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Background
The methods used to perform Cosmetic Tattooing have evolved from the
crude use of hand held splinters of wood or bamboo strips, to hand held
needles (often called soft tap), to the modern Rotary Pen Cosmetic Tattoo
machine. Most professional Cosmetic Tattooists within Australia currently
use Medium/High quality Rotary Pen Machines because unlike the earlier
manual methods they can reliably deposit the pigment to an exact depth
within the skin with less trauma and bruising than via previous methods.
Using a Rotary Coil machine (larger machines used by a body artist) is
inappropriate for use in Cosmetic Tattooing.
Digital Machines
Digital Cosmetic Tattooing machines have been under development
for a number of years by a range of manufacturers, however some cheap
machines labelled as 'digital' are in reality nothing more than a Rotary
Pen machine with a small amount of internal circuitry and as such offer no
real advantages over a high quality Rotary Pen. Some other machines
labelled as digital had poor quality base stations that offered little
additional control over the hand piece, in essence they were little more
than a nice LCD display with a few buttons, and again no real advantage
over a standard Rotary Pen.
True Digital - In the mid 90's a German manufacturer of medical
devices entered the arena and they have been quietly developing premium
quality 'true' Digital Cosmetic Tattoo machines for the Nouveau Contour
brand (which is well known in the USA) and also for other lesser known
brands within Europe. After extensive consultation with leading cosmetic
tattooists around the world they have been refining and improving their
digital machines and in 2009 they decided to launch their own private
label brand Amiea offering the most advanced Cosmetic Tattooing
machines and supplies ever manufactured.
After extensive research I quickly realised that there is not another
manufacturer that even comes close to the quality of machines and
equipment that was being offered under the
Amiea
manufacturers brand.
My Own Research
Providing the very best service to my clients is
very important to me and therefore when Amiea asked me to conduct a
detailed and unbiased evaluation of their most advanced offering the
Linelle Supreme I did not hesitate. I used this true digital machine
in my own salon to conduct an objective comparison between it and a
high quality Rotary Pen, the results are remarkable.
Rotary Pen
(top of the range) |
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Linelle Supreme
(true digital) |
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Rotary ComponentsMore parts increases handling & the risk of
contamination. |
A rotary pen has several components that must be
changed between each client to prevent cross infections. The needle,
tip, sleeve, front casing and transmission shaft, these components are
fiddly and there is a risk of needle stick injury to the tattooist
particularly when disassembling the machine.
Amiea replaces all those component with a single sterile needle module
(chamber) called a Creatip which is completely separated from
the hand piece and they also have an internal sealed membrane which
prevents fluids flowing back and
contaminating the hand piece and therefore significantly reduces the
risks of cross infections.
The Creatip module easily clips into and out of the hand piece in
seconds with a slight quarter turn. |
Creatip Module
Replaces 5 components of a Rotary Pen
The clear see through Amiea Creatip's
are the most advanced needle module of any digital machine
available. |
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▲ Mouse Over for Video Controls ▲ |
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With the rotary pen the needle is always exposed even
when the machine is turned off so great care must be taken by the
tattooist to avoid needle stick injury. With the Creatip the needle is
retracted inside the Creatip module and only becomes exposed when the
machine is turned on.
The noise of
a Rotary Pen when operating is quite loud and is similar to a dentists
drill this can cause a client anxiety during the procedure. In
comparison the Linelle is a subdued low pitched hum.
During
operation a Rotary Pen when examined under a microscope with video
slowed to 1/5th speed shows a significant amount of sideways
oscillation of the needle, obviously that can cause additional skin
trauma. By comparison there was no visible sideways oscillation of a
Creatip needle in the Linelle meaning that each skin penetration is
precise and causes the minimum amount of skin trauma for the tattooing
procedure. |
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▲ Mouse Over for Video Controls ▲ |
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With a
Rotary pen microscopic
examination of paper that has been punctured by a Rotary Pen reveals
irregular shaped holes with signs of surface tearing and fraying.
By
comparison puncture holes made by a Creatip needle are far more
uniform with cleaner edges and no evidence of surface tearing between
penetrations.
Obviously a
procedure with a Creatip needle will result in more uniform pigment
implantation and less trauma to the skin. |
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The tips for
Rotary Pens generally come in 3-4 sizes and the clearance around the
needle is quite large, that tends to exacerbate the sideways
oscillation of the needle and leads to less precision.
In contrast the Creatip modules are all individually
made for each needle size and fit snugly around the needle which leads
to exceptional stability of the needle in operation. This partly
accounts for the superior precision and puncture uniformity compared
to a Rotary Pen.
The design of the Creatip module also enables you to
fill the module with pigment and complete an entire procedure without
the need to refill, if you prefer to work that way. |
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Needles
should always be examined for manufacturing defects prior to a
cosmetic tattoo procedure, I found a defect rate of approximately 1-2% that required
me to discard the rotary pen needle.
In stark
contrast Amiea
Creatips are manufactured according to quality standards ISO 9001, DIN
EN ISO 13485 und CE.
i.e. Medical devices - Quality management systems - Requirements for
regulatory purposes.
Having
examined many needles via high magnification microscopy I can
affirm that the Creatip needles are of a much higher standard than
rotary pen needles from several
manufacturers.
Even the smallest sized creatip needle removed from its
module and examined under 30 times magnification revealed a needle of
exceptional quality. Creatip needles are more akin to clinical grade
than a standard tattoo needle and thus far I have not personally
experienced even a single a defective creatip needle. |
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An
unexpected finding was the reduction in Pigment splatter during a
procedure which is most likely due to the quality of the creatip
modules and snugger fit around the needle. This has two significant
benefits;
1) Less
pigment splatter means that I used around 40-60% less pigment to
perform a procedure.
2) Less
pigment splatter is much more comfortable for the client particularly during an
eyeliner procedure, pigment splatter into the eye can lead to eye
irritation if not irrigated frequently. |
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Needle depth adjustment on a Rotary Pen requires
manually adjusting the tip by pushing it further into the sleeve or
pulling it out thus exposing more or less of the needle. It is not
uncommon to have to adjust the tip during the procedure to maintain
the correct needle depth. Fiddling with the tip during a procedure
increases the risk of contaminating the needle and also increases the
risk of needle stick injury to the tattooist.
In contrast the needle depth on the Linelle is as simple as rotating
the hand piece for the required depth which once set remains at the
required depth for the entire procedure. Absolute precision in needle
depth can be set to fractions of a millimetre, as a result I found that
colour retention is a lot better. |
The Amiea Linelle Supreme has the
most advanced hand piece of any digital machine available & is the
most robust version produced by the manufacturer to date. |
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Adjusting the machine speed (the number of needle
penetrations per second) on a Rotary Pen can be hit and miss as it
involves rotating the motor assembly which adjusts the motor speed. A
rotary machine will tend to wind up and down within speed range rather
than deliver a precise speed, consequently most Rotary Pen
manufacturers mention RPM (motor revolutions) rather than needle
penetrations/second.
In contrast the
'true' Digital Linelle Supreme base station is precisely speed
controlled via a microprocessor (just like you will find inside your
PC), the speed can be set in increments of 5 between a 'skin safe' range of 50-150
penetrations per second (PPS).
NB.
Extensive testing indicates that a PPS of 50-150 is the safest
and most effective operating range.
Once set the
device maintains precise speed control and even adjusts automatically
as the device encounters skin resistance such as can occur over scar
tissue.
Amiea have put a lot of thought into the base
station design with its easy clean surface and the simple control
panel understates the intelligent processor capability.
Two hand pieces can be plugged into the Linelle for
quick changing between two procedures on the same client. The device
also comes with an optional laser attachment to aid healing and to
help reduce the risk of cold sores (for lip treatments) providing the
tattooist an additional service to add to their repertoire. |
The Amiea Linelle Supreme has the
most advanced microprocessor base station of any digital machine
available. |
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Observations
During a procedure I have found that
clients experience noticeably less discomfort, less anxiety, and less
swelling than they do with a Rotary Pen machine I attribute that to
the higher precision and reduced sideways oscillation of the needle
causing less skin trauma and a much quieter machine. I have also
observed more uniform pigment coverage and better colour retention
which is obviously the result of greater precision in pigment
placement.
Procedures tend to be a little quicker than with a
rotary pen and greater percentage of clients are requesting second
procedures at the completion of the first procedure (if its a nicer
experience more clients feel comfortable booking for another service).
Also clients have reported faster healing and less post
procedure swelling and oozing, a client who is a medical practitioner
recently stated that with the Rotary Pen it took 4-5 days for skin oozing,
swelling and tenderness to subside but with the Linelle Supreme it
took just 2 days.
Because Amiea is the manufacturers own
private label they have ensured that the most cutting edge technology
is incorporated into the Linelle Supreme, I regard it as the machine
of choice for ParaMedical Tattooists, Professional Cosmetic Tattooists
& Cosmetic Tattoo Trainers.
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I conducted a survey
of clients who had experienced a previous procedure with a Rotary Pen
and subsequently with the Digital Linelle Supreme.
Below are the statistics from the survey results.
Client Survey
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Client Survey |
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In comparison to the previous procedure
that you had performed with a rotary pen machine was the
procedure that you just had with the Amiea Linelle Supreme
Digital Machine; |
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Less Painful? |
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A lot less |
Less |
About the same |
More |
A lot More |
| 85% |
15% |
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Less
Swelling? |
| A lot
less |
Less |
No swelling with either |
More |
A lot
More |
| 46% |
23% |
31% |
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Less Anxiety? |
| A lot
less |
Less |
About
the same |
More |
A lot
More |
| 77% |
23% |
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Less Noise? |
| A lot
less |
Less |
About
the same |
More |
A lot
More |
| 100% |
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Would you prefer
to have future treatments with the Amiea Linelle Digital
Machine? |
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Yes |
No
Preference |
No |
| 100% |
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Would you
recommend to others to seek out a cosmetic tattooist using the
Amiea Linelle Digital Machine over a rotary machine? |
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Yes |
No
Preference |
No |
| 100% |
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The survey results speak for
themselves.
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Summary
A high quality Rotary Pen can provide a good
standard of Cosmetic Tattooing provided it is in skilled hands, however
the Amiea Digital Linelle Supreme is a technological leap in Cosmetic
Tattooing. Just as the Rotary Pen can be considered a substantial
advancement in comparison to the use of splinters of bamboo the Linelle
offers a similar leap in quality of service to clients compared to a
Rotary Pen and previous versions of digital machines.
My Own Practice
I will continue to offer training services with a
high quality Rotary Pen as I now consider it an entry level machine
(minimum standard) and I will recommend the Linelle to all students.
However after using
the Amiea machine for a period of 4 weeks and experiencing first hand the
difference in quality of Cosmetic tattooing service that can be achieved I
decided to switch to the Linelle Supreme in my own salon for client
services and my high quality Rotary Pen will only act as a backup machine, I believe that my clients deserve the very best.
Amiea In Australia
In recognition of the quality of my client
services, high standard of student training and good reputation Amiea's
manufacturer have invited me to be their exclusive distributor within
Australia. I consider this to be both an honour and a privilege to be in
partnership with the worlds leading manufacturer of Micropigmentation
devices. Through tough negotiations I have managed to secure Amiea's
superior products at exceptional prices for my students and Australian
colleagues.
Amiea Derma Safe Pigments
In addition to their outstanding machines Amiea
also produce a premium range of monodose German pharmaceutical grade
pigments (world first) that I have also been rigorously
evaluating & I have found them to be
of exceptional quality.
Amiea Derma Safe Pigments are thicker than a standard cosmetic tattoo
pigment and the colours are lush and exceptional to work with. The final
healed results have been outstanding with more uniform coverage, depth of
colour and a richness that I have not experienced with premium grade
pigments from other manufacturers.
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Monodose - 5 x 1 ml |
Classic - 10ml Bottles |
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Click here to open our Interactive - Pigment Colour Selection Guide
The Amiea Derma
Safe monodose is a small, hygienic dose of pigment colour that can be used
for a single client treatment or as a sample of pigment prior to
purchasing the standard bottles. Monodose are great way to stock a wide
range of colours at an economical price.
Clients
I regularly
receive questions from people considering Cosmetic Tattooing or requesting
advice on corrective Cosmetic Tattooing from countries all over the globe,
people frequently ask me:
Q: Andrea what do you look for when getting your own
Permanent Makeup done?
This is a sensible question because nobody is going to be as cautious and
particular as a ParaMedical Tattooist is.
My answer now is;
I would not book anywhere unless they were offering Cosmetic Tattooing
with an Amiea Linelle Supreme and Amiea Derma Safe pigments, because quite
simply I only want the best. If the Cosmetic Tattooist cares about the
finished result of my Permanent Makeup then they will use the best
equipment, pigments, hygiene & standards for my procedure.
Cosmetic
Tattooists - if you are a qualified Cosmetic Tattooist and you
would like to find out more about the Amiea Linelle Supreme and Derma Safe
pigments then
click here for further information.
Kind Regards
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