Lip Blushing, The Latest Cosmetic Tattoo Trend to Hit Social Media

Move over filler injections and Kylie Jenner’s lip kit, lip tattooing is the newest “happy medium” procedure that color corrects and enhances the shape and size of your puckers.

Cosmetic tattoos might not qualify you as a tattoo collector, but consumers of microblading, skin pigmentation tattoos and freckle tattoos are on the rise. In recent cosmetic-tattoo-fad news, the trend train is chugging along a tattoo for fuller lips, called Lip Blushing. Permanent makeup, including lip liner, was popular in the 90’s… but as all fashion trends, it has recycled to 2020.

Here is all you really need to know about Lip Blushing and permanent lip staining.

Lip Blushing vs Lip Filler

We know the blown-out lip look can be scary. Apparently, the main appeal of this lip tattoo is that it looks natural. Christina Son, owner of Sugarin Studio in Los Angeles told Elle, “This treatment delivers very natural results, once healed. Filler is great for creating volume in your lips, but lip blush delivers a more natural look and give the illusion of fuller lips.”

How It Works

Like all cosmetic tattooing, a tiny needle deposits pigment into the lips, building layers of color. Many are turning to this procedure to correct the tone of the lips, as well as helping with asymmetry. Unlike traditional permanent cosmetic tattoos — as traditional permanent makeup uses synthetic pigments, delivered deep in the dermis — lip blushing is a semi-permanent service that’s meant to provide natural looking, long-lasting results.

But… How Long Does It Really Last

Similar to microblading, and any service where you fill small cuts in the skin with ink, varies with each customer. Generally, lip blushing can last several years, although smoking, sun exposure and any ticks with your lips (biting or oral fixation things) can speed up the fading process. Also to note: pigment fading can also be affected if you’re oil-prone, have an iron deficiency or use a lot of exfoliating products in your skin regimen.

Appointment Day

While this “tattoo appointment” isn’t as exciting as a traditional consultation for a piece of body art, the stencil-type evaluation takes place. Some specialists suggest avoiding fish oil and vitamin E, and many numb the lips prior to the procedure. This topical anesthetic is applied to the lips for 20 minutes, where a technician then draws the new shape. The Lip Blushing procedure takes about an hour to an hour and a half.

Patching Up Your Pout

Your lips may be swollen, so icing is recommended. Like the healing of a traditional tattoo, over the next week your lips will scab. Rough sleepers who snooze on their stomachs should be careful about face-to-pillow action, as the scabs could fall off prematurely.

Son says, “For the first 24 hours, I advise my clients to gently blot their lips with a wet cotton pad and let them air dry. This is to keep the lips clean and remove any body fluids that have surfaced and prevent the fluids from forming scabs.”

Like the traditional tattoo, if you pick the scabs you are at risk for scarring or loss of pigment in those areas. Son suggests avoiding workouts and sun exposure for two weeks, and wait a full month before injections. Yes, ointment like Aquaphor, should be worn to keep the lips moisturized.

Passing the Pucker’s Healing Stage

The scabbing typically lasts five to seven days. After four weeks, the lips should be fully healed, but Son suggests a touch-up appointment around six weeks “in the event the client wants to alter the shape of the blush, or to fill in areas that may have rejected pigment, although it’s not mandatory.”

Son adds that initially, the color will be vibrant like a lip stain, but that it is important to not be misled by the immediate after-results. “The immediate results look nothing like when the lips are healed. Once healed, the color fades approximately 30-50 percent and also blends in with the natural lip color,” she said.

Inked recommends searching for Lip Blushing specialists if you’re looking for this procedure. However, we can highlight some cosmetic tattoo artists you need to know.