Are you a medical professional, aesthetician, or someone on the brink of a career change, seeking to expand your horizons and your ability to make a significant, positive impact on clients' lives, yet you are not sure where to start due to confusing information out there? Our specialized medical tattoo training program is meticulously designed for you. Merging the realms of art and medicine, this training offers a profound understanding of how intricate and life-altering the work of a medical tattoo artist can be. Before we get into talking about what you should be checking when it comes to choosing the best medical tattoo training, let’s briefly talk about what is scar camouflage.
What is scar camouflage?
Stretch marks and scar camouflage are non-invasive tattooing techniques that use skin-toned ink pigments to disguise and cover the appearance of stretch marks and/or scars by filling in any missing color.
It takes little or no downtime, although the ultimate healed results often take 6 - 8 weeks. The commonly treated locations are the breasts, shoulders, stomach, hips, buttocks, thighs, knees, calves, thighs, back, arms and shoulders, side of waist.
Skin-colored tattoos can positively impact self-esteem by concealing scars without drawing attention to discoloration. While some may overlook their significance, these tattoos play a vital role in boosting confidence and appearance.
Stretch marks and scar camouflage techniques are highly sought-after for enhancing skin appearance. These non-invasive tattoo methods utilize skin-toned ink pigments to seamlessly blend with the skin, effectively concealing stretch marks or scars.
Covering a scar with tattoo scar camouflage is a non-surgical medical procedure involving the insertion of ink-mimicking skin color into the scar tissue. Using various tattoo techniques to blend skin tones adds depth and variety to conceal the scar effectively. This process is crucial as skin tones vary, requiring skill for optimal results in tattoo scar camouflage.
For an additional note, Melasma, spider veins, and brown birthmarks are not good candidates for skin camouflage tattoos.
Medical tattoo training industry’s 3 biggest mistakes
1. Utilizing permanent makeup techniques, such as eyebrow tattooing and lip blushing, for camouflaging scars is not an effective method for tattooing over scars.
Permanent makeup tattoo technique targets right underneath the epidermis layer, using whip shading technique, therefore designed to fade faster. Medical tattoo technique targets the reticular dermis layer as scar tissues form in the dermal layer of the skin, often using various types of tattoo technique. Compromised and damaged skin like scar tissue won’t retain pigments like healthy skin tissue. Using permanent makeup tattoo techniques solely on scar tissue can merely scratch the surface, potentially causing further damage.
Additionally, the pigment may not adhere properly, resulting in uneven saturation or no retention at all. This can lead to an unsatisfactory result and potentially cause more harm than good, particularly if scars are denser and more fibrous. This mistake comes from not understanding how scar tissue behaves when you tattoo it with pigments.
To effectively target and treat scar tissue, it is important to understand the structure of the skin. The skin is composed of three main layers: the epidermis, dermis, and hypodermis. The reticular dermis layer is located in the middle of the skin's structure and is responsible for providing support and elasticity.
When an injury occurs that causes scarring, it affects the deeper layers of the dermis. Scar tissue forms as a result of this injury, creating a tough and fibrous layer that can be difficult to treat. This is because scar tissue lacks blood vessels and hair follicles, making it less receptive to pigment retention.
This poses a challenge when using permanent makeup tattoo techniques on scar tissue. Unlike healthy skin tissue the permament makeup tattoo technique allows you to just scratch the superficial layer.
Scar tissue also tends to be more sensitive and may react differently to certain pigments, causing the color to appear different or fade more quickly. It is important for artists to have a thorough understanding of scar tissue and how it differs from healthy skin in order to provide the best results for clients with scarring.
Let’s talk about the role of dermis and epidermis in skin healing.
Scar formation is a vital aspect of the skin's natural healing process, involving the dermis and epidermis, the skin's key layers. When a wound penetrates the dermis, it initiates the skin's repair mechanism. This event triggers fibroblast cells in the dermis to produce a significant amount of collagen, which rushes to the site of the wound. This collagen production not only supports the growth of new skin tissue but is also essential for the healing process.
Collagen, the main structural protein in human skin and a common component in human skin, is crucial in replacing damaged skin tissue with new, leading to scar formation.
However, excessive collagen can lead to raised, discolored scars that may be unsightly and uncomfortable.
The skin's ability to heal and regenerate, showcases its incredible power of self-repair. This process highlights the importance of understanding skin care, wound healing, and scar management.
2. Choosing the wrong ink color match for skin camouflage
There are a lot of skin camouflage tattoo training programs that teach you to mix colors with limited choices .
Selecting the perfect ink color is key to achieving a natural look and seamless blend with your skin tone. Understanding color theory, skin undertones and overtones, pigment undertones, and how they interact with various skin tones is essential. Knowing how to modify the base tone to match your skin perfectly is crucial. Opting for the wrong ink color can lead to a mismatched appearance, making scars more noticeable. Our guide on ink color selection will help you avoid common mistakes and choose the right color for a
flawless finish.
It's essential to understand your own skin undertones and overtones. Undertones refer to the underlying color of your skin while overtones refer to the surface color that you can see. Skin tones can vary from warm (yellow or golden undertones) to cool (pink or blue undertones) to neutral (equal parts warm and cool). It's crucial to match your ink color to your undertones to achieve a natural and seamless look.
To determine your undertones, look at the veins on your wrist. If they appear green, you likely have warm undertones. If they look blue or purple, you have cool undertones. Those with neutral undertones will see a mix of both colors.
Once you've identified your undertones, it's time to consider the overtones of your skin. This can be done by examining how your skin reacts to sunlight. If you tan easily and rarely burn, you likely have warm overtones. If you burn easily and struggle to tan, you may have cool overtones. With this knowledge in mind, it's essential to choose an ink color that complements both your undertones and overtones. Your overtone is the color of your skin's surface, and it can vary depending on things like sun exposure, skincare practices, and makeup use. Just like undertones, overtones can also be warm, cool, or neutral. Choosing an ink color that matches both your undertones and overtones, considering the hue, will help you achieve a natural and seamless look. So you will want to make sure all of this and more details, including understanding human skin tone and pigment undertone, are a crucial part of your medical tattoo training.
3. Not considering the various texture of the scar tissue
Scar tissue can have different textures, including raised, pitted, or indented surfaces. Applying the same tattooing technique to various types of scars can lead to uneven and visually unappealing results with poor color retention. It's important to tailor tattooing approaches to the specific characteristics of scar tissue to achieve the best aesthetic outcome. What are the different types of scars we know about? Scars, those unique marks that tell a story on our skin, can vary widely depending on their cause and the healing process involved.
Having said that, what should you consider when it comes to choosing Medical tattoo training?
Ensure your instructor actively engages with clients and develops case studies, rather than solely focusing on teaching. Many para-medical tattoo trainers begin teaching without substantial experience or years of practice. It's essential to choose a trainer who has hands-on experience working with clients and can provide evidence of successful tattoo treatments on different types of scars. Stretchmark camouflage tattoo is not exactly the same as scar camouflage, it is a common mistake to be learned, wrapped under one same technique which will limit your ability to provide optimum results.
Choose an instructor who doesn't showcase before and after pictures from various artists under the banner of a large umbrella company. Such practices lack ethical transparency and can be misleading.
Make sure the medical tattoo training program you choose will provide extensive in-depth information on color theory, skin undertone and overtone, and how to modify and add hues from base colors by Fitzpatrick scale. Also, ask about the specific techniques used for different types of scars. Learning how to match color with clients’ skin tone is not something that can be done in the few choices of pigments. I notice a lot of training programs give you just a few choices of color to create variation on all 6 fitzpatrick scales, which blows my mind knowing it’s impossible.
Ensure the training program explains the logic underpinning our methods, grounded in dermatological science. Opt for small group settings that provide ample opportunities for hands-on practice with a sufficient number of models, allowing for as many case studies as possible within the allotted time. This will help in building confidence and proficiency in color matching for various skin tones and scar types.
Conclusion
Elevate You Studio believes in delivering the best result based on the years of experience and true artistry in medical tattooing and skin camouflage tattoo techniques, as well as providing the real mastery in your medical tattoo training. Our comprehensive training programs are carefully designed to provide our students with a strong foundation in dermatological science and techniques, allowing them to confidently perform medical tattoo procedures on clients of all Fitzpatrick scales. With small group settings and hands-on practice opportunities, our students will gain valuable experience and knowledge that will set them apart from others in the industry.
At Elevate You Studio, we take pride in our commitment to excellence and continued learning. That's why our training program not only focuses on technical skills but also provides a deep understanding of the logic behind our methods. We firmly believe that this knowledge is crucial for achieving optimal results for our clients.
Through our small group settings, we ensure that each student receives personalized attention and has ample opportunity to practice with a sufficient number. This allows them to develop their skills and build confidence in a supportive environment.
Led by esteemed expert in the field, our program combines theoretical knowledge with hands-on practice. You'll have the opportunity to learn not just from textbook examples but through real-life scenarios, engaging directly with the material and tools of your future trade. Our training environment is not only about imparting knowledge but also about fostering empathy and understanding, aligning with our belief that the best medical tattoo artists are those who can truly connect with and understand their clients.