Getting inked: Permanent makeup on the rise
From eyebrows and eyeliner, to lipstick and beauty marks, a beauty trend has women getting their faces permanently inked.
"Cosmetic tattoos are basically semi-permanent pigment that is implanted in the dermal layer of your skin," cosmetic tattoo artist, Leah Crockford, told CBC Radio's Saskatoon Morning.
After opening her shop, Lashious Studio, in Saskatoon a year and a half ago, Crockford said she has been busy tattooing lips, eyelids, eyebrows and freckles on women as young as 22 years old.
She says she has already tattooed over 100 pairs of eyebrows.
"Definitely bigger eyebrows are in right now, but I think that people are realizing that you can actually just have more self confidence with how you look and it's just something that you don't have to draw on everyday," she said.
Not heavily regulated
Tim Macaulay, director of environmental health with Saskatchewan's Ministry of Health, said although cosmetic tattoo shops get routine inspections from health officials, there are many things that people need to look out for.
"The regulations are quite general in nature," he said. "They require a person or facility to operate in a clean environment and to ensure that they are operating in a manner that will prevent the transmission of a communicable disease."
He said individuals should realize that these procedures are invasive with instruments that penetrate the skin, resulting in potential exposure to blood and other bodily fluids.
Crockford noted that people should take their time before taking the plunge because these facial tattoos can last anywhere from one to 10 years, depending on the location and colour chosen.
