We all love an on-point lip look, but keeping it throughout the day can be a challenge. If you’re using makeup, that is. But the beauty industry has come up with a way to enhance your lips without wearing makeup and it can recreate almost any formula, from basic lipstick, to a nice lip tint.
The point of a lip tint is to blend into your lips, making them look like they’re naturally the color you want them to be, instead of looking like a thick layer of makeup.
The lip tint tattoo can do just that. This treatment will give your lips the color you want but in its permanent version that doesn’t run or smudge. Here’s everything you need to know about it!
What’s a Lip Tint Tattoo?
In short, it’s a tattoo for your lips that gives them the look of wearing lip tint!
But there’s more to it. When we say tattoo, we actually mean a subcategory of it called cosmetic tattooing, and a subcategory of that called permanent makeup, or PMU. PMU treatments are supposed to recreate the look of wearing makeup, and they don’t last forever, although they’re called permanent.
When you get a lip tint tattoo, you’re free from wearing lip makeup for months, even years. But the effects do fade over a certain time, losing intensity until they become invisible. This means you can change up the color every once in a while.
Image source: Instagram @blushed.au
How Is It Done?
A lip tint tattoo is done by using the lip blushing technique.
Lip blushing means using an electric needle device to open up the skin in numerous tiny dots and deposit color into them. The color is actually a permanent makeup pigment, a formula designed to look very natural in the skin, and to fade over time.
The pigments are implemented relatively shallow into the skin, so they blend nicely into it and give a natural-looking color-from-within effect. The implementation requires 2, or in some cases, 3 sessions of lip blushing, since the color needs to be built up gradually.
Does It Hurt?
The treatment uses a topical anesthetic which eliminates the pain, but you will still feel some discomfort in the form of pressure, or scratching. Most clients report that it’s nothing that bad, though.
How Long Does It Last?
Your lip tint tattoo should last around 2 years, but it will gradually lose intensity over this time. You can boost the color back up at any moment with a touch up and prolong the results.
For more information on how long a lip tint tattoo can last, read this guide.
What Styles Are Available?
The lip blushing technique is very versatile, so it can be 100% customized to give you the effect you want.
Basic Lip Blush
The basic lip blush means the pigments are injected over the whole surface of the lips in an even tone, just like a lip tint is applied. It’s a soft look, suitable for everyday occasions, and you can build it up with your favorite lip product for special occasions.
Image source: Instagram @vanessaassispmu
Aquarelle Lips
An even more subtle version is aquarelle lips, where the lip blushing is softer and more sheer, like the colors of a watercolor painting, which is where it got its name. Aquarelle lips are recognizable for their soft edges and blended look.
Image source: Instagram @innarobert_pmu
Ombre Lip Blush
Ombre lips are the most dramatic version, and it implies a gradient from the edges to the center of the lips. This is a very trendy look, but it’s best suited for clients who wear makeup on the rest of their face every day.
Read this article to check out all lip tattoo styles available.
Image source: Instagram @esthet_ink_studio
What Colors Are Available?
You can get a lip tint tattoo in any color you want, more or less. The pigments can be mixed together for a customized shade, but it’s important to make it compatible with your skin tone and undertone. Your artist will advise you on that.
The most popular choices are rosy, flesh-colored tones, but you can also go reddish or more towards burgundy. The thing to note, though, is that the lip tint tattoo looks quite dark and intense when freshly applied, but the color softens and blends into the skin as your lips heals. So the final result will look lighter, but you can go slightly darker at the 6-8 week touch up.
Image source: Instagram @geek_torpoint
Final Note
While the shallow implementation depth makes the lip tint tattoo a non-invasive treatment, since the skin of the lips is broken, it entails a healing period during which your lips will go through a light scabbing period. They will flake off and won’t look that attractive. This will all be over within 2 weeks or so, but you should know what to expect.
Read this guide for more information on the lip tint tattoo healing process.
Cover image source: Pexels
