Spa Canada Magazine
LONG-TIME-LINER®
Lasting Natural Beauty
By Kelsey Wood
Modern Makeup
For centuries, people of all cultures have adorned their bodies with decorative articles, piercings and tattoos to accentuate beauty. Oetzi the 5300 year old Iceman is the owner of the world’s oldest tattoos created by soot and thorns. Two thousand years ago in Ancient China, tattooing with a silk needle and a bamboo stick was used to accentuate eyebrows and eyelashes. The first twin coil machine, predecessor to the modern tattoo machine, was invented by Alfred Charles South in 1899. We’ve come a long way since soot and thorns, but cosmetic tattooing still has its drawbacks. In the 21st century, LONG-TIME-LINER® Conture® Make-up is a modern solution to the shortfalls of permanent makeup.
What is Permanent Makeup?
Permanent makeup is a cosmetic technique which employs permanent pigmentation (tattooing) of the dermis enhance the eyebrows, eyes and lips. The dermis is the second of the three layers of the skin; it is comprised of collagen, elastic tissue and reticular fibers. The hair follicles, blood vessels and nerves are also situated in the dermis. Due to the nerves present in the dermal layer, permanent pigmentation can be quite painful and may take more than a month to heal completely. In some cases, permanent pigmentation
can cause the hair in the treated area to fall out, such as the eyebrows or eyelashes.
Permanent Makeup Removal
Although permanent makeup is a welcome enhancement for some recipients, there are cases of undesired results. The four most common complaints about permanent makeup are that the pigmentation is "too dark," the "wrong color," "uneven" or "too dramatic”. Unfortunately, there aren’t a lot of options for clients experiencing some of these problems. Costly and painful pigment lightening techniques and/or laser removal are current solutions to “fix” bad permanent make up. Pigment lightening techniques add a new pigment which counteracts the tattoo color and attempts to emulate normal skin color. The skin colored pigment may not look natural thus may be noticeable once applied. This procedure generally takes more than one sitting and the overall result may not be much of an improvement.Laser removal is the most common method to remove permanent cosmetics from the skin. Laser works by targeting the tattoo color with pulses of highly concentrated light that break the tattoo color into tiny fragments, which are then cleared away by the immune system. This takes more than one treatment; depending on the size of the treated area it can take from 2 to 10 sittings. The more treatments performed, the more the laser can penetrate to destroy the tattoo colors. This procedure is renowned for being quite painful; it has been described as feeling like being splattered by hot grease. Frequent laser removal causes damage to the skin by causing painful blisters and scabs that can lead to scarring.
Risks and Complications
Even if the application is successful in shape and color, permanent makeup can cause worrisome complications. Allergies to tattoo colors, formation of scars, skin peeling, blistering and infection are just some of the complications that can occur in the permanent makeup process. Even more serious are granulomas, nodules that may form around material that the body perceives as foreign, such as particles of tattoo pigment. Individuals prone to developing keloids (scars that grow beyond normal boundaries), are at risk of keloid formation from permanent makeup. Keloids may form any time the skin is injured or traumatized. Although rare, individuals with permanent makeup have reported swelling or burning in the affected areas while they were undergoing an MRI (Magnetic resonance imaging). Many individuals who have had permanent make-up or tattooing are unhappy with the results and go through painful, time consuming and expensive removal procedures. It is imperative to research permanent makeup companies and technicians before considering having a treatment, after all its permanent. In response to the growing concern surrounding permanent cosmetic risks and complications in North America, LONG-TIME-LINER® has established the Conture® Makeup Method in Canada and the United States to provide high quality semipermanent makeup services and training.
LONG-TIME-LINER® Conture® Makeup
Over 20 years ago in Germany, the concept and design of LONG-TIME-LINER® began in Munich by renowned perfumist Waltraud Kuffner. With the collaboration of doctors, cosmetologists, make-up artists and technicians, LONG-TIME-LINER® developed the Conture® Makeup Method for a gentle and safe micro pigmentation.
Today, LONG-TIME-LINER® is a leading provider in semi-permanent makeup technology for eyebrows, eyeliner and lips. The Conture® Makeup artists, Linergists®, require intensive training and immense skill to be certified to use the method, device and pigmentation colors to ensure the finest level of semipermanent pigmentation.
Services are conducted with disinfected and sterilized equipment and a one-time-use needle. The semi-permanent color is pigmented into the first layer of the skin, the epidermis, where it lasts anywhere from 1 to 3 years more or less depending on the individual's skin regeneration. The pigmentation colors and pigmentation device are medically regulated, tested and approved by International Standards ISO13485. Depending on the medical condition, treatment costs are often covered up to 100% by medical insurance in Germany.
LONG-TIME-LINER® pigmentation colors are not only medically tested and certified, they are heavy metal and glycerin free. No side effects have been found in 20 years as the pigments are sterilized through gamma rays after being tested through 10 different regulatory methods. Pigment colors are anti-allergy tested, antiseptic, inorganic, of mineral origin and MRI exam safe. Each pigmentation bottle is assigned a unique charge number that is noted every time the color is used to ensure a high standard of quality control.
The Conture®MED 2000 and Conture® Liner Duo devices for pigmentation have unsurpassed hygienic quality confirmed by many physicians and medical professionals. The pigmentation devices are tested by certified technicians at headquarters in Germany every 500 hours of operation to ensure optimum functionality.
Permanent make-up and tattoos are pigmented into the middle and lower layers of the skin, the dermis and hypodermis, where they last for life. These tattoos cannot be altered in shape or color and cannot be easily removed. Because LONG-TIME-LINER® Conture® Make-up only penetrates the first layer of the skin, the individual has the option to keep the semipermanent make-up longer, change it or let it fade away.
Conture® Makeup Services
LONG-TIME-LINER® Conture® Makeup has developed a method that will help individuals achieve the benefits of micro pigmentation without the risks of permanent makeup. Individuals seeking to accentuate their natural looks in a subtle and lasting way may benefit from Conture® Makeup. These individuals may be young or old, male or female.
• Actors, actresses and television personalities needing to look their best at all times in the public eye.
• Athletes, personal trainers and professional swimmers who want to maintain a lasting attractive appearance while exercising, sweating and swimming
• Individuals with poor eyesight or unstable hands that want perfectly arched brows, eyeliner and lip contours every morning that are free of smudges or uneven lines Conture® Makeup may also benefit individuals who have improper growth or hair loss of the eyelashes or eyebrows and lip malformation or scarring.
• Individuals coping with hair loss due to Alopecia areata, Trichotillomania or chemotherapy treatments.
• Individuals with lip malformation due to Cleft Lip/Palate, a Herpes Simplex Infection or Impetigo contagiosa.
• Individuals with scarring due to an accident, burn, laceration, sore or operation
The certified Linergist® will recommend the best color and shape to compliment each individual’s features in accordance with their desired outcome. Before the procedure, the Linergist® will conduct a preliminary drawing of the Conture® Make-up using the matching colored make-up pencil. If the client is completely satisfied with the pre-drawing, the procedure will take place.
Eyebrows can be uneven or sparse as a result of repeated tweezing. To address this issue, the Linergist® first chooses a suitable colored make up pencil to outline the eyebrows. After the arch and outline have been approved, the Linergist® delicately creates the appearance of fine hair with the corresponding pigmentation.
Eyeliner is created with Conture® Make-up on the lash-to-lash part of the eye to create the appearance of thicker and fuller eyelashes. For lips, the Linergist ® carefully selects a personalized color from our palette ranging from natural lip shades to current fashion colors that compliment the client’s natural skin tone and fulfill the client’s requests. Next, the lips are outlined with Conture® Makeup, and then using a "Full-Lip-Shading" technique the color is blended onto two-thirds of the lips to give the perfect pout.
Although LONG-TIME-LINER® is known for Conture® Makeup for perfectly arched eyebrows, beautifully defined eyes and flawlessly colored lips; they also offer camouflaging, beauty mark and Cutetoo™ services. Camouflaging is a special technique used for medical pigmentation to even skin tones or to correct flawed and imperfect permanent makeup as an alternative to laser tattoo removal. A Cutetoo™ is a small fashionable motif displayed as body art. They’re a welcome alternative to traditional tattoos as Cutetoos™ are small, discreet and last a satisfactory length of time but they will eventually fade away.
One other advantage of Conture® makeup is that depending on the client’s pain threshold, minimal discomfort may be felt during the procedure. Most individuals experience a slight scratching sensation with limited to no discomfort. An anesthetic gel and disinfectant solution with a numbing agent are used during the procedure to provide relief from any discomfort or pain.
After the procedure there may be minimal redness or inflammation lasting 1-3 hours afterwards. This is the skin’s normal reaction to being pigmented. In the next 2 days, the color may seem a bit darker due to the color held in the upper layers of the epidermis. In the 4th and 5th day, the dead skin cells will slough off in the skin’s normal regeneration process, and the color will seem lighter. During the follow up treatment, 10 days to 2 weeks after the initial procedure, the Linergist® will perfect the procedure in shape and color.
A touch up treatment is offered for clients that have had a procedure in the past 1 to 3 years and would like to refresh or touch up their Conture® Makeup to restore its definition and color. This is a one-time procedure where the Conture® Makeup can be refreshed to enhance and darken the original shape and color. Touch Up treatments are highly recommended for all clients that have Conture® Makeup, to keep their makeup looking beautiful all year long.
Conture® Makeup Training
The quality of the device, pigmentations and certified trained Linergists® make the exceptional difference between LONG-TIME-LINER® Conture® Makeup and other permanent makeup. LONG-TIME-LINER® professional LINERGIST® undergo intense and stringent training to become licensed for cosmetic and medical pigmentation.
License I for Cosmetic Pigmentation is the first course necessary to take to become a professional Linergist®. Training is offered either as a seminar and standard course, an intensive course or a short course that is exclusive to professionals with permanent makeup experience. Training topics are extensive and include dermatology, hygiene, Conture® Make-up applications, devices, pigment colors, pigmentation techniques, marketing, materials and systems. During this training drawing and pigmenting a variety of eyebrows, eyeliner and lips are necessary to complete the course. After taking the Cosmetic Pigmentation Course License I and working with Conture® Makeup for at least 6 months, a Linergist® is able to take the License II course for medical pigmentation. Professional training topics include applications, cooperation with medical professionals and pigmentation in a hospital environment. Training includes both theory and practice in medical ultra-fine pigmentation methods like recovering, reforming and camouflaging pigmentation.
Working as a professional LINERGIST® is a rewarding career. Nothing can compare to the satisfaction received from helping clients feel great and look naturally beautiful. All training is provided in small groups as to ensure plenty of one-on-one learning with the instructor. Upon certification from training, the professional LINERGIST® is able to purchase the exclusive LONG-TIME-LINER® pigmentation device and colors to provide services to clients. As ongoing education is vital to the advancement of micro pigmentation, so is the development of new technology.
LONG-TIME-LINER® is determined to be a leader in their field, providing the highest quality of semipermanent makeup technology. In the 21st century, LONG- TIME-LINER® Conture® Make-up is a modern solution to the shortfalls of permanent makeup. LONG-TIME-LINER® offers Conture® Make-up services and training courses in Vancouver, British Columbia.
For more information on LONG-TIME-LINER®,
visit their website www.longtimeliner.ca, email
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or call 604-261-3322.
