Lips - Case 1

Client Information

Intro: Our case studies are the perfect way to gain a deeper insight into the products required to provide a particular type of service.

This client had a skin graft to the left hand side of her upper lip following surgery for skin cancer, even though the skin graft was an exceptional result the loss of approximately 1/3 of the upper lip body and vermillion line was very noticeable and this emphasised the visibility of the graft. The client requested lip tattooing to restore natural shape, appearance and colour to the lip body and vermillion line.

Before Photo

After Photo - (healed 6 weeks after first procedure)

Comments: This client had a preference for a subtle enhancement, the after photo above shows the lips 5 weeks after healing from the first procedure and the large pop-up image shows the lips immediately after the second procedure with pigment still visible in the epidermis reflecting light giving a slightly chalky appearance prior to healing (see the healed photo above after first procedure for a healed comparison). You will notice that the lip tattooing almost completely deemphasises the visibility of the graft in the white lip above due to normalising the lip shape and restoring the lip body and vermillion line.

NB. When tattooing grafts and or in instances where clients have previously had skin cancers it is extremely important to select pigment lines that are allergy tested by manufacturers whom are very restrictive in their use of colourant ingredients to minimise the risk of skin reactions.

Equipment & Products

• Sterile Gloves
• Sterile Dressing Packs
• Sterile Gauze
• Sterile Saline
• Barrier Wrap
• Tube Sleeve
• Machine Covers
• Alcohol Based Hand Rub
• Disinfecting Wipes
• Aftercare

Often technicians claim to be using 'sterile technique' or 'aseptic technique' for a cosmetic tattoo service when in fact the products being use are not of those standards. Aseptic technique involves the compliance with specific standards, the use of a particular grade of consumable supplies and the use of hygiene barriers wherever possible. For example a procedure can hardly be claimed to be 'aseptic technique' if un-sterile gloves or un-sterile gauze are used during a service to wipe tattooed skin or if food handling protective equipment is used instead of the appropriate use of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) as recommended by health authorities.

If a cosmetic tattoo store is offering food handling mouth shields for sale it is a fair indication that they do not understand the difference between the kind of PPE required for Cosmetic Tattooing to protect the client and the technician vs. those used in the food industry.

For this reason I recommend that technicians are not misled into purchasing products that are inappropriate for use during a skin penetration service by suppliers who do not hold the necessary qualifications to make these kinds of recommendations, ideally this kind of advice is provided by a supervising Registered Health Professional.

• Amiea Linelle Supreme
• Amiea Drawing & Stirring Pen
• Amiea Control Pen Red Examination Light

Any serious full time cosmetic tattooist will have 2-3 or more devices to choose from when providing client services and at least 2 hand pieces for each device, leading technicians and educators such as myself will often have 5-10 devices that are all used for different purposes. Most of us will have a go-to device that is our day to day workhorse for the majority of procedures and mine is the Amiea Linelle Supreme I have used them all at one time or another over the years and the Linelle Supreme always comes out at top of the list.

• 3 Outline - (for lip-line and colouring the graft)
• 5 Slope - (lip body)
   

• Antic Rose - (to graft 1st procedure)
• Cherry Blossom - (entire lip)

Many Cosmetic Tattoo Technicians seem completely unaware of the legal requirements related to manufacturing or importation of pigments into Australia, a recent survey by our Chemical Regulator the Australian Industrial Chemicals Introduction Scheme "AICIS" formerly known as "NICNAS" highlighted that many pigments currently on the market may not be compliant.

Before purchasing any cosmetic tattoo pigment always insist that the supplier provides written confirmation that they are registered with AICIS and that they have audited their pigment for compliance with Australian Regulations and they hold product liability insurance, if not you may be taking an enormous risk.

The European Commission have tasked their chemicals advisory body ECHA with recommending restrictions on the use of a wide range of chemicals that are currently in use by tattoo pigment manufacturers and the European Community are due to vote on the proposed restrictions in 2019. Some of the Medical Professional Associations have publicly stated that even these proposed new restrictions do not go far enough. Our expert opinion is that much stricter regulations will occur in the EU and these standards will eventually be adopted in many other countries.

Some pigment suppliers seem to be totally oblivious to their obligations under the law or the changes that are taking place around the world related to the health and safety of tattoo pigments. In addition to the strict manufacturing standards followed by the PhD chemists at Amiea we independently audit the pigments that we supply for compliance and I recommend that our customers consider carefully the differences between Amiea and alternative brands before making any pigment purchases.

You may find our Amiea Pigment Colour Selection Interactive  & User Tips are helpful for learning about the Amiea pigment range and for choosing pigments for your client.

Training is the most important investment that a cosmetic tattoo technician can make for the future of their career, it often puzzles me why anyone would think that they can offer services to members of the public for hundreds of dollars without spending an adequate amount of money on their own training in the first instance, the more training and experience the better.

On a strictly limited basis I sometimes offer boutique one on one and small class training with an honest desire to provide accurate educational information based upon evidence based practice, and I have conducted rigorous research of the medical and scientific literature related to cosmetic tattooing on an ongoing basis and we have published authoritative articles on a wide range of topics and published them here for our clients and customers. Our articles have been plagiarised by others so often that we had to publish an another article explaining why it is unethical to plagiarise.

I have previously trained some of the leading technicians in Australia and internationally, training is based upon the core principles of ethics and best practice together with a genuine desire to assist students with their education with reliable well researched information, click here for further information on training.

To make a booking for Cosmetic / Medical Tattoo client services contact Andrea by email.