FADED Podcast

Billy DeCola

00:00 Semi-permanent versus permanent makeup. What is actually the difference? What is going on here? Why are so many people coming in to our studio and saying that they were told that they got semi-permanent makeup eight years ago and that it would fade after two or three years? What happened? Why didn’t it fade and why were they told that it was semi-permanent?

If it seems to be quite permanent, why is that happening? Why are there no regulations and why is it legal for people to tell clients that something is semi-permanent when it’s actually permanent? This is what we’re gonna talk about today in the Faded podcast. I know this is gonna ruffle some feathers out there.

There’s lots of people who are still out there telling their clients that permanent makeup. Is semi-permanent. Now, I want to know, please, if you have some information that I’m missing here. I want to know what is so semi-permanent about the permanent makeup that’s being put in people’s skin. What makes it semipermanent?

What Makes a Tattoo “Semi-Permanent”?

Is it the pigment that’s in the bottle? Because I guarantee you, if you give me that pigment and I tattoo it into your arm or into your face or your forehead, I guarantee you I can make it permanent. I’ll put it in your skin and it’s never coming out unless you laser it. I don’t think it’s the pigment that’s semi-permanent.

Is it the technique? Are you putting it into the epidermis? Is that why it’s semi-permanent? Are you barely scratching it into the skin and it’s fading over time? If that were the case, it wouldn’t last two or three years. It would probably last four weeks or five weeks or a. Few months, and then it’s gonna fade.

The Scratcher Technique Explained

Once that skin sheds and new skin is created, it’s gone. That’s why we call new tattooers, or people who don’t know how to tattoo. That’s why we call them scratchers, because they barely scratch it into the skin and it fades. It does not stay. So is that what makes your semi-permanent makeup semi-permanent?

Real Client Experiences

Because you’re barely scratching it into the skin? Why are people telling clients that their brows are gonna fade in two and three years? I can’t tell you how many hundreds of people have come into this studio alone and have said, my artist told me that my brows were gonna fade in two or three years and that it was semi-permanent, and meanwhile we’re 5, 6, 7, 8 years later.

And the pigment’s still there. It hasn’t faded at all. Why is that happening? I want to know, has this happened to you? Have you had semi-permanent makeup put in your skin and it never faded? I bet it has. I bet there are tons of people watching this video right now who have had semi-permanent makeup that turned out to be very permanent makeup.

The Removal Problem

And even when people come in to get removal and that pigment that was said to be semi-permanent is lasered. Some of that won’t even come out all the way anyway. Not all permanent makeup comes out. You can see some of my previous podcast episodes where I talk about some permanent makeup pigment that just won’t come out.

It’s not permanent makeup. When people go and get it done, they say it’s semi-permanent. So not only does it not fade when they’re told it’s gonna fade, but when they come in to get laser removal, sometimes it doesn’t come out then either. So if anything, they should be being told that it’s ultra permanent, not semi-permanent.

It’s ultra permanent tattoo makeup. It’s never coming out. Even if you try to remove it, and this isn’t a rant, this is a fact.

Semi-Permanent Makeup Does Not Exist

Semi-permanent makeup does not exist. There’s no such thing as semi-permanent makeup. The only thing that would make a tattoo semi-permanent, like I said. Is if you didn’t put it deep enough for it to stay in the skin.

And that’s what we call scratcher. So yeah, I can do a semi-permanent tattoo. I can barely scratch it into your skin and yeah, it’s gonna disappear in a couple weeks or maybe a couple days. Who knows? But that’s not a tattoo, then it’s gone. What are you paying for? It’s, you’re not getting anything out of it.

There’s no way for an artist to gauge the depth perfectly. So you get two to three years out of that tattoo and then it fades. I’d love to see somebody make a comment here and convince me otherwise. I would love for you to tell me that. I’ve been tattooing for I think 16 years now, and the only semi-permanent tattoos I’ve seen are the ones that are barely scratching the skin because the person doesn’t know how to tattoo.

And if that’s how you’re doing it, great. You’re representing your product accurately and you’re telling people. That it’s gonna fade in a short period of time. Great. What bothers me though is when people come in here and they’re so upset because they were tattooed on their face and they were told that it is gonna be a semi-permanent.

Accountability & Regulations

Tattoo who is responsible for this information. And I always tell my clients when they come in that you know, they’re really upset with the artist who told them that it’s semi-permanent. Should there be some regulations? Should there be laws around representing a product or a service that is completely inaccurate?

And you know, this isn’t like going to a burger stand and looking at a picture and being like, oh, that looks like a nice burger. And then you end up buying the burger and it looks nothing like that picture. This isn’t that type of false advertising. I mean, that burger is gone in a second, but when we’re talking about somebody’s face, that’s when you run into issues.

That’s where I have a problem.

The Right Way to Inform Clients

What I want to say is this, it’s fine to tattoo people’s faces. It’s fine to do eyebrows on people’s eyebrows or. Do permanent makeup wherever you want to do it. I just wish that people who were getting the tattoo on their face knew that it was not semi-permanent and that it is permanent.

If you’re telling people, Hey, this is a permanent tattoo I’m doing on your face and, and they decide to do it, that’s cool. I’m totally cool with that. But when you misrepresent it and you tell some young girl that in a couple years. Those brows are gonna fade and they’re gonna be gone. That is irresponsible and it is dishonest.

And if you don’t know any better and you think that tattoos in somebody’s face are semi-permanent and you’re spreading information that’s inaccurate, then you or somebody should be held responsible for that. You should be held accountable. Now, is it you? Is it the person who taught you? Is it the person who taught them?

Who’s responsible? At what point do we hold somebody accountable for this? That’s all I want to know.

Outro & Call to Action

And if you found this episode helpful, we all have family, we have friends, we have kids, we have parents. We want people to get into a service, fully informed with the right information. And if the right information is out there and you decide.

Awesome. Whatever you do, that’s your choice. If you found this episode entertaining or informative, or if you got mad and watched it, if you’re angry, if you’re stewing, then leave a comment. Post it. You can dislike this one. If you dislike it, that’s cool. Gimme some love, gimme some hate, whatever you got.

But just know I’m gonna tell it like it is. I’m not gonna sit back and let people spread information that’s inaccurate. And tattoo people’s faces. Thanks again for joining the Faded podcast and we’ll catch you again next time.