There you are, years later, with PMU that has completely discoloured to grey, red or blue. Nothing at all like the original colour. But how can a salon correct your eyebrows with a colour? Why does permanent make-up change colour after a number of years? Read it here!
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What used to happen during permanent make-up
So what exactly is the reason that permanent make-up can become discoloured? It sounds strange, too, because in principle most salons apply a brown type of pigment. You would think that this would naturally just become a lighter brown over the years.
Permanent make-up used to be placed mainly in the third skin layer, and nowadays it is placed in the first skin layer. There is a huge difference here! Because note: the first thing PMU stylists learn in a training is that when you pigment too deeply (think of the third skin layer), the eyebrows eventually heal grey. After being grey for a while, they can also become visibly red. This is simply because red is the last of all colours to disappear. So if you pigment too deeply, the body heals the colours in parts, whereas when you pigment in the first skin layer you have much less trouble with this.
In the past, a lot of lip liners, black eyebrows and generally heavy Permanent Make-Up were placed. Decades later, these clients are now left mainly with grey and red PMU. It is of course nice for everyone if this can be remedied with a new treatment, done the right way in the first skin layer. But a number of points come into play:
Whether a colour correction can be carried out by a PMU salon depends on all of the points above. Read on to see whether your specific eyebrows can be corrected.
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Do you want a new colour that is not lighter?
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Cause of permanent make-up discolouration
Discolouration in permanent make-up is therefore mainly caused by how the stylist placed the PMU and in which skin layer. But there is more to it. An undertone analysis is very important. When the undertone of the skin does not match the undertone of the pigment, they can reinforce each other in a negative way.
If you have a somewhat fairer, pale skin, this combines better with pigments with warm undertones. If a cool undertone has been chosen, this accentuates your skin's undertone and the pigment will look even cooler and duller. It often tends towards a grey colour and therefore does not look warm.
If you have a neutral undertone, this combines better with neutral pigments. These then do not dominate in the long term.
And if you have a warm skin with lots of freckles, it combines better with a mix of warm and cool pigments. Why warm pigments, you may wonder? That is because warmth mainly disappears after the treatment. And cool undertones on their own eventually heal too cool again after a year. So I always advise adding some warmth!
PMU eyebrows that have turned red
What you often read is that PMU pigment is of poor quality, which is why the eyebrows heal red after a number of years. However, this is somewhat outdated, since red is simply the primary colour with the largest molecules. Smaller molecules dissolve sooner, so what you are left with after a number of years is the only colour with the largest molecules: red.
It is true, however, that a red colour can become visible in the skin sooner when Permanent Make-Up is placed too deeply or even too superficially.
Correcting red eyebrows is possible, however. It does depend on the points we have just discussed. Points:
To cover visible red pigment in eyebrows, the points above need to be looked at carefully. If a salon has followed an online colour theory training, they will have the knowledge to carry out a colour correction.
Would you like to follow a Colour Theory / PMU Colour Correction course? Check out the online training here, including exam and certificate!
COLOUR CORRECTION PMU ONLINE TRAINING
My name is Isabella Levels and, with many years of experience in the industry, I love sharing my permanent make-up knowledge and techniques. My passion lies in accentuating natural beauty, and I hope to inspire others with tips and insights that can help both beginners and professionals in their careers!
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