Violetta Shumskaya

The hair-stroke technique looks best on skin with enough of your own hairs: the drawing weaves into them and stays natural. On smooth, “empty” or very dense skin, individual hairs read poorly — powder shading is the more honest choice there.

Powder shading is a gradient: lighter at the brow head, denser toward the tail. It forgives more and holds more steadily, which is why it is often recommended for a first procedure.

For lips the logic differs: the borderless watercolor technique suits those who want “my own lips, just fresher”. If a definite shape and colour density are needed, we discuss a lipstick effect. The decision is always made together, at a consultation, in daylight.

Immediately after the procedure the colour is always brighter and denser than what will remain: some pigment leaves with skin renewal. Judging work by a day-one photo is a mistake.

Initial healing takes about 5–7 days: light flaking and tightness are possible. Full colour stabilisation takes roughly 3–4 weeks. Only then does it make sense to discuss a touch-up.

A good healed result is not “vivid” but “symmetrical and invisible”. It survives daylight, close-up and time. When choosing an artist, ask to see healed work, not fresh work.

At the consultation everything that affects the result matters: previous permanent makeup, regular medication, allergies, skin particularities. Some conditions rule the procedure out — I check them in advance with a questionnaire.

In the 24 hours before the procedure it is best to avoid alcohol, coffee and energy drinks, aspirin and other blood-thinning medication. Before lip work — care for the lips with balm in advance; before eyelid work — remove lash extensions.

And the main thing: a good consultation ends not with a “signed cheque” but with a clear plan. You should leave understanding which technique was chosen, why, and how healing will go. The sketch begins only with your consent.

Academic drawing teaches you to see proportion and direction. In permanent makeup it is the same: a stroke follows the growth, powder builds density like hatching, and light on the lips is distributed so the form reads as volumetric.

That is why before every procedure I sketch the way I once painted still lifes: construction first, then tone. The client sees this drawing and takes part in the decision — permanent makeup is too personal to be chosen for someone.