Permanent makeup is a cosmetic procedure that uses tattoos, or permanent pigmentation of the dermis (layer of skin below the outer layer of skin—epidermis). The facial tattooing is designed to resemble makeup such as eye lining (eye shadows) and artificial eyebrows.

Permanent makeup is also commonly called permanent cosmetics, micropigmentation, and cosmetic tattooing. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulates the inks used in permanent makeup as a type of cosmetic and color additive.

Over eight million women have intentionally had tattoo artists inject them with tattooing pigments (inks) so that they can alter their facial features. According to the FDA, adverse reactions to tattoo pigments are rare, however, are becoming more frequent over the years.

Due to such increased frequency, Masja Straetemans of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) implemented a study to research these adverse reactions. Straetemans and fellow colleagues interviewed 92 women about their tattooing experiences. Of these women, 68% of them had not yet healed from the process. Straetemans found that these women had negative reactions to the tattooing process that lasted from five months to over three years.

Adverse allergic reactions to the inks include swelling, tenderness, itching, and the appearance of bumps.

Such problems have occurred in the past. In 2004, inks were recalled by the American Institute of Intradermal Cosmetics (Texas), which appears to be an organization centered around permanent makeup, when the FDA discovered problems with them.

Researchers with the Cosmetics and Colors branch of the FDA agree with the length of time that such adverse allergic reactions take to resolve themselves. They  state that it may take years for the reactions to go away.

The article, entitled “Adverse Reactions after Permanent-Makeup Procedures” appears in the Thursday, June 28, 2007 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

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