A tattoo or fuller, poutier and more pigmented lips without having to go under the knife?
If you’ve been on social media in the past few years, aesthetically, it’s clear that lips have become a very desirable and discussed feature in the way of most people craving plumper, fuller looking lips. Seeing more and more people in the public eye indulging in a little filler here and there and selfies popping up on our feeds featuring plumper, more pouty looking lips it’s no surprise filler has taken off as a popular treatment for whom desires it. There’s now over 1.6 million hashtags on Instagram all surrounding the topic of lip fillers, and Google searches for ‘lip injections near me’ have continued to increase since 2013. In short: filler provides major lip service for the non-invasive aesthetics industry.
From injecting filler directly in the lips to plump up, to adding filler under the bottom lip to make what you already have look more pronounced, there’s several options out there for increasing your lip size or altering their shape, including tattooing. Lip blush is not a new service by any means, permanent makeup has been around for decades. But gone are the days of the stark, harsh brown to nude lip liner tattoos. Meet lip blushing, the tattoo that not only colour corrects but enhances the shape and size of your lips too.
So, what is lip blushing?
Lip blushing is a form of semi-permanent makeup. Essentially, it is a cosmetic tattoo of the lips that enhances the beauty of the natural lip colour, improving the shape of the lips, giving definition and the illusion of fullness. This treatment delivers very natural results, once healed. Lip blush is all about making your lips even, creating the illusion of volume and ensuring that the colour stays put in any situation so that all you need to do is add a dab of lip gloss and you are good to go. Lip blush is the perfect way to restore shape and fullness lost with age whilst also transforming thin or uneven lips. It gives lips a gorgeous, barely-there flush without the lifetime commitment of a traditional tattoo.
What are the perks of lip blushing?
The perks of lip blushing include:
- Long lasting lip colour
- Increased pigmentation for pale and/or ageing lips
- The ability to customise your lip shade
- Fuller-looking lips without the need for injectables or surgery
- Enhanced lip symmetry
- Colour correction for scars and uneven pigmentation
How does lip blush work?
Here’s how it works. A tiny mechanised needle deposits pigment into the lips, which builds layers of colour.
Unlike traditional permanent cosmetic tattoos, lip blushing is an evolved service that’s meant to provide natural looking, long-lasting results. Traditional permanent makeup uses a strong machine, synthetic pigments, and is embedded deep in the dermis. The permanent makeup of today is very different, using organic pigments and modern, digital tools. The results are much more natural looking and believable. Modern lip blush uses a gentler machine and advanced semi-permanent makeup pigment, whereas in the past, traditional carbon-based tattoo ink produced harsh results that would age to an unappealing colour.
How permanent is lip blushing?
Similar to brow microblading, which utilises a blade to manually create small cuts in the skin, which are then filled with ink. The results from lip blush vary person to person. Generally, lip blushing can last 2-3 years, although your lifestyle contributes to how well it maintains; smoking and sun exposure can speed up the fading process, and if you’re oil-prone, have an iron deficiency or use a lot of exfoliating products in your skin regimen, the pigment could fade slightly sooner too.
How painful is the treatment?
A tattoo on the lips sounds painful, especially for someone who might be looking for an alternative to getting injected with filler due to the pain factor. Most of our clients say there’s little to no discomfort as we numb the lips prior to the service using topical numbing gel throughout the treatment to keep discomfort at bay. If you’re worried about your pain tolerance, a pain killer can be taken prior to the appointment, however, we do advise against using paracetamol and ibuprofen, though, since they can think the blood and cause more sensitivity.
What to expect from your appointment
So what will happen in your appointment? First, there’s pout prep. A topical anaesthetic is applied to pre-numb the lips for 20 minutes. Afterwards, our lip technician Holly will draw the shape of the ‘new’ lips so that you can evaluate and make any changes. Once the client is happy with the shape, we begin the actual tattooing. The procedure takes place over the course of 3 hours with a 30 minute consultation beforehand for a patch test and for the client to decide on their colour choice. Once the appointment is completed, your lips may be swollen, it is a tattoo, after all, so you can ice them if necessary. Over the next week, your lips will start to heal, meaning they may scab, so it’s important to time this carefully around your schedule.
For the first 24 hours, we advise our clients to gently blot their lips with a wet cotton pad and let them air dry. This is to keep the lips clean and remove any body fluids that have surfaced and prevent the fluids from forming scabs. When it comes to scabs, it’s important that they fall off naturally as picking them can result in scarring or loss of pigment in those areas. We also suggest avoiding workouts and sun exposure for two weeks and if you plan on getting injections, wait a full month. Sleeping on your face could also cause the scabs to fall of prematurely. An occlusive ointment like Aquaphor should be work to keep the lips properly moisturised.
Initially, the colour will be super vibrant, almost like a lip stain. It is important not to be scared by the immediate ‘after’ results. The immediate results look nothing like when the lips are healed. Once healed, the colour fades approximately 30-50 percent and also blends in with the natural colour.
Scabbing typically lasts five to seven days and after four weeks, the lips should be fully healed to completion, but we do suggest a touch-up appointment around six weeks in the event the client wants to alter the shape of blush, or to fill in areas that may have rejected pigment, although it’s not mandatory.
Keen to try our new lip blushing treatment? We are offering an introductory offer including a top up at 6 weeks which is £200, available until the end of June and there are limited appointments available so be quick to book in and secure your slot.