All About Lip Blush Aftercare Ointment
A good lip blush aftercare ointment is important for ensuring safe healing. Here’s all about how it’s used, what ingredients to look for, which to avoid, plus recommendations!
Image source: Freepik
After the lip blushing treatment, the lips go through a healing cycle during which they need some extra care and attention.
Besides a specially prescribed cleaning routine and activities that need to be avoided, using a lip blush aftercare ointment is the most important part of the aftercare routine.
Here’s all about the lip tattoo aftercare cream, whether you’re getting lip blush yourself, or an artist figuring out what to prescribe your clients: the best way to use it, what ingredients are desirable, which are not, and specific recommendations.
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Why Is a High-Quality Lip Blush Aftercare Ointment Important?
Lip blush is a form of tattooing, and as such, it implies breaking the surface of the skin of the lips and causing micro-trauma. The needles of the PMU machine puncture on the lips where pigment is deposited, and those punctures need to heal.
During the healing process, which begins immediately after the treatment is through, the lips go through several phases, which include tenderness, dryness, tightness, itching, the formation of a scabby film and its flaking.
The function of the lip blush aftercare ointment is to ease all these symptoms and make sure as much pigment is retained in the skin as possible. A high-quality lip tattoo aftercare cream will:
- Soothe lips and reduce inflammation
- Keep them moisturized, eliminating the sensation of tightness
- Minimize itchiness
- Minimize chapping and flaking (there will still be some chapping, but it will be minor)
- Ensure the scabby film that forms is as thin as possible
- Create a protective barrier that reduces the risk of contamination and infection.
All these benefits contribute to better pigment retention. If the client’s lips don’t feel weird and they’re not flaking too much, they won’t be so tempted to touch them and pull off the flakes, which is the no. 1 reason results can turn out patchy.
Plus, protecting the wound from contamination is crucial to the client’s health – if they develop an infection on their lips, they may need medical treatment.
Check out our Comprehensive Guide Through Lip Blush Healing for more info on how the lips heal after the treatment.
Image source: Instagram @jasminediebelius_pmu
Is Wet Healing Better Than Dry Healing?
In the case of lip blushing, yes, wet healing is always superior to dry healing.
While the dry healing aftercare routine, which excludes using the aftercare ointment, is still prescribed for other forms of PMU, it’s not a good option for lip blushing. The explanation is simple:
- The wound needs moisture to heal.
- Facial skin may excrete enough sebum to moisturize the wound, but the skin of the lips doesn’t produce any sebum.
- Therefore, additional moisture has to be provided through using a lip blush aftercare ointment.
If the lips aren’t moisturized throughout their healing process, they get extremely dry and chapped, jeopardizing the retention of pigments implemented and bringing about major discomfort for the client.
How to Use Lip Blush Aftercare Ointment
Here’s how lip tattoo aftercare cream should be used to ensure the best results and the healing process going smoothly:
- The client should start moisturizing the lips as soon as a few hours after the treatment. The artist should determine exactly how soon.
- The lips should be moisturized at all times. Due to talking and eating, and the fact that the lips don’t produce sebum, the cream needs to be reapplied frequently.
- After each cleaning, the lips should be dried with a blotting motion and aftercare ointment should be applied.
- Aftercare ointment should only be applied to clean lips. After each meal, the lips should be cleaned and re-moisturized.
- If there are thick residues from the previous application, clean the lips first before applying more cream. Layering cream on top of cream creates a thick layer which is a breeding ground for bacteria.
- It’s okay to reapply aftercare cream whenever the lips start feeling dry or tight.
- The cream must be applied in tapping motions – never rubbing. This is why chapstick-styled moisturizers are not a good option, as they have to be dragged against the lips. Application with clean fingers or a q-tip is much safer.
These general instructions go hand in hand with the rest of the lip blush aftercare routine, which you can find in our Comprehensive Guide Through Lip Blush Aftercare, explained in detail.
Which Ingredients Make a Good Lip Blush Aftercare Ointment?
Certain ingredients can be very beneficial in a lip blush aftercare ointment. The best ointment for lip blush would be one that contains a blend of the following:
Natural Extracts
Plant extracts contain a wide variety of vitamins and antioxidants, which are beneficial for skin soothing and regeneration.
The best soothing ingredients are calendula extract and aloe vera extract – they’ll eliminate inflammation and itching. Green tea extract is a major source of antioxidants, while cucumber extract is deeply hydrating. Just to name a few.
Look for blends of plant extracts, but be mindful of possible allergies.
Vitamin E
Many natural extracts contain vitamin E, but it doesn’t hurt to highlight it.
Vitamin E is very beneficial in skin healing and regeneration. It can speed up the healing process and fight skin cell damage, so it’s definitely a good addition to a lip tattoo aftercare cream formula.
Certain Natural Oils
Some (but not all) plant oils can be very beneficial to the lip blush healing process. Oils are highly moisturizing ingredients, and some of them have antibacterial properties.
Good options are coconut oil and olive oil. These can be found as ingredients in lip blush aftercare ointment formulas, but the pure versions can also be used, albeit clients may not like the feel of pure oil on their lips.
Shea Butter
A moisturizing classic! The high contents of fatty acids and vitamins make shea butter a great ingredient for healing skin.
Hyaluronic Acid
The go-to moisturizer. Hyaluronic acid will provide moisture retention and minimize the sensation of dryness.
Image source: Freepik
And Which Ingredients Should Be Avoided?
On the other hand, some ingredients can do more harm than good and should be avoided in a lip tattoo aftercare cream:
Petroleum Jelly
For lip blush aftercare vaseline is not a great option, even though it used to be the go-to in the past. Petroleum jelly in high concentrations is a very thick substance, which prevents the wound from breathing and slows down the regeneration process.
On top of that, the barrier it creates traps moisture underneath, creating the perfect breeding ground for bacteria. That said, creams with really low concentrations of petrolatum are okay.
Exfoliating Ingredients
Some chapsticks and lip balms clients use for day-to-day lip care may contain exfoliating ingredients like certain acids, or even components for mechanical exfoliation.
These can cause pigment loss and patchy results, and this is part of the reason why clients can’t use whatever loop product they normally use for lip blush aftercare.
Retinol
Retinol, or vitamin A, has made its way into some lip balm formulas. It should be avoided because it’s a brightening ingredient which works through exfoliation, which can affect pigment retention and cause patchy results.
Rosehip Seed Oil
This plant oil contains lycopene and beta carotene, which are brightening ingredients. There’s been some talk that rosehip oil can actually fade PMU pigments, so it’s best avoided after lip blushing.
Lip Plumping Ingredients
Many popular lip products give a plumping effect which is achieved through ingredients that boost the stimulation of blood into the lips.
These ingredients are often extracts of spicy plants: cinnamon, menthol, and even straight up pepper. They cause a burning sensation, and are not suitable for sensitive healing lips.
Artificial Ingredients
Synthetic components in skincare can be quite harsh, so they’re best avoided, especially since there are so many natural options available. This particularly applies to synthetic perfume, which can be drying due to alcohol contents.
IMPORTANT!
We’ve already mentioned that clients can’t just use whatever moisturizing lip products they already have as their lip blush aftercare ointment, because their ingredients may not be suitable for sensitive lips and open skin.
But there’s another reason. Products previously used may be contaminated with bacteria which broken skin may not be able to handle. This can lead to infection.
So, What Is the Best Lip Balm for Tattoo Lips?
Generally, the best choice of lip blush aftercare cream is one that’s not in the form of chapstick, but rather a formula that can be applied with clean fingers or a q-tip.
A chapstick has to be pressed and dragged against the lips, which can be uncomfortable as the lips can be tender in the first days of the healing process, and it can pull off flakes of skin later in the process and cause patchy healing.
So, a loose cream that comes in a tube is better. In terms of consistency, a thicker, lotion-like product is better than a runny, liquid one that can get into the mouth easily.
Here’s our list of best ointment for lip blush recommendations:
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