Why are my clients results looking warm, orange, or red?

One of the most frequently asked questions we get at Tina Davies Professional are regarding certain colors in the I LOVE INK line looking more “orange” immediately after and during the first few weeks of healing.

The reason why you may see some red/orange present immediately after is because:

• The colors are PRE-MODIFIED to heal true to tone with NO ASHY undertones
• They have a strong presence of WARMTH to ensure perfect healed results
• Skin is irritated and injured, seeing pink/redness in the skin is normal, especially during days 2-12 as the wound is fresh and the scab is just starting to “lift” off.

Immediately After - Bold Brown

Day 3 Bold Brown 

Day 6 Bold Brown

Day 12 Bold Brown

Healed, 30 Days

Colors that are more prone to this are: MEDIUM BROWN, DARK BROWN, and BOLD BROWN.

As an artist that is new to this line, you may be shocked, surprised, or concerned that the brows may heal this way permanently and leave your clients with orange or red toned eyebrows, but don’t worry, this is not the case.

I have very carefully and specifically developed this pigment line to provide you with the richest and truest brown tones you’ve ever seen that stand the test of time. That means brows that are that perfect medium or chocolate brown WITHOUT those dirty grey or ashy tones of the past. How is this possible you ask? It’s all in the formulation of the colors.

Why is this happening?

From years of PMU experience and thousands upon thousands of healed eyebrow results, I faced the same challenges artists face currently and in the past: lack of true brown results coupled with dull, grey, ashy healed results. Colors would always look brown in the pigment bottle, look brown as the client walked out the door, but after healing, they would ash-out and disappoint. My heart would sink when my clients returned, knowing that I had tattooed what I thought would be the correct color. There’s nothing more disappointing than to work so hard to create a work of art on a woman’s face, her most precious asset, and be powerless when her color heals permanently off-tone.

The dreaded, healed grey eyebrows 

How often did you enjoy posting your healed pictures of these grey eyebrows? Sometimes I would get lucky with perfect results but I have to admit, those cases were far and few between. That’s why you don’t see many artists post healed results until I LOVE INK came along.

Who would ever figure that a true rich brown was actually the hardest color to achieve? This reality became an acceptable permanent makeup fact-of-life, until I finally figured out how to finally overcome the “greys”.

The key to success

The secret lies in the formulation and balance of the colors that make up the color brown. I figured out that in order for the brow colors to heal true and rich but without grey, the source formulation had to be made EXTRA WARM to compensate for the natural ashing from the skin once the eyebrows had healed.

Immediately after & healed 30 days using Tina Davies x Perma Blend I❤️INK Dark Brown for microbladed hair strokes & Tina Davies x Perma Blend I❤️INK Blonde for machine shading

Immediately after and healed results using Tina Davies x Perma Blend I❤️INK Toffee

How it’s done

I LOVE INK MEDIUM BROWN, DARK BROWN, AND BOLD BROWN are formulated with an extra amount of orange undertones to ensure that a “magic, true brown heal” actually happens.

ASH BROWN, BLONDE, GREY, and EBONY are formulated with extra amounts of yellow and golden undertones to prevent them from ashing out as well.
Remember I said that the source formulation has to be extra warm? That’s exactly why you’re seeing more warmth in the skin immediately after. It’s on purpose!

Now, couple that with redness in the skin from needle trauma, wiping, and angry skin, you’ll definitely see more orange and red. Think about the pinkness you get after eyebrow waxing or even just a pimple. The skin is angry and the redness is a response to that trauma.

After several days the newly healed results will start to emerge as the top layer shed off…but wait, the color is almost too soft and looks pale pink or orange? What’s happening?

Day 12 Bold Brown

At this stage the skin has just shed its protective scab and now, you’re seeing the raw, baby skin underneath. Just like a healing pimple, it remains pinkish and pale until the skin mends itself over the next few weeks and by the time, the pink/orange appearance starts to slowly diminish (just like a pimple or cut) and the true healed result emerges at week 4. Thorough and gentle aftercare is crucial during these weeks to ensure a smooth and speedy recovery of the skin.

Click here to read about my aftercare instructions

So now that you know the method behind my madness, rest assured this “warm phase” is a temporary stage and your clients will have beautiful brows that they will brag about to their friends and family. Be sure to inform your client and include instructions on “what to expect” to help guide your clients through this phase of their healing. Even call them after a week just to check up and reassure your clients. People love to get a follow-up call, who doesn’t?

Read Tina’s Top 6 Tips Delight Your Clients

Artist: Elaine Campin
Before, immediately after, and healed using Tina Davies x Perma Blend I❤️INK Blonde & Ash Brown

The example above is OMBRÉ shading with BLONDE & ASH BROWN by I ❤️ INK ProTeam artist Elaine Campin. The middle picture is immediately after and the last picture is fully healed. As you can see, the color healed with no warmth to a perfect tone.

Click here to read more in-depth Healing Day-by-Day guide

Artist: Paula Fitzpatrick
Immediately After & Healed using Tina Davies x Perma Blend I❤️INK Dark Brown

The example above is OMBRÉ shading work by Paula Fitzpatrick with I❤️INK DARK BROWN. The picture on the left is immediately after and the picture on the right is fully healed. As you can see, the color healed with no warmth to a perfect tone.

So in short, don't panic. Seeing orange/red/pink is normal. After a week to 12 days, the top layer will shed and the true color will appear, irritation will be reduced. The result will continue to get better and improve as the skin mends back together over the next few weeks. For good measure and client comfort, I like to put a cool compress onto the skin for 5 minutes to instantly reduce discomfort followed by immediately applying the soothing Tina Davies Aftercare.

Pro Tip: When you are creating soft, powdery ombré looks, be sure to saturate with enough passes so the result is not too sheer. For example, if the skin is still pink/red after a few passes, you are not implanting the color well and will need to adjust your technique. Remember, you’ll need to see little pixelated “dots” of color show up in the skin so layer, layer, layer to build saturation. Click here to read Tina’s Top Machine Tips To Better Retention.

As an informed and professional artist, make sure you keep in touch with your client and prepare her for what to expect in advance so she can remain calm and confident in her new eyebrows.

Artist: Paula McDonald
Healed 2 years using Tina Davies x Perma Blend I❤️INK Bold Brown

Learn in-depth on how to easily select the right color for your client using I LOVE INK in our exclusive Beauty in Color Online Course on The Collective.

What if it is Still Orange After 1 Month?

So weeks have gone by but your client’s eyebrows still look too warm?
The key here is deposit and saturation. Lack of proper deposit and weak saturation yields trace deposits.

It takes years of experience to find the delicate balance of your technique and how to apply it against the variables of each client’s skin. Furthermore, the skin’s thickness will vary from front of the brow (thicker) to tail of brow (thinner) so as an artist, you have to adjust your pressure and saturation along with this variance. Remember, the tail of the brow is always thinner so you have to lighten up your pressure when working in that area.

If you have areas of pink/orange post-treatment, here are the reasons:
There is not enough saturation due to lack of good stretch and depth. Basically, the color has not landed in the dermal layer. Initially, between day 7-30 it can present itself as “pink”, a sign of wounded skin. This “pinkish” presence should resolve itself by 30 days.

After this, then whatever remains is what truly landed in the dermis. If you see some orange undertones (hair strokes or haze), this is either the undertone of the color itself OR the trace leftover of the original old PMU (if you are doing a cover-up).

Orange-ish area in the tail of the brow that is weak after healing. This represents poor saturation.

To improve this, you need to redo these areas and add more color, enough to hit the dermis. You’ll need to wait at least 30-60 days between treatments before trying again to give enough time for the skin to heal and become strong again before reattempting, focusing on the “weak spots” that need extra attention. When this happens to me, my awareness of the challenge is heightened and I make sure to stretch the skin properly, slow down, and adjust my needle angle and depth to ensure I implant with purpose, especially if the skin is challenging.

Click Here for Tina’s Foundations of Microblading

I❤️INK Healed Results Lookbook

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