According to Velma Polk, a micropigmentation patient, “If you had to put on makeup every day, you’d understand.”  Micropigmentation, which is also referred to as permanent makeup, can be useful cosmetically and even medically for reconstructive purposes after procedures like chemotherapy or a mastectomy. 

Micropigmentation is administered by utilizing tattoo needles to inject semi-permanent coloration into the area where treatment is desired.  Polk has already had her eyes and eyebrows micropigmented earlier in the month and is now seeking permanent lip color. 

Prior to injection of the color, the technician applies a numbing agent to the patient’s lips.  Once the area is numbed, the procedure can begin to add color to the area. 

Following the treatment, a patient receiving lip micropigmentation will experience a period of swelling and chapping before the coloration will become apparent. 

Micropigmentation is not only for people seeking cosmetic enhancement.  According to Kristanne Matzek, director of education and vice president of the American Academy of Micropigmentation, most people undergo micropigmentation for cosmetic purposes.  However, Matzek comments, there are other people who seek micropigmentation treatment for corrective purposes such as camouflaging scars, or restoring areolae following a mastectomy.  People who have undergone chemotherapy treatment may also seek corrective micropigmentation to restore the look of eyebrows, lost due to the treatment. 

Micropigmentation first gained popularity in the 1980s with permanent eyeliner tattooing.  Since then, the treatment has grown significantly to include other areas of permanent makeup and reconstructive cosmetic purposes. 

Micropigmentation is not a permanent treatment.  “The paint on a house fades in the sun, and that’s what permanent makeup pigments do as well,” comments Matzek.  Touch up treatments may be required every couple years or so as the ink fades. 

State laws dictate rules regarding who may administer micropigmentation and in South Carolina, where Polk receives her treatment, the supervision of a licensed physician is required. 

Micropigmentation for eyeliner or eyebrows typically costs about $700.  Lip treatment is slightly more costly at $1000 per treatment.