5 years. They gradually fade, but you can refresh them to keep them longer.
Image source: Instagram @scalpinnovations
Beard Microblading
Beard microblading emerged from eyebrow microblading. This technique creates tiny tattoos that look like hairs, the so-called hair strokes. A thin hand-held blade is dragged through the skin, and pigments are deposited into the cuts. When they heal, they look indistinguishable from actual hairs.
Who Is It For?
Beard microblading can be used to add density, modify the shape of the outline, and camouflage sparse patches. The technique is not suitable for scar tissue, and it can’t recreate an entire beard, as the results won’t look realistic.
Since the marks look like hair that has grown out of the skin, you’ll need to keep your actual hairs a bit longer.
How Long Does It Last?
Hair strokes are more delicate than micropigmentation dots, and they fade faster. The results could potentially last out 2 years, but in reality, they fade faster, because of frequent washing and constant sunlight exposure. They need occasional touch ups to look fresh.
Image source: Instagram @tylagrayspmu
So Which Technique Is Better?
This depends on the style of facial hair you like to wear. If you wear a stubble or 5 o’clock shadow, facial hair micropigmentation is the way to go. But if you wear your beard longer, microblading is probably a better choice. That said, micropigmentation can also look good on longer hair, as the dots add an illusion of density, but only if they’re diffused all over the facial hair area, not on the outlines.
Final Note
If you decide to get a cosmetic beard tattoo, bear in mind that you’re committing to wearing facial hair for as long as the results last. Since the colors are deposited into the skin, they will stay there even if you shave off your beard. This is obviously a problem if you get only certain spots tattooed. So think this decision through carefully.
Cover image source: Freepik
