Many experienced Permanent Makeup Artists have been where you are right now; searching the internet for information on Permanent Makeup and what makes an artist successful. All of us have been in your shoes, being inspired to explore the world of Permanent Makeup and what it can provide you, but not knowing where to get started or what it will be like once you begin. As individuals, it is in our nature to research and understand our future endeavors before we begin our journey in an effort to ease any anxiety we may have associated with trying new things we may not ever have been exposed to or have little experience in. Realistically, your journey with Permanent Makeup began when you first started posing these common questions all Permanent Makeup Artists have once asked. This researching process in the beginning stages of your journey is not only normal but expected and I congratulate you on beginning your journey! In order to assist in your research, we have provided the following information about Permanent Makeup as a whole, and what makes a Permanent Makeup Artist successful. This information can be further clarified through the PMUNIVERSITY course which goes into these topics in detail for the Permanent Makeup student.
There are many important aspects of Permanent Makeup that are essential to providing beautiful results including, but not limited to, color theory, placement of procedures, client registration, color selection, technique, and depth. Each aspect of Permanent Cosmetics training is important in its own right and should be thought of as pieces of a puzzle. Once all of the pieces are placed correctly, you have a finished piece, perfect in every way. Without any of the pieces, or placing the pieces incorrectly will cause the piece to be unfinished, or in the case of Permanent Makeup even if the procedure looks beautiful upon first application, in many cases the procedure will not age well. This is why experienced Permanent Cosmetics Artists will always urge you to receive the proper and necessary Permanent Cosmetics Training. Without understanding some of the pieces to the puzzle, you will never be able to put it together correctly and give your clients the results that they are searching for. To give you a more specific view of what this looks like, using color theory as an example, many aspects of a permanent cosmetics procedure can be perfect, but if you have not used color theory correctly the procedure will age terribly. Although many Permanent Makeup students can attest to not realizing that color theory is a part of their education, in many Permanent Makeup training courses, color theory is a main focus for a great portion of the training. Color theory has an effect on many aspects of your Permanent Makeup procedures and should be something that all Permanent Makeup Artists have a great knowledge of. When sitting down with a new client, artists will use color theory to determine the clients’ specific undertones, and then use color theory again to determine based on their previous findings which pigment tones would work best on their undertones for the initial procedure and over time. Color theory is a large piece in our Permanent Makeup training puzzle, that can cause the appearance of a procedure to change completely overtime, and in touch-up procedures. Another notable aspect of Permanent Makeup Training is client registration. It is the responsibility of the artist to understand what medical conditions might cause a client to be unfit for a Permanent Makeup procedure. Through the use of client registration, an artist can effectively screen their clients to ensure that the procedure will be safe for the client. This protects the client first but also protects the artist from performing a procedure that could have a bad outcome. This ensures that the client will have no reason to complain about the service as long as it is performed correctly and the client is happy with the outcome. Other important and notable aspects of Permanent Makeup training include placement of procedures, Permanent makeup techniques, and color selection. Remember that all of these topics should go together to create a finished piece, and when understood and used correctly, perfect Permanent Cosmetics procedures will be the result.
So what makes a Permanent Makeup Artist successful? What attributes should a successful Permanent Makeup Artist display? And how can one fashion themselves to be a successful Permanent Makeup Artist based on this information? The basis for success in the Permanent Makeup Industry always begins with thorough training provided by a reputable source with accurate information in the Permanent Cosmetics community. Many experienced Permanent Makeup artists will attest that there is no one correct way to perform permanent cosmetics procedures, and everyone has their individual specialized technique. It is recommended to learn what your Permanent Makeup school teaches, but also branch out and learn new techniques by observing other licensed artists on social media, or by enrolling in online training universities that might provide a new perspective that you may not have been taught originally. There is always a new technique to learn in Permanent Makeup, and one artist cannot simply attest to knowing everything. You will find a technique that works best for you based on your skillset, and coordination for each procedure that you provide. This is normal and expected of every new Permanent Makeup student. You have to find your groove, whether that is through following exactly what is taught to you, by doing your independent research, or through using a machine and making your technique. Outside of your training, successful Permanent Makeup artists must understand that displaying professionalism is very important to our clients. Many of you that are currently licensed in a different area of the beauty community can understand how to interact with clients in order to maintain an utmost level of professionalism. This is also essential to ensuring that you are successful in your endeavors as a Permanent Makeup Artist. Professionalism is very important in our industry, especially considering that the work we do is permanent. An important aspect of professionalism in Permanent Makeup includes ensuring that your client is completely informed of the details and possible risks of the procedure. We want to make perfectly clear to our clients the ins and outs of their procedure so that none of our clients can say they were uninformed beforehand. This includes client registration and consultations before the procedure begins and continually reminding the client what the procedure will look like during and after the healing process, and what their touch-up requirements will be. Much of the professionalism associated with our business is relaying vital information to our clients continually, to protect the client, but also to protect ourselves in the long run. Another important attribute that a successful Permanent Makeup artist must display is attention to detail. Every artist had a time in their career when procedures took them longer than expected. This is normal, everyone has to start somewhere. It is recommended for new artists to time their procedures, client registration and all, and continue to time your procedures throughout your schooling and after to track your progress. You want to eventually cut your time down, some new artists taking up to 5 or more hours to complete a procedure, but you also want to ensure that you are taking time to pay attention to all of the details of the procedure. The client would much rather you take longer and the procedure look perfect than the procedure take less time and look unsightly. Try not to put too much pressure on yourself when you first start doing procedures to be fast. You are in the learning stages, and if it eases your anxiety, even make note of it to the client. You can do this by saying something along the lines of, “Thank you so much for being patient with me today. I’m going to take as much time as I need to get your procedure absolutely perfect.” That transparency with your client can not only ease your anxieties, but also theirs. Many times the client is anxious in the beginning stages of the procedure. Be continually transparent with your client, include them in the process, and give them time for breaks. This hospitality is something that all Permanent Makeup artists should display in order to be successful as well. You want to engage in positive conversation with your client, trying not to dwell on any negative conversation introduced by your client. You want to keep the client in a good mood and having a good time if possible to ease their anxieties. If you can get the client to be completely comfortable with you, the client will return again and again for new services. Hospitality, permanent makeup education, professionalism, and attention to detail will take you very far in your Permanent Makeup career, but you will also learn other tricks of the trade throughout your education and in building your own business as well. These four attributes will get you started and you will learn in time how you want your business to be run in order to remain successful.