Permanent Makeup Training in the United States is better than most nations, but needs to come a long distance to meet even basic standards of post-secondary Educational School for a trade nationally. Although we do not want regulation to get over the top, basic standards need to be made and adopted nationally so that the public is protected and the best trained artist can be licensed to mark the face with permanent cosmetic tattooing with a high degree of quality and safety.
There are few states that regulate cosmetic tattooing and those that do miss the boat because they have followed substandard standards of education provided by the few organizations nationally. It is an outrage that anyone can advocate you can learn to safely tattoo the face in a mere sixty to eighty hours of instruction.
The average nail technician in this country attends two hundred to six hundred hours of training just to do nails. Nevertheless, the public has been completely misled to believe you can learn to cosmetically tattoo in a few short days. Call permanent cosmetic tattooing whatever you choose, micropigmentation, derma implantation, semi-permanent, permanent makeup, and whatever other fancy words you wish; it’s a tattoo.
I cannot imagine how any school can train a student completely and at a high standard on subjects of proper sterilization and barrier control and sanitation, needles and tubes, equipment, history, color application, proper consultation, record keeping, photography, correct artistic placement of brows and design, perfecting each tattoo technique for brows, eyeliner and lips, practice of techniques and then performing enough procedures with the instructor present to become competent to safely tattoo the face.
Some people in this industry will hate the fact that I am writing this information because it hurts their pocketbook and reveals the truth about the substandard instructors nationally, that are taking thousands of dollars and pumping students through their schools that follow standards that are foolish and in my opinion, dangerous to the public.
Three days in a so called school will not meet any standard of education that is reasonable to become a cosmetic tattoo artist. Eighty hours doesn’t even scratch the surface to become a well trained artist. Although there are some instructors that are trying to improve the standard of training and do not just throw someone on a face, it still is not what is needed nationally.
I don’t want anyone to think that I don’t respect other artists. I certainly do, and especially instructors that are not just in this industry for a quick dollar off the misled new student that wishes to learn this important art.
There are a few instructors that really do take all the time necessary to train the student regardless of how long it takes. It is a crime to put a new student on live human models as practice guinea pigs. I have been ridiculed for having students practice for hours using pigs ears before the student tattoos a face. But I can tell you one thing, our students can produce better work than ninety percent of the instructors out there and do it safely with results like a seasoned artist. Some like practice pads or plastic faces or even bananas. We choose the pigs ear because it is close to human skin and if there is a mistake you can just throw it away. It’s called permanent makeup for a reason, and it does not come off, why risk a lady’s face?
A permanent makeup student of mine went to a school certified by one of the organizations and after spending thousands of dollars realized she knew very little and was upset she had even been declared certified. She was horrified when she was watching the student under the instructor’s guidance produce what you see here.
Now I’m probably thinking the same thing you are, what in the world are they doing and how can anyone think this is quality work and allowed to occur and destroy this lady’s face? You have to wonder just what the instructor was thinking, and then what this poor lady must have seen after looking in the mirror.
I’m not saying all permanent makeup trainers are bad, what I’m saying is just because they have all these certificates and certifications from organizations that have no legal stature in the nation, does not mean they are master cosmetic tattoo artists that should be teaching this art or even doing procedures themselves. Maybe they need training. Read on and I’ll tell you where I am going with this, if you haven’t already started to get some of my points with regards to the standard of training nationally.
This case was presented to me and most likely will be a major legal issue. I have talked with the attorney representing this man and discovered that the person that performed this disaster is actually the founder of a permanent makeup organization. This man asked if it was possible to tattoo his head and make it look like a shaved head rather than a plain bald head. I suppose at this point you’re starting to see a little of what I see daily coming to my office, most telling the same story.
I recently had a student hire me to re-train her. She had been using a pen machine and stated she wanted to learn how to use the coil machine because her results were not good with the pen machine. I had a difficult time with her because when I was in the middle of a lecture and explained legal issues her response was always negative or she stated she never did it that way so why should she start now. If I stated you should have insurance, she would state she never needed it so why get it. If I mentioned you should have a legal business license, she stated she never had one so why start now, she always worked from her home. This woman never worked with the equipment she purchased from us, and basically thought practicing was foolish. The other students just couldn’t understand her arrogance.
She asked me to critique her portfolio and after a careful evaluation of her work, I talked over her brow design on the faces she had tattooed. All looked like the brows of Ronald McDonald; no symmetry and none placed even close to anatomically correct. I explained it was important to practice these techniques and learn design and proper placement and attempted to teach the information to her.
Now looking back on this, I and the students that wanted to learn this right, cannot understand how a person in the industry twelve years could be so closed-minded and why she even attended the program if she already knew everything. I told this person again and again that even though she had been doing permanent makeup for twelve years does not mean she was doing it right. Furthermore, I told her to keep coming to class no charge for as long as it takes to make her a great artist. She stated she will come back and complete the training, but went home and continued against what we recommended.
Well here we go again, she continued right back on the same track thinking she was more talented than she was and she went back and took one of the poor designs she had created in the past and produced this corrective masterpiece. I have no respect for people that just do not listen and are unwilling to do the training that is necessary to become a great artist.
What I am hoping here is that new students who wish to enter this exciting and growing art need to do their homework and really check out the school you wish to attend. If the school says you can learn permanent makeup in a few days, run!
Check to see that the school is a licensed business and meets state requirements. Organization standards do not mean the school is competent or following the law. Ask if the school has insurance and is also licensed to teach a trade.
Ask what type of warranty comes with the equipment you will purchase and make sure it is quality. Ask how many distributors there are selling replacement parts for the equipment and the cost of each size needle. Is the school also a supply company or a complete distributor of the products they sell? Ask for a copy of the school catalog of education and the contract. How long is the training and what does it include.
Does the beginner’s class cover every subject needed to go into business and include sterilization classes under state guidelines? Ask if you are going to be trained on a practice medium and when you have the techniques down, will you go on to live models with the instructor. Can you stay in the beginner program as long as it takes to become proficient to safely tattoo the human face?
Is the school going to provide all of the necessary files to include consultation forms? Will you be instructed on how to do a complete consultation? Will you be taught how to do a patch test for allergic reaction to pigment? Will you learn about the proper way to apply color into the human skin?
Does the school know or know how to assist you with your local and state laws? Does the school recommend insurance companies, and if they are not a supply company have a list of national supply companies? Will you receive a diploma or a certificate? These are just some of the issues and questions that you should check out before deciding on your training.
Soon, I’ll be posting some good news concerning this subject in a follow-up article.
