If there’s one beauty trick that we all use generously it’s darkening your lashes for an instant glamification. It’s something most of us do whenever we leave the house, even if we’re not wearing any makeup on the rest of our face.
But eyeliner+mascara combo can be super annoying. Not only is it so hard to get your eyeliner right sometimes, there’s also the constant worry about your mascara smudging throughout the day and ending up with panda eyes. And what about people who have very little to no natural lashes?
The beauty industry offers a much more advanced solution – tattooed eyelashes! Let’s answer all the questions that are probably popping up in your mind right now.
What Do You Mean Tattooed Eyelashes? How Does That Work?
The picture you have in mind right now is probably faux lash strands tattooed on the eyelid. Well, that’s not what tattooed eyelashes are.
What we actually mean is having your lash line tattooed with a thin line that looks like very thin eyeliner. The line follows the lashes from one corner of the eye to the other, giving an illusion of darker, thicker lashes, like you have more natural lashes than you actually do, without looking like you’re wearing a ton of makeup. It can be done on the upper and the lower lash line.
A picture says more than a thousand words, so here’s what we mean:
Image source: Instagram @sway_cosmetictattoo
How Are Tattooed Eyelashes Done?
So, tattooed eyelashes are actually a style of permanent eyeliner, a form of permanent makeup that recreates the look of eyeliner by tattooing it on the skin of the eyelid however you like to wear it.
An electric pen-shaped device with a needle that pierces the skin in tiny punctures is used to inject color into the skin.
This is a form of cosmetic tattooing, so it doesn’t last forever. Unlike traditional body art tattooing, permanent makeup is done with PMU pigments, not inks, which the body can break down and eventually fade into invisibility. The pigments are injected shallow into the skin, so the treatment isn’t as invasive as traditional tattooing.
The technique can recreate a number of eyeliner styles, from the full-on dramatic winged eyeliner, to eyelash enhancement, AKA tattooed eyelashes.
For more detailed information about permanent eyeliner, check out this guide.
Does This Hurt?
We know, having your eyelid tattooed doesn’t sound very pleasant. But it’s really not that scary.
Topical anesthesia is used during the procedure to numb the skin and eliminate the pain. You might feel some discomfort during the procedure, but not pain.
Important!
An eyeliner tattoo goes just above the lashes or perhaps between them, but many people like to darken their water lines with eyeliner, too, the thin stretches of skin that connect the roots of the lashes to the eyeball. Unfortunately, the water lines cannot be tattooed. The skin is just too thin, and there are glands underneath it that can be damaged if touched by a needle.
Read more on that in this article.
Image source: Instagram @daniellecosmetictattoo
How Long Do Tattooed Eyelashes Last?
As we said, the treatment is done in such a way that allows the results to fade away after a while. 1-3 years, to be precise. It can be prolonged by refreshing the color.
Your immune system will break down the pigments bit by bit, and the color will gradually fade. How fast this happens depends on many factors and it’s very individual. It predominantly depends on your body chemistry, but also on your skin type and lifestyle.
You can find a more detailed overview of the tattooed eyelashes fading process in this article.
Why Are Tattooed Eyelashes Great?
Having enhanced lashes without makeup is great in itself, but the pros of tattooed eyelashes go far beyond anything regular makeup could give you.
It looks gorgeous
Getting tattooed eyelashes is a very subtle but very effective enhancement. It makes your eyes pop and gives you a brighter, more awake appearance. It’s versatile and appropriate for any occasion, and it can be easily built up with regular makeup to any look you want. It’s also great for aging eyes.
It doesn’t run or smudge
Your lashes will stay darkened no matter what you do. You can swim away, sweat it out in the gym, rub your eyes all you want – the color is neatly packed into the skin and will stay put.
It’s perfect for people with very light or very sparse lashes
It’s common for people with naturally blonde hair to have extremely light lashes to go along, which can look almost invisible. The same goes for mature people with gray hair. Tattooed eyelashes can free them from applying mascara that somehow always looks very obvious on extremely light lashes. They should for a deep brows shade of pigment instead of black – it will look much more natural.
While people with light lashes can improve the situation with makeup or lash tinting, people with naturally very sparse brows won’t really get the enhancement they want from makeup, tinting, nor lash extensions. So tattooed eyelashes are a dream come true.
Image source: Instagram @domonique.izora
And even people with no lashes at all
Some people lose their lashes due to alopecia, cancer treatment, or other reasons. Tattooed eyelashes are virtually the only way to give them back their lashes (we won’t even mention the devilishly impractical strip lashes).
Image source: Instagram @themis_lashes
So, Should I Go For It?
Well, do you want your lashes looking stunning at all times without having to do anything to them for up to 3 years? If the answer is yes, and we bet it is, a lash enhancement will be a dream come true.
Cover image source: Freepik
