What to Know: Minimum Training Content for a First-time Permanent Cosmetics Course

Now that’s you’ve decided that a career in permanent cosmetics is for you; we wanted to pull together information on what you should learn and need to know after a first-time training course.

1. First, make sure you do your research and pick an instructor with years of experience working with clients from all walks of life.
   
   Much of what you see online are young, beautiful models with ideal/perfect skin, but in reality, a vast majority of people seeking permanent make-up services include less than "perfect", mature skin with wrinkles, creases, folds in the eyelids, non-existent eyebrow hair, asymmetrical bone structure, thin lips…the list goes on and on.
   

2. Does the course cover safety and sanitation, OSHA compliance, and your local state law?
   
   This is a no-brainer but surprisingly many courses do not include this important information in the curriculum. If this is not taught, then it is your responsibility to find out and make sure you are in compliance both nationally and locally.
   

3. Being trained in risk-management is important.
   
   Learning when to say no to a procedure is important. Our students receive not only industry acceptable consent forms, but also our own medical history and consent forms.
   
   Everything you ask on the medical form must have a reason.
   
   The questions regarding medical history are specifically asked in order to have a clearer picture of the person you will be working on.
   
   All too often, we see medical forms with questions that you’d find at a physician’s office. Most of these questions are irrelevant as this is a tattoo procedure.
   
   There is an infinite number of health issues such as heart conditions, blood pressure, diabetes, auto-immune disorders, and more, that generally pose no issues whatsoever. None of the above physical conditions warrant medical clearance, but many people not having knowledge and experience will say "no" to this.
   
   Ethically, the standard according to the Society of Permanent Cosmetic Professionals, is that the trainer must have a minimum of five years of continual experience.
   
   Most insurance companies that specifically ensure Permanent Cosmetics require specific training for eyeliner, brows, and lips which would be listed on your certificate.
   

4. Skin disorders and diseases are topics that should be covered in your initial training.
   
   Learning how to get ink into the skin is simple, but getting the pigment placed properly into the skin requires skill.
   
   Recognizing skin-types and diseases or disorders that you cannot tattoo over such as moles, dry patches of skin such as eczema or skin cancers is a key component to becoming a skilled permanent cosmetic artist.
   

5. Facial morphology and artistry are important to learn.
   
   After all, this is the business of beauty. The better you become at developing your eye and hand coordination, the better the results will be in your clients.
   
   The important thing to remember regarding artistry is, you can be taught, however, you must practice, practice, practice. The more you practice, the more experience you have, your results will reflect the hard work you put into it.
   

6. Color theory is equally important.
   
   Not all people see color the same and although rare in women, color blindness could pose a problem. Know this before entering this line of work.
   

7. Pain management.
   
   Without this, we would have a hard time building clientele. There are essentially two questions on everybody's mind whether it be the client or the student.

   1. What if I don't like it?

   2. How much does it hurt?

   In our industry, we must use over-the-counter strength topicals such as a 5% lidocaine.
   
   Knowing how to maximize its effectiveness, combined with learning some simple psychology for bedside manner, will greatly reduce the stress and sensation the client will undoubtedly experience.
   

8. Systems and methodology.
   
   Creating a set of stand operating procedures is important to make sure you can maintain a high level of quality assurance for each client that walks through your door.
   
   For example, the very first thing you do after filling out paperwork, is take before pictures. Next, discuss, design, and have a clear understanding of what the client’s desired outcome is.
   
   Learning how to pre-design on the client using conventional makeup or pencils to simulate what they are hoping to have when healed, will give you a clear picture of what you are going to do before you begin to do it. The worst thing that could happen would be to not know exactly what she wants and hope the tattoo turns out ok.

If you learn how to do this before you ever start tattooing on models you will always have a better outcome. Overall, being prepared with proper training in permanent cosmetics is more than just knowing how to use your tattoo machine, if you can learn the above skills and procedures, you’ll have many years of success in this industry.

9 Things You Need to be a Successful Permanent Cosmetics/Microblade Technician

Over my 25+ years in the industry, I’ve been asked what it takes to be successful.

This is the list I’ve compiled over those years and I hope it helps you:

1. Enjoy interacting with people (mostly women and probably the most important of all the advice I can give).

   If you love to make people feel better about themselves and adding value to other people's lives, then read on.

2. Physical Capacity: Does your vision allow you to see up close?

   You must be able to see up close. My near vision isn't the best, so I wear glasses and additionally an optivisor magnified times three.

   As long as you can see clearly using magnifiers and proper lighting, you can do this.

3. Must-Have: A steady hand

   A little bit of nerves, in the beginning, is normal, but can you draw a straight line?

   Having a steady hand is important to create even, natural-looking shades and lines.

4. Do your hobbies include learning and spending time creating art?

   Applying permanent cosmetics is another form of creativity.

   If you enjoy sitting and creating detailed work such as eyelash extensions, nails, tattooing, beading, painting, and drawing for extended periods of time it's worth considering this field of work.

5. Do you have patience and understanding? Now earlier, we asked if you enjoyed interacting with people, but can you take a step back and give someone the exact look they’re looking for?

   Permanent Cosmetics is an art and art as we know is typically in the eye of the beholder.

   It’s important to understand the single most important person your art has to appeal to: Your client.

   The key to a successful career in permanent cosmetics is the ability to listen to your client, understand what she wants to accomplish and make sure that she understands what would be best in her interest based on your professional opinion.

6. Practice, practice and more practice. This art form takes practice, practice and more practice.

   Every single face is different. The practice of developing skills for those differences requires two things: Experience and practice.

   Remember, anything worth doing is worth doing poorly at first. If I could only share with you my very first eyebrows back in 1987. I'm positive I threw away those pictures years ago. The advice I received back then was, "Always let the client draw on her own eyebrows, she knows what's best for her". WRONG! Back then there was nowhere to get training. That poor woman…and poor me.

   I learned from the school of hard knocks. Today, you don't have to if you have the proper training.

7. Why Microblade? The popularity of permanent cosmetics has been steadily climbing over the past two decades, until about five or six years ago when microblading came on the scene.

   Social media exploded with microbladed brows, nano brows, hair stroke brows, feathered brows, and embroidery eyebrows.

   Pictures blew up the internet with all kinds of eyebrows, along with new daily wear techniques of brow application.

   In fact, so much attention has been placed on brows, there are spoofs and hilarious videos depicting “everything brows”. And rightly so. Our perspective of what brows are supposed to be on the face has become partially or completely skewed.

8. Success requires hard work. This goes along with, practice, practice and more practice.

   Are you willing to go with the ebb and flow, the ups and downs of being in the service business? As with all businesses, especially the service industry, trust and reputation are what will get you through the slower times to a lifelong career that is rewarding, lucrative and very very fun.

9. Get the best beginner training you can find, and when you feel your skills have reached a plateau, hunger for more and search out more training.

   Because most states have very little, if any oversight at all, this is where you must research out who and where you will get your fundamental, beginner training.

   Washington requires you to buy your “Professional" license in order to take basic training.

   It's a very political topic, and when this rule was put into place, it was supposed to keep people from taking the 3-day microblade classes, but because all that is required to get your professional license is a check for $250.00, it stops no one.

   And to teach this, Washington State requires zero-knowledge, experience or skill. And WA is one of a handful of states that regulate us. So, to reiterate, do your research before putting down a chunk of your savings to permanently ink people’s faces. A great education is expensive but poor education costs far more.

This is a huge world of innovative creative, beautiful art. Evolving and ever-changing. Learn, learn, learn! You can never learn less than you know right now!

Why Fundamental Training vs Microblade Training?

When I began doing permanent cosmetics over 30 years ago, the most popular procedure was eyeliner. A large majority benefited by having a natural lash enhancement, or a thicker more dramatic eyeliner. Eyebrows weren't such a big thing back in the '80s. The unkept, natural Brooke Shields look was very popular and women didn't shape them at all, or if they did, they removed all but a pencil-thin line.

That has all changed as the number one request for permanent cosmetic services in the past few years has to be flip flopped from eyeliner to eyebrow procedures.

Due to the popularity of the Kardashian bold brow look and the onset of microblading, suddenly everyone is interested in learning how to do this look.

But, there is a problem with learning microblading before having a solid foundation in cosmetic tattooing.

Here’s a question you should ask yourself:

• Would you go to cosmetology school to only learn how to foil hair because you love the look and you aren't interested in cutting, solid coloring, perming or anything else?

Of course not. You wouldn't be able to pass your boards to become licensed just for learning one skill.

Currently, Washington State doesn't require you to have any knowledge or pass any test to get licensed in permanent cosmetics, but your future clients certainly do.

Why would your future clients care?

Microblading is new. It's a beautiful, natural look...when properly done.

Microblading requires more than a needle, pigment, and a forehead to work on.

But first, you should practice on something else. Go ahead, grab a paper and pencil and draw hair stroke eyebrows. If you're artistic to begin with and have a good eye for symmetry and balance, they may turn out acceptable.

Now that you’ve have mastered the art and design of beautiful brows, implanting each and every stroke into the skin is another skill set.

Recognizing how this stroke is supposed to look in the skin requires practice and experience. Some of the most beautiful hair strokes you see on the internet are implanted too shallow. They are wispy, airy, natural, and when healed, they will more than likely disappear.

On the other hand, if implanted too deep, they will be darker, thicker, murky and gray, they will be forever permanent.

I’ll go out on a limb and say that you won't like them and neither will your client.

Here are some other issues that might come up:

• Not every client is an acceptable candidate for microblading or hair stroke brows (More on that later).

• What if a client comes in with previously done brows that need shape adjusting, and or color correction?

Microblading is not going to fix this.

Retrospectively, now that you’ve completed some beautiful brows and you have a very happy client, but now she wants you to do her eyeliner and her lips!

You're doing a disservice to her and to yourself by not being able to do these other services because you only know how to microblade.

Back you go for more training, and it's a bit backwards doing it this way because unfortunately, you didn't know that you needed to know so much more than how to simply learn to microblade.

What’s the lesson?

Learn all aspects of permanent cosmetics, you’ll be doing justice not only to your clients but yourself an ultimately provide better services due to a more well-rounded set of skills.