Let’s talk about fading pigments. It happens, especially with permanent makeup pigments that are meant to fade over time. They are meant to fade so that when styles change you have the option of changing your permanent makeup as well. These pigments are made of pigment (colour), different elements (usually forms of metals), a bonding agent like glycerin and alcohol. The skin retains these pigments for a period of time and then the body eventually breaks it down and absorbs it. Based on the colour that was put into the skin and the colour of a persons undertone of their skin, different colours will fade differently.

I hear a lot of people talk about how a permanent makeup artist must have done something wrong because their eyebrows have faded to a reddish orange over time. The artist maybe could have used something a bit ashier to counteract that but often times the initial colour would then not match. For example, if somebody has rich brown hair with very white skin that has a pink undertone to it you would want to use a brown that matches their hair but has a bit of ash in it so it doesn’t fade immediately to red, however if you put too much ash in it, it won’t match the colour of their eyebrow hair and you’ll be left with two different colours. Brown pigments are comprised of layers of blue, yellow and red. A rich brown would be,  let’s say, 1 part blue, 2 parts yellow and 3 parts red. So when the pigment fades 1 blue, 1 yellow and 1 red cancel each other out and you are left with 1 yellow and 2 red, fast forward even further and the next yellow and red will cancel out and you are left with, you guessed it! Red. Which is why this colour can be left over in the skin. Ideally the permanent makeup artist would use a colour with the right amount of undertone in it, so when it fades it fades back to almost nothing but with the older pigments that’s a bit more difficult.

However in the past few years there has been pigments created that are a hybrid of the “older” permanent makeup pigments mixed with tattoo ink, known as hybrid pigments. The main difference between permanent makeup pigments and tattoo ink is that ink cannot be broken down, so it remains in the skin forever. The hybrid pigments are much more “true” colours and don’t fade nearly as fast or discolour as easily, making them a bit more permanent as well. The leading pigment manufacturers have come out with so many different shades of each colour so there are way more options to choose from to perfect the colour- skin tone ratio.

Pigments fading is normal. There are a few different factors that will define how fast your pigment fades, including but not limited to: proper application by the artist, proper healing, sun exposure, use of retinoids or alpha-hydroxy acids, laser treatments and skin peels. So follow your artists aftercare instructions carefully and continue with touch ups every 1-3 years to keep your permanent makeup looking fresh!