Questions & Answers

Andrea Darby · **Posted:** Mon Aug 05, 2013 11:48 am

This topic summarises some of the many questions that we receive via email every day;
Our 'Professionals & Trainees Forum' visitors might find the answers that are provided helpful.

Andrea Darby · **Posted:** Mon Aug 05, 2013 2:56 pm

Request for information from a Cosmetic Tattooist in QLD

Question: I am considering upgrading from a rotary pen to a digital device but I notice that everyone who uses one seems to have a difference of opinion about which needles should be used for what purpose and how they should be used.

Answer Provided: The trainers within Australia have taken a bit longer than in other countries to switch to the use of the higher quality digital equipment and some of the late adopters are now only just embracing the new technology.

One of the problems we have is that very few of the trainers in Australia have actually attended a training session either with the manufacturer of the devices or an authorised regional trainer such as myself to learn how to use the full range of needles and the correct usage for each type of needle. The result is that incorrect information about needle use gets passed from one person to another and also technicians either make it up as they go along or stick to using 2 or 3 needles because either they do not know how to use the needles properly or because they do not get the results that they expected.

It is quite sad to hear about some technicians who have purchased expensive digital devices and then end up putting them on a shelf in a back room and returning to using cheap rotary devices or hand tools because they cannot get the results they want. Some may even take to blaming their device or their pigments etc because they either do not want to spend the money on additional training or they are unable to swallow their pride and admit that they need to take some lessons from someone who has the knowledge and experience they need.

Often when we have an experienced cosmetic tattooist attend for a troubleshooting training session I discover that they are trying to use the techniques that they learned and developed on a rotary device when using digital equipment, this is a trap that some of the Australian trainers also fall into.

I am always amused when I hear a cosmetic tattooist say they don't feel that they can learn anything because they have been in the industry so long, the best Master Trainers are constantly learning from each other and from other skilled technicians and they accept that training is an ongoing process. When you stop learning your methods quickly become out of date.

Using digital equipment is different to using a rotary device and its important to ensure that you get some training from the manufacturers authorised trainer so that the instruction and advice that you recieve on machine and needle usage is actually correct.

Andrea Darby · **Posted:** Wed Aug 07, 2013 5:41 pm

Request for information from a Cosmetic Tattooist in NSW

Question: Can you tell me why it is that pigments change colour, for example why do browns sometimes turn bluish in colour.

Answer Provided: There is not just one answer for explaining why a tattoo sometimes changes in colour, rather it is a range of possible causes and a well trained cosmetic tattooist will be able to differentiate between some of the possible causes of colour change. Below are a few examples;

Some of the Possible Causes of Shorter Term Colour Changes

Some of the Possible Causes of Longer Term Colour Changes

Andrea Darby · **Posted:** Wed Aug 14, 2013 12:09 pm

Request for information from a Cosmetic Tattooist in NSW

Question: I am confused about what is a warm colour vs. what is a cool colour, there is so much conflicting information about this topic, the ACT site has a chart that says that warm and cool colours are different to what I have learnt previously in art school.

Answer Provided: I would agree with you that the warm/cool publication on the link you provided is at odds with the mainstream view, not very helpful, and more likely to mislead you than anything else and appears to be a very confused idea about warm vs. cool.

The concept of warm and cool are introduced to cosmetic tattoo colour theory in an effort to simplify and help make colour choices a more intuitive process for the technician. If you use the term warm or cool in relation to colour it is fairly subjective particularly in relation to skin colours which are far removed from the primary colours no matter which colour model you prefer. Also I have yet to see any cosmetic tattoo pigments that come close to the primaries of any of the colour models which makes it more difficult for those tattooists who do not have an arts background to grasp the colour relationships particularly with mixing and colour correction.

For the above reasons it is important that any colour charts and colour concepts that are provided by tattoo trainers have a tangible relationship to 'outcomes' that will be of benefit the cosmetic tattoo technician.

Warm vs. Cool does not have any firm footing in modern colour theory but has its origins from paint artists who still sometimes use warm vs. cool in conjunction with the art primaries of Red, Yellow, Blue to assist them to make their colour mixing and painting an intuitive process.

Typically most artists consider the following colours to be warm or cool;

Warm: Red, yellow, browns and tans
(think warm sunny days, sunsets, fire, hot surfaces, skin that is flushed with shades of red/pink due to being hot)

Cool: Blue, green, blue violet, greys
(think cold overcast days, ocean colours, bluish white ice, rain clouds, skin that is chilled with shades of blue/mauve due to being cold)

The above divisions have a tangible relationship to our daily experience of thermal temperature therefore they are naturally intuitive for the majority of people, when concepts that involve perception match our natural intuition they can be much easier to grasp. Some artists have argued about the pivot point for the change in colour temperature but most seem to agree that the intuitive relationships between actual thermal temperature and our daily visible and tactile experience of warm and cool are the most sensible pivot points.

Enter the fashion industry: The fashion industry often use a completely different abstract view of warm vs. cool to help market clothing, for example autumn and winter colours seen in nature such as the colours of autumn leaves may be described as cool colours when used for selling clothes. Spring and summer colours seen in nature may be described as warm colours when used for selling clothes.

In the fashion industry with clothing you might have the counter intuitive situation where a bright green jacket is called a warm colour because it resembles the leaf of a tree in spring time and a yellow shirt might be called a cool colour because it resembles an autumn leaf (with no actual relationship to thermal temperature).

Even though it is not completely consistent with modern colour theory science there is at least some argument for Cosmetic Tattooists to continue using the paint artists view of colour theory using their primaries of Red, Yellow, Blue and warm vs. cool simply because they are very intuitive for most people and being intuitive it may assist with their selection of pigments and with colour correction.

But I agree I can see no logical argument for using the marketing terms used by the fashion industry, how could that possibly help a cosmetic tattooist with their understanding of the relationship between skin tones and tattoo pigments. Unless the concept of warm vs. cool is being used to help a cosmetic tattooist by using the intuitive colour model for colour temperature used by paint artists then it is just introducing an abstract idea that has no tangible relationship to tattooing at all.

Andrea Darby · **Posted:** Wed Sep 04, 2013 6:46 pm

Request for information from a Cosmetic Tattooist in USA

Question: I have recently purchased a digital machine over here in the US and I am not getting the results that I expected, pigment does not seem to be retained as well as I used to get with the rotary machine that I have used for the last 10 years. Can you give me some pointers on what I might be doing wrong.

Answer Provided:
When a Cosmetic Tattooist is switching from a rotary pen to a digital machine I often suggest that the tattooist attend a training session with me so that they can learn how a digital machine should be used.

For some reason there is often a reluctance by trained cosmetic tattooist to enrol in a training session, it is not uncommon to hear comments such as "I am one of the oldies I have been around for years I don't need training". However my view is that training is an ongoing process and when changing to a completely new kind of device what better time to refresh your skills?

The important thing to bear in mind is that a digital machine is a precision device if you use imprecise techniques that were learned on a rotary machine you are simply not going to get the best out of a digital machine. Older style Rotary devices tend to be very forgiving of imprecise technique because the needle waggles around and tears the skin throwing pigment out by the bucket load in a contantly varying depth so even a very poor technique will end up getting some pigment into the skin, albeit with a lower quality result.

In contrast a digital machine makes a uniform skin puncture at exactly the settings that you have selected so if your technique is incorrect due to wrong depth, wrong needle type, wrong angle or wrong penetration speed then the machine will do exactly what was asked according to your settings, but if your settings are incorrect for the intended treatment then the result will not be as good as it should have been.

Those cosmetic tattooists who purchase a digital machine and later return to using their rotary devices generally do so because they cannot bring themselves to undergo training with one of the manufacturers master trainers and so they persist trying to use rotary machine techniques on a digital device and don't get the results they expected and eventually give up.

My suggestion is that if you are not getting the results that you expected then it is most likely because of your technique and it will be money well spent to enrol in a training session with one of the manufacturers master trainers such as myself to help adjust your technique to get the most out of the device.

You can think of it a bit like going from riding a rickshaw to driving a Ferrari, both will transport you from point A to point B but there is no point peddling the Ferrari when you can just take a couple of driving lessons from a Ferrari instructor!

Andrea Darby · **Posted:** Wed Mar 12, 2014 11:07 am

Request for information from a Cosmetic Tattooist in NSW

Question: I have had a request from a client to correct their eyeliner which has run under the skin, the person who trained me suggested that I tattoo over the area with some camouflage pigment close to the natural skin colour, what are your thoughts.

Answer Provided:
Tattooing over pigment migration with skin coloured pigments rarely ever produces an aesthetically pleasing result, in most circumstances it will only compound the problem making the appearance worse and potentially making any tattoo removal efforts more difficult.

There are three main options available for correction of eyeliner tattooing;

1. Minor Irregularity / Patchiness / Colour Issues - Corrective cosmetic tattooing.

2. Small Area of Pigment Migration - wait 1-2 years and permit natural fading to reduce the visibility and then review.

3. Large Area of Pigment Migration / Gross Irregularity - Refer to a very experienced dermatologist/cosmetic physician for evaluation of removal options.

For further information; Permanent Eyeliner - Avoiding Complications

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