Pre-Appointment Care & Restrictions for Microblading, Permanent Makeup, and Tattoo Procedure
To ensure your skin is in the optimal condition for your procedure—and to guarantee the absolute best healed results—please carefully review and follow these pre-care guidelines.
⚠️ The Golden Rule of Tattooing: Minimize Bleeding Minimizing blood flow and lymphatic fluid at the skin’s surface is crucial. Excess bleeding acts as a shield, pushing pigment right back out of the skin, diluting the ink, and causing patchy or blurred healing. Following these timelines ensures a clean, dry canvas for your artist.
🗓️ 4 Weeks Before Your Appointment
- [EYEBROWS & LIPS] No Botox or Cosmetic Fillers: Spacing injectables 4 weeks apart from your session allows fillers to completely settle and neurotoxins to relax. This ensures your artist maps your design based on your true, natural anatomy.
- [ALL PROCEDURES] No Chemical Peels or Laser Resurfacing: Your skin cannot be actively shedding, peeling, or recovering from deep, traumatic exfoliation when we tattoo.
🗓️ 7 Days Before Your Appointment
- [ALL PROCEDURES] Avoid Heavy Sun Exposure: Do not arrive with a sunburn or peeling skin. Damaged skin cannot properly retain pigment and will scab heavily.
- [EYEBROWS ONLY] No Hair Removal: Stop plucking, waxing, or threading. (Note for Body Tattoos: Do not shave the area yourself to avoid razor burn; your artist will safely shave it the day of).
- [EYEBROWS & LIPS] Pause Active Skincare: Stop using Retinol, Retin-A, anti-aging creams, or any serums containing acids (AHA/BHA) on your face. These chemically thin the skin and increase bleeding.
🗓️ 48 Hours Before Your Appointment
- [ALL PROCEDURES] Avoid Blood Thinners & NSAIDs: Do not take Aspirin, Ibuprofen (Advil/Motrin), Niacin, Vitamin E, or Omega-3/Fish Oil unless medically necessary.
- Safe Alternative: Tylenol (Acetaminophen) is perfectly safe to take for pain management as it does not thin the blood.
- [ALL PROCEDURES] Pause Herbal Supplements: Stop high-dose Vitamin C, Ginkgo Biloba, and Ginger supplements, as these naturally increase circulation.
- [LIPS ONLY] Antiviral Protocol: If you are prone to cold sores, consult your doctor to start a preventative course of an antiviral medication (like Valtrex) a few days prior. The micro-trauma to the lips will trigger an outbreak, which can permanently lift and ruin the pigment.
- [LIPS & BODY TATTOOS] Hydrate Your Skin: Keep the area deeply moisturized leading up to the day. Ink implants beautifully into hydrated skin, whereas dry, flaky skin will snag the needle and heal patchy.
🗓️ 24 Hours Before Your Appointment
- [ALL PROCEDURES] No Alcohol: Avoid all alcohol 24 hours prior, as it expands your blood vessels and thins the blood.
- [ALL PROCEDURES] No Caffeine: Avoid coffee, energy drinks, and teas on the day of your appointment (including “decaf” options, which still contain trace caffeine).
- [ALL PROCEDURES] No Heavy Workouts: Avoid intense exercise the day before and the day of your session. Sweating opens your pores and increases body heat, making your skin hyper-reactive.