Skin Deep Cosmetic Beauty
By Dawn Willard

The importance of eyebrows as a powerful beauty asset is often overlooked. Eyebrows can be shaped to pull together all of the elements of the face into balance, giving your best features glory and the flaws respectful supporting roles. People with thin, partial or no eyebrows often choose to use pencil or powder to create their eyebrows daily and even multiple times daily since this makeup tends to smudge or disappear. Many of these people are ending that daily ritual with permanent makeup. Permanent makeup, also known as cosmetic tattoo or micro pigmentation, is used to create a variety of changes in the face. Eyebrow enhancement is an extremely popular permanent makeup procedure.

Eyebrow Design Need Only Be Done Once

In her book Bobbi Brown Beauty, Ms. Brown writes, "....a well-groomed, well-defined brow can be extremely flattering and add considerable strength to a woman's eyes. It can open up her face so that she actually needs less makeup. A well-shaped brow can also help lift deep-set eyes or maximize small eyes. There are even instances where a lifted, manicured brow has had the same effect as a surgical eyelift." Good brows are rarely accomplished by guesswork. A permanent makeup artist must be adept in the art and the science of designing the shape, color and placement for beautiful symmetrical eyebrows that enhance through the decades. A well-chosen neutral eyebrow will flatter you through all your hair color changes. Adjustments in the color of your permanent makeup can be made, if necessary, when you have a touch up on it every one to five years.

Cosmetic Tattoo, A Versatile Solution

The causes of missing hair in the eyebrows are many-genes, illness, over-plucked, age related hair loss and physical trauma for instance. An inspired and talented cosmetic tattoo artist can work with the "landscape" of the brow area be it totally blank, scarred or deeply wrinkled. A lifting arch can be put into straight or droopy eyebrows, width into thin ones, length into short ones and symmetry into asymmetrical ones. Whatever the case may be, tattoo offers a precision that is difficult
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to obtain and keep with regular makeup. Tattooed eyebrows stay put whether the design is strong and precise or subtle and natural looking. Eyebrows can be applied in delicate hair strokes, a powder fill or a combination of the two, always using more than one color of pigment to create the illusion of dimension. As much as possible of one's natural brow hair is incorporated into the design. The solution of permanent eyebrows is used by men, as well as women.

Make A Statement

Eyebrows not only frame the eyes, but when shaped appropriately for a face they bring the entire face into focus, giving a person more presence. The eyebrow design may even serve to qualify that presence as, for instance, down-to-earth, glamorous, soft or assertive. In other words, eyebrows can influence the way people perceive you. In fact, eyebrows can influence the way you perceive yourself. Even when you know beauty is on the inside, you want to look your best. Confidence can change the impression you leave in all of your social and professional interaction. Positive, healthy self-esteem allows you to focus on important goals, instead of stress about looking old, tired or unattractive. Legendary makeup artist Kevyn Aucoin said, "the most dramatic thing you could do to change your look is to shape your eyebrows."

Always Plan Ahead

A permanent makeup procedure is a process that most commonly requires two sessions, usually three or four weeks apart for permanent eyebrows. In the first session the design is applied and in the second session color, shape and detail is refines. Building the eyebrows in stages can minimize or eliminate altogether that oh-so-scary dark eyebrow stage. You need not feel self-conscious about your appearance at any point in the process. If you are planning to have surgery to lift the brow, eyes or full face complete the surgery and the healing process before adding permanent cosmetics to your face. When planning to have Botox, chemotherapy or radiation therapy get your cosmetic tattoos applied first. In regards to laser treatments, discuss these during your consultation.

Dawn Willard's extensive career in the fine and applied arts has included lettering, illustrations photo/film styling and cosmetic tattoo. Ms. Willard currently owns The Permanent Makeup Studio in Asheville, North Carolina.