by Corinne Asch
Bactine Antiseptic & Anesthetic Spray
Bactine is a tried and true graddaddy of tattoo anesthetic spray options that doubles as an antiseptic. It contains 2.5% lidocaine and 0.13% benzalkonium chloride, as well as purified water, fragrances and other inactive ingredients. Bactine anesthetic spray relieves pain on contact with no sting. You can use it to minimize the discomfort of tattooing and prevent infection from minor cuts, scrapes and burns. Bactine soothes the skin, promotes healing, reduces redness, and minimizes swelling caused by tattoo procedures. You can spray it on, apply it with gauze or use it to enhance your tattoo skin prep solutions. Bactine comes in 5 oz. bottles and is intended for external use only.
Derma Numb Tattoo Anesthetic Spray
Derma Numb tattoo anesthetic spray is a proven formula that enables clients to more thoroughly enjoy the tattooing experience. It contains yarrow root and yucca glauca root--two ingredients known for their healing, numbing, cell rejuvenation, sterilizing, and anti-inflammatory properties. Derma Numb also contains lidocaine to boost its numbing abilities; the lidocaine makes Derma Numb start working within 90 seconds of application.
Derma Numb was designed specifically as a tattoo anesthetic spray, so you won't have to worry about it negatively impacting ink colors or the healing process. You can purchase Derma Numb tattoo anesthetic spray in 1 oz. bottles or cases of 12 1 oz. bottles. Reapply it as often as necessary to keep your clients comfortable while you tattoo them.
System One Tattoo Ice Numbing Spray
System One's Tattoo Ice topical tattoo anesthetic spray was developed specifically for use during the tattooing process. It's a fast-acting formula that reduces redness, irritation and discomfort. Tattoo Ice numbing spray starts working just 90 seconds after application, and it can be reapplied as often as necessary throughout the tattooing process. It contains 3.5% lidocaine and is safe on all skin types. Pick up an 8 oz. bottle of System One Tattoo Ice Topical Anesthetic Numbing Spray to make long tattooing sessions more comfortable for your clients.
Tattoo Anesthetic Gels
When you need to boost the effects of a tattoo anesthetic cream, you can typically add a layer of an anesthetic gel over top to further numb clients' skin and make the tattooing experience more enjoyable for them. Most tattoo anesthetic gels make great topical numbing agents on their own, too. We offer a wide variety of tattoo anesthetic gel options to give you the choices you crave, including numbing gels by Derma Numb, Tattoo Soothe, Hush, and Feel Better Now.
Derma Numb Tattoo Anesthetic Gel
Derma Numb tattoo anesthetic gel is available in 2 oz. bottles and cases of 12 2 oz. bottles. Each bottle contains 4% lidocaine, menthol, yarrow extract, yucca glauca root extract, aloe, and other ingredients to thoroughly numb and soothe your clients' skin during the tattooing process. Derma Numb anesthetic gel is easy to apply, and it's formulated with natural ingredients that are safe for all skin types and that won't impact ink colors or shading. As an added benefit, Derma Numb tattoo anesthetic gel also acts as an anti-inflammatory and skin cell rejuvenator that opens skin cells and yields better tattoo results.
Apply a generous amount of Derma Numb anesthetic gel one hour before you start tattooing. For best results, wrap the treated skin with plastic cling wrap to seal in the product and ensure optimal absorption. When the numbing effects start to wear off, spray the skin with Derma Numb tattoo anesthetic spray to ensure your client's comfort for the duration of the procedure.
Tattoo Soothe Topical Anesthetic Gel
Tattoo Soothe topical anesthetic gel comes in 1 oz. bottles, 10g jars, and cases of 12 10g jars. This topical numbing gel relieves pain, minimizes swelling, and reduces bleeding from tattoo procedures. It has a fast-acting formula consisting of 5% lidocaine, tetracaine and epinephrine that allows clients to relax and enjoy the tattooing process with less discomfort.
Tattoo Soothe topical anesthetic gel is intended for use in combination with Tattoo Soothe topical numbing cream. Apply a thin layer of the cream over the area you'll be tattooing 15-25 minutes before you begin. If your client is still uncomfortable after you've made a few passes with your tattoo machine, add a thin layer of Tattoo Soothe Gel over the area, wait 3-5 minutes, and resume tattooing. You can reapply the numbing gel one or two more times during the tattooing process, as needed for your client's optimal comfort.
Hush Topical Numbing Gel
Like Hush topical anesthetic cream, Hush topical numbing gel comes in 2 oz. bottles, 4 oz. bottles, cases of 12 2 oz. bottles, and cases of 12 4 oz. bottles. This special formula is intended for use before tattooing as well as prior to laser tattoo removal and piercings. It's a clear, non-oily gel consisting of a blend of botanical extracts that numb the skin, like menthol and comfrey root extract, 4% lidocaine, aloe to soothe the skin, and other calming, nourishing ingredients. Hush tattoo anesthetic gel is safe for all skin types. It won't affect ink colors, it reduces redness, and it minimizes inflammation during the tattooing process.
Apply a thick layer of Hush tattoo anesthetic gel to the skin before you begin tattooing. Spread it evenly over the area, and reapply more gel along the edges. Wrap the area with plastic cling wrap and let it sit for an hour for maximum absorption. You can then remove the plastic wrap, prep the skin as you would normally, and start tattooing.
Feel Better Now Topical Anesthetic Gel
Feel Better Now numbing gel is a great tool for cosmetic tattoo artists. It's formulated specifically for use on sensitive facial areas where permanent makeup is applied, like eyebrows and lips, and it's safe to use around the eyes. This numbing gel contains 5% lidocaine, tetracaine and epinephrine to relieve pain, minimize swelling, and reduce bleeding from cosmetic tattoo procedures. It can also be used for laser hair removal and other cosmetic procedures that can be harsh on the skin.
Feel Better Now numbing gel is intended for use in combination with Feel Better Now topical anesthetic cream. Apply the cream to a client's skin 15-25 minutes before you begin a cosmetic tattoo procedure. Then, after you've made a few initial passes, ask your client about their pain level. If they're finding the procedure uncomfortable, add a thin layer of Feel Better Now numbing gel over the area, wait 3-5 minutes, and resume tattooing. Add additional layers of Feel Better Now topical anesthetic gel as needed to give your clients optimal comfort during permanent makeup procedures.
Tattoo Anesthetic Soaps
In addition to tattoo anesthetic sprays, creams and gels, you can now get pain-relieving foam soap from H2Ocean! H2Ocean’s Nothing pain-relieving soap is specially formulated to clean the skin and relieve pain during tattoo procedures. It prevents swelling, distortion, and ink color alteration. Simply wash your clients' skin with this antibacterial anesthetic foam soap to clean, disinfect and soothe it before you start tattooing.
H2Ocean's Nothing pain-relieving soap consists of 5% lidocaine, 0.13% benzalkonium chloride, purified water, aloe juice, sea salt, and other inactive ingredients that clean, soothe and nourish the skin. This soap will make the tattooing process more comfortable for your clients, and they can take a bottle home with them to minimize discomfort and clean tattoos thoroughly during the healing process. H2Ocean's Nothing pain-relieving soap is available in 1.7 oz. bottles and cases of 24 1.7 oz. bottles.
A word about H2Ocean anesthetic soap
It is enriched with aloe vera and is an all-natural anti-microbial soap that is not harsh like other anti-bacterial soaps and it effectively stops the onset of excessive drying and scabbing. Perfect to use throughout the healing process.
Chapter 8
Measuring the brows
Measuring the brows is another area where there are a lot of opposing opinions. Admittedly, there are many ways of properly measuring the brows and everyone has their favorite technique. You will naturally find yours.
At first it seems complicated and confusing, but its one of those things that after you've done it a few times it makes sense and becomes easy to do. You will eventually forget why this ever seemed complic
ated.
Some seasoned microbladers prefer to do it free-hand; and although there is nothing wrong with that, as a beginner, it may be more prudent to let the measures be your guide. It takes most of the guess work out of brow designing and will prevent big variations between the brows. The measuring of the brows is to the microblader what a safety net is to the trapeze artist.
So, let's demystify brow measuring and take a look at how easy it is to get a symmetrical look.
1. Make a line in between the brows, using the center of nose as your guide.
2. Here you get to choose where you would like the brow to start. For a wider brow, you can start at the middle. Your choice should depend on 2 factors: 1. The client’s eye distance, i.e., if her eyes are wide set, then the closer brow may be best and if her eyes are close set then the wider brow may be what is needed. 2. The desired look, i.e., a thicker, stronger brow. Make a mark.
3. Next, we are going to define where the brow ends. You will make an imaginary straight line from the outer nose to the outside of the eye to the outer brow. Any straight object will work as a ruler. Make a mark.
4. To find the height of where your arch should be and to make sure the arch will be at the same height on both sides, feel where the highest point of the brow bone is and make a straight line from one brow to the other. At this point, I like to switch to string and kohl to make drawing the lines a breeze.
5. Now that we have a beginning, an end, and the height, let’s find where the arch should be. There are many ways to do this. A caliper is a big help at this stage. Here, I will give you 3 ways to achieve your goal. One way to do this is to measure the brow from the first mark to the end mark. The 2/3 mark is where your arch will be. Another way to find the arch is to measure the distance between the tear ducts and use that measurement to determine where your arch will be. Make a mark.
A third way is to make an imaginary straight line from the outer nostril through the iris of the eye to the brow. Make a mark.
6. Feel the front brow bone and feel for the lowest part. Now make a straight line accross the bottom of both brows. The end of the brow may be higher than the beginning of brow, but never lower.
7. This is where you decide on the thickness of the brow. Draw a line on the upper (bulb) of the brow at the desired thickness.
8. With your string or ruler, draw a straight line from the bottom of one bulb to opposing arch. Repeat on the other side.
9. Draw a line from top of the arch to end of brow. Repeat on the other side.
10. Draw a line from the bottom of brow bulb to the arch. Repeat on other side.
11. Draw a line from the last line drawn to the end of the brow. Repeat on the other side.
At this point, drawing in the brows should be easy, especially if you’ve been practicing drawing brows freehand.
Anatomy of a brow
1. As a general rule, the beginning of the brows should be the first 1/4 of the brow.
2. Raised point of the underneath of brow should come at the 2/3 mark of the brow.
3. End of brow is the thinnest part of brow and should never be lower than the bulb.
4. The bulb is the thickest part of the brow.
5. Highest point of the brow should come at 2/3 mark of the brow.
*Phibrow has a wonderfully helpful measuring app that is free of charge. You can see how it works on Youtube.
Chapter 9
Choosing the right blade for the job
I wasn't taught much about blades in my training. I was told use this one first and then this one second. I didn't know you could use different blades for different effects and that different skin types require different blades.
Some technicians will use the same blade throughout the procedure and some will change the type of blade they use on the second and third pass. What we call blades in microblading are actually needles placed closely together to create a kind of blade.
Do you know your blades and what they do?
Well, read on and I'll explain the different blades available to us and what they can do for you.
Blades come in flexi and hard blades and go from 7 pins all the way to 28, going from thin to thicker as the numbers go up. In general, you would do your first passes with a thinner blade and do your ensuing passes with thicker blades to deposit more pigment. Again, these are general rules. Let your creativity be your guide.
Below are the most commonly used needles/blades. Perfect for the beginners and advanced practitioners.
7-pin blade – the single row 7-pin blade will be your finest of all the blades. This blade will be good for creating shorter, thinner hairs. It is a good blade for thin brows and for little in-between hairs. Good for detailed work.
12-pin blade – Used to create medium length eyebrow hairs of medium thickness. This is the blade most often used.
14-pin blade – Used to create long eyebrow hairs of medium to above medium thickness. This blade is good to create thicker brows.
U Shape blade – 18 super fine single needles- good for drawing curvy hairs and recommended for the more experienced technician.
There are blades with one row of needles and blades with double rows of needles. The single row blades will be flexible and create finer strokes. The double row blades create stronger strokes and are good for the thicker and oilier skin. Harder blades are good for oily skin or for skin in the Fitzpatrick range of between 3–6. Hard blades are good for bolder results. Hard blades will go deeper with less pressure. Good for thick or oily skins. Thinner, more flexible blades are recommended for skin in the Fitzpatrick range of 1-3. Older skin is almost always thinner and offers less resistance so a finer more flexible needle is best.
The less needles present, the thinner the strokes will be and, the more needles there are, the thicker the strokes will be. Also, the smaller the needle configuration used for the eyebrow procedure, the more ash (and ash is always cooler and darker) the healed procedure will appear. Why? Because the smaller needles slice through the skin more effectively and generally place pigment deeper. The use of larger needle configurations has less of a slicing effect and for lack of a better word, more or less plummet pigment into the skin, thus placing the pigment slightly closer too light and further from direct relationship with the bloodstream (blue). Pigment that remains closer to the surface of the skin will reflect more light and appear less cool than pigment that resides deeper in the skin.
Following is an article by Deluxe Brows on choosing the right blades and checking your work.
ARTICLE
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How to choose the right microblades / microblading needles – Deluxe Brows®
TIP No. 1 HOW TO CHOOSE GOOD QUALITY MICROBLADING NEEDLES / BLADES
Almost for every new microblading artist and sometimes even for those with experience, it is really difficult to analyze and understand which kind of microblading needles/blades we need to use for our treatments. I did the research regarding this long time ago and during our training, I explained all the differences between the several kinds of needles. However, I decided to share with all of you the most important tips that my company and I mostly use while choosing the needles. I hope this will help you to make your own decisions.
Microblading treatments and trainings are taking the industry by storm. Each and every company trying to stay on top, offering the new tools, needles, pigments and all kinds of new items that helps this industry to grow.
With this post, I will share one of the most important tips, which will help you to choose your microblades/ microblading needles.
I will be talking only about the flexible needle this time, which I am using mostly, but please take a note the same tip, can be used for hard ones as well. It does not matter which shape you prefer oval or angled.
The visual test can be very insignificant. As you can see in the picture on the right, the blades and needles inside look almost similar, but in reality they are completely different. So how do we know which of them are good or ba
d?