Preparing For Your Procedure
Cosmetic & Medical Tattooing
WHY PREPARATION MATTERS
At Newport Permanent Makeup, my goal is to provide you with an exceptional experience and the highest standard of individualized care. Proper preparation is an important part of achieving a safe procedure, a comfortable experience, healthy healing, and the best possible result.
A Note from Debbie
Thank you for choosing Newport Permanent Makeup. I consider it a privilege to be part of your journey.
Every treatment I perform is individualized. Taking a few minutes to prepare properly helps protect your skin, supports a comfortable procedure, and gives us the best foundation for a beautiful healed result.
Please read the For All Procedures section first, then review the section for your scheduled treatment. If you are uncertain whether an instruction applies to you, please call or text me before your appointment. I am always happy to help.
With gratitude,
Debbie Miller
Cosmetic and Medical Tattooing Specialist
HOW TO USE THIS GUIDE
Please read For All Procedures first, then review the section for your treatment: Eyebrows • Eyeliner • Lip Color • Areola & Breast Scar Repigmentation • Scar Camouflage.
FOR ALL PROCEDURES
Please read this section before reviewing your procedure-specific instructions.
MEDICATIONS • ALCOHOL • CAFFEINE
To minimize unnecessary bleeding and support healthy skin and pigment retention:
• Please avoid non-prescription medications that may increase bleeding, such as Advil®/ibuprofen, Aleve®/naproxen, and aspirin, for 7 days before your appointment when medically appropriate.
• If you take aspirin, an anticoagulant, or any other medication because it was prescribed for a medical condition, do not stop it on your own. Please consult the prescribing clinician and contact me before your appointment.
• Avoid alcohol for 48 hours before your appointment.
• Caffeine can make you more resistant to numbing medications and may make it harder to relax. Please avoid or limit caffeine on the day of your appointment.
HEALTH & MEDICAL CONSIDERATIONS
• Please contact me before your appointment if you have a cold, flu, contagious infection, or other communicable illness. Your appointment may need to be rescheduled.
• If you have a heart-valve condition and normally require preventive antibiotics before invasive or dental procedures, consult your physician before your visit.
• Please inform me in advance if you are insulin-dependent diabetic, have glaucoma and use prescription eye drops, or have another serious medical condition for which you are currently being treated. In some situations, clearance from your treating physician may be requested.
• Some clients are more sensitive to discomfort immediately before or during their menstrual period. If you know you are particularly sensitive during this time, you may prefer to schedule accordingly.
SKIN TREATMENTS & ACTIVE SKINCARE
• Allow at least 30 days between permanent makeup or facial scar camouflage and invasive skin treatments such as lasers, chemical peels, and radiofrequency microneedling.
• Allow at least 2 weeks between your tattoo procedure and regular surface-only microneedling.
• If you use Retin-A or another retinoid-based product, discontinue it in the area to be tattooed for 10 days before your procedure.
PLEASE CONTACT ME RATHER THAN GUESS
If you are taking a prescription medication, have a medical condition, recently had a skin treatment, or are unsure whether your skin is ready, please call or text before making changes or arriving for your procedure.
Call: 949-395-3300 • Text: 949-239-1862 • debbie@newportpermanentmakeup.com
COSMETIC TATTOO PREPARATION
Eyebrows • Eyeliner • Lip Color
EYEBROWS
• Do not wax or tint the brows within 48 hours of your procedure.
• You may arrive wearing your usual brow makeup if you would like me to see how you typically style your brows.
• Feel free to bring photographs or examples of brow shapes or colors you like.
• Your design will be created with traditional cosmetics before tattooing begins. You will have ample opportunity to participate in decisions about shape, placement, and color before anything is permanently applied.
EYELINER
• Do not tint eyelashes within 48 hours of your procedure.
• Eyelash extensions must be completely removed before your appointment. They may be reapplied after approximately one week of healing.
• If you use an over-the-counter lash growth enhancer, discontinue it for 30 days before your eyeliner appointment.
• If you use Latisse®, eyeliner cannot be performed until at least 6 months after Latisse has been discontinued. This requirement is mandatory because Latisse may increase inflammation and blood flow around the lash follicles, contributing to bleeding, swelling, bruising, and poor pigment retention.
• If you arrive without observing the Latisse/lash-growth policy, the appointment will be canceled and the reserved procedure time will be charged.
• Contact lenses must be removed for the eyeliner procedure. Plan to wear glasses rather than contacts for approximately 2–3 days afterward, until swelling has resolved.
• If you tend to swell significantly, you may choose to take an over-the-counter antihistamine such as Benadryl® 30–60 minutes before your appointment. Follow label directions and do not drive if the medication makes you drowsy.
LIP COLOR
• If you have EVER had a cold sore or fever blister (Herpes Simplex), you must obtain an antiviral prescription from your physician or dentist before your lip procedure and begin it the day before your appointment according to the prescriber’s instructions.
• This requirement is mandatory. If you arrive without the required prescription, your procedure will be rescheduled and you will be charged for the reserved procedure visit.
• If you receive lip filler, schedule filler approximately one month before or one month after your lip-color procedure.
AREOLA & BREAST SCAR REPIGMENTATION
Preparation, tissue readiness, and realistic expectations
FOLLOWING BREAST CANCER RECONSTRUCTION
• If you are receiving areola restoration following breast cancer reconstruction, please make sure your surgeon has cleared you to receive tattooing before your appointment.
• It is typical to wait approximately 9–12 months after reconstruction before areola or breast scar tattooing so the surgical area and scar tissue have time to fully heal and mature.
• Healing timelines are individual. Your surgery, scar tissue, radiation history, and the way your skin has healed can affect the appropriate timing. Your personalized consultation will help determine when the area is ready for tattooing.
A SPECIAL NOTE ABOUT RADIATED SKIN
If you have received radiation to the breast, the treated skin is no longer the same as healthy, non-radiated skin and may require a more delicate and conservative approach to tattooing.
• Radiated skin can respond and heal differently, and multiple sessions may be necessary to gradually build color and achieve the best possible symmetry with the non-radiated breast.
• Even with careful tattooing, the radiated breast may not heal to look exactly the same as the tattoo on the non-radiated breast. Differences in skin and scar tissue can affect color retention, texture, and final appearance.
• My goal is to work safely and thoughtfully with the skin you have and achieve the best, most natural-looking result possible for you.
BREAST SCARS & AREOLA/NIPPLE LOSS AFTER COSMETIC BREAST SURGERY
• Scars must be completely healed and mature before tattooing—generally 9–12 months old, although individual healing times vary.
• For the best camouflage result, scars should be white or significantly faded, flat, and stable. If a scar is still red, pink, raised, firm, or continuing to change, additional healing time or treatment of the scar may be recommended before tattooing.
• Successful blending of areola scars generally requires a color-matching test before the full procedure can be performed.
• In some cases, specialized scar-reduction techniques may be recommended before tattooing. Improving the color or texture of the scar first can create a better canvas for an optimal result.
FOLLOW-UP IS PART OF THE PROCESS
Medical tattooing is a process, particularly when working with reconstructed, scarred, or radiated tissue. Perfection is not expected at the initial procedure. Once the area has healed, we will evaluate color, density, symmetry, and the overall result at a follow-up visit, generally 6–8 weeks later. Refinements can be addressed at that time.
THE GOAL IS NOT TO RUSH THE PROCESS
Every scar, reconstruction, and healing history is different. Taking the time to evaluate the tissue, prepare the skin when necessary, and build pigment gradually gives us the best opportunity for a beautiful, natural-looking outcome.
SCAR CAMOUFLAGE
Preparing the scar and planning for a natural-looking blend
IS YOUR SCAR READY FOR CAMOUFLAGE?
• For a successful outcome, scars must be completely healed and mature—generally 9–12 months old.
• Ideally, the scar should be white or significantly faded, flat, fully healed, and stable.
• Not all scar tissue heals in a way that makes it immediately suitable for camouflage. A scar that remains red, pink, raised, firm, uneven, or texturally different from the surrounding skin may benefit from additional treatment before tattooing.
PREPARING THE SCAR MAY COME FIRST
In many cases, the best approach is to first improve the color and texture of the scar with specialized scar-reduction treatments before adding skin-toned pigment.
Creating the best possible canvas can be an important part of creating the best possible camouflage result.
Scar camouflage is not simply a matter of placing skin-colored pigment into a scar. The condition, color, and texture of the tissue influence how naturally the finished area can blend with the surrounding skin.
A COLOR-MATCHING TEST PATCH IS REQUIRED
A test patch is required before ALL skin camouflage tattoo procedures. This is a critical part of the camouflage process and an important step toward achieving a successful, natural-looking result.
• Pigment is selected to coordinate with the natural, healthy skin surrounding the scar, and a small test area is tattooed.
• Once the test patch has completely healed, I evaluate how the scar accepted the pigment, how the selected color healed, whether the color needs adjustment, and how the scar tissue responded to tattooing.
• The full scar camouflage procedure will not be performed until the test patch has healed and the result has been evaluated.
YOUR NATURAL SKIN COLOR CAN CHANGE — YOUR TATTOO COLOR DOES NOT
Scar camouflage pigment is matched to the natural, healthy skin surrounding your scar. Natural skin can become lighter or darker with sun exposure and seasonal changes, but tattoo pigment does not tan or lighten along with it.
• A color matched when your surrounding skin is lighter may become more noticeable if your natural skin becomes significantly tanned later.
• Maintaining a relatively consistent skin tone and protecting the area from excessive sun exposure after healing will help preserve the most natural-looking blend.
WHAT SCAR CAMOUFLAGE CAN — AND CANNOT — DO
The goal of scar camouflage is improvement, not erasure. Tattooing can reduce the visual contrast between a mature scar and the surrounding healthy skin, making the scar less noticeable. It does not remove the scar or change the underlying scar tissue itself.
Camouflage is typically built gradually rather than aggressively. The healed result is evaluated at a follow-up, typically 6 weeks or more after the procedure, and additional pigment or refinement can be added when appropriate.
THE DAY OF YOUR APPOINTMENT
What to bring, what to expect, and how to plan for healing
COME AS YOU ARE
• Feel free to arrive wearing your customary daytime makeup if you would like me to see how you normally wear it.
• You may bring photographs, favorite makeup colors, or other examples to use during the selection and design process.
• For cosmetic procedures, your design will be created with traditional cosmetics before tattooing. Nothing is tattooed until you have had the opportunity to review and approve the shape, placement, and color.
PLAN FOR YOUR HEALING TIME
• Permanent makeup generally looks darker and more dramatic during the first 3–7 days. This is expected.
• For most cosmetic tattoo procedures, allow approximately 5–7 days to feel comfortable with the initial visible healing.
• You will use the healing products I provide according to your procedure-specific Healing Guide.
• If you receive eyeliner, plan to avoid mascara and eye makeup for 7 days.
• Strenuous exercise is restricted for approximately one week after cosmetic tattooing. Medical tattoo procedures may have different restrictions depending on the area and tissue being treated.
• Consider work, social events, travel, swimming, sun exposure, exercise, and other activities when choosing your appointment date.
YOUR AFTERCARE IS PROVIDED
At your appointment, you will receive your Newport Permanent Makeup Aftercare Kit, which contains the ointments and products needed for your specific procedure, along with your detailed Healing Guide. You do not need to purchase general aftercare supplies in advance unless I specifically instruct you to do so.
BEFORE YOU ARRIVE — QUICK CHECK
• I read the For All Procedures information.
• I read the section for my specific procedure.
• I made any required skincare or medication adjustments and did not stop a prescribed medication without consulting the prescribing clinician.
• I allowed adequate time between other skin treatments and my tattoo appointment.
• If having eyeliner, I removed lash extensions and discontinued lash-growth products as required.
• If having lip color and I have ever had a cold sore, I obtained the required antiviral prescription.
• If having areola restoration after reconstruction, I have appropriate surgical clearance and my tissue has had adequate time to heal.
• If having scar camouflage, I understand that a healed color-matching test patch is required before the full camouflage procedure.
• I planned appropriately for my initial healing period.
• I contacted Debbie about any medical condition, skin concern, or instruction I am unsure about.
THOUGHTFUL PREPARATION IS THE BEGINNING OF A BEAUTIFUL RESULT.
I want you to arrive feeling informed, prepared, and completely comfortable with what to expect. If you are uncertain about any of these instructions, please do not guess—call or text me. I am always happy to help.
Call: 949-395-3300 • Text: 949-239-1862
