Semi-permanent makeup aftercare: your day-by-day guide

Your beautiful results depend on proper aftercare. What you do in the two weeks after your appointment makes a real difference to how well the colour holds and how evenly your brows or eyeliner heal, so I've put everything in one place here: what to do each day, what to avoid, and what's normal along the way.

If you're thinking about semi-permanent makeup, it's worth reading this before your appointment, so you know what the healing weeks involve. My clients also go home with a printed aftercare guide; this page follows it, with a little more explanation.

Semi-permanent makeup is a two-step treatment

Every treatment includes a touch-up appointment around 6 weeks later. It shouldn't be any sooner: the skin needs that time to heal fully, and waiting reduces the chance of scarring. Mature skin can need a little longer, usually 8 to 12 weeks.

Some unevenness in the colour once it has healed is perfectly normal, and it's exactly why there are two sessions. By the touch-up we can both see how the colour has settled and make any adjustments needed.

Straight after the appointment

The pigment is placed in the skin with very fine needles, so a little swelling is normal. If you need to, hold an ice pack wrapped in a clean surgical glove (or something similar) against the area.

For the first few days your brows or eyeliner will look darker and sharper than the final result. This is expected and it softens as the skin heals.

Aftercare for semi-permanent brows

Follow these steps for the best colour retention and healing. This applies to powder brows, microblading and combination brows.

Days 1 to 5: clean, protect and keep dry

• Clean your brows morning and night with cool boiled (sterile) water, then pat them dry.
• Blot, don't wipe. If a little clear fluid (lymph) comes to the surface, gently blot it with a clean cotton pad.
• Sleep on your back with an extra pillow, so your brows aren't pressed into the pillow overnight.
• Don't touch the area apart from cleaning it.

Days 6 to 14: clean and moisturise

• Keep cleaning your brows in the same way.
• When they start to feel dry or itchy, apply a very thin layer of aftercare balm. Less is more: a thick layer smothers the skin and slows healing.
• Don't use Vaseline, petroleum or paraffin-based products, or heavy creams and oils. They have no nutritional value for the skin and can delay healing.

Aftercare for semi-permanent eyeliner

• Keep your eyes clean with the sterile solution I give you, morning and night for the first 7 days.
• Don't pick or scratch at the line while it heals.

Everything in the "things to avoid" list below applies to eyeliner too.

What healing looks like

Healing happens in stages, and it can look a bit alarming if you don't know what to expect. This is the usual pattern:

Days 1–3	Darker and sharper than the final result.
Days 4–10	Flaking (brows) or scabbing (eyeliner). The area may look slightly raised and feel itchy.
Days 11–14	The skin peels and the colour lightens.
4–6 weeks	The true colour appears.

Don't pick or scratch the flakes. Let them come away on their own. Picking pulls the pigment out with them and causes patchy colour loss.

If the colour seems to disappear as the flakes come away, don't panic. This is perfectly normal. New skin is forming over the pigment and hides it for a while. Within a few days the colour comes back through and looks brighter.

Things to avoid for the next 14 days

• Prolonged exposure to water. Keep the area as dry as you can apart from cleaning it: soaking it causes poor healing.
• Sweating. Hard exercise, saunas and steam rooms make the skin sweat, which pushes the pigment out and causes poor healing.
• Makeup on your brows. It raises the risk of infection.
• Sun and tanning, including sunbeds. They fade the pigment faster and can change its colour. After the 14 days, keep using sun block on your brows until they've fully healed.
• Retinol, acids and active skincare near the area. They damage the healing skin. Avoid chemical peels and exfoliating treatments too.
• Swimming, including the sea. There is a high risk of infection.
• Heavy creams and oils. They smother the skin and slow healing.

Tinting, waxing and chemical treatments: wait 6 weeks

Don't tint or wax your brows, or have any chemical treatment such as brow lamination or a lash lift, for 6 weeks after your appointment. They irritate the skin, increase the risk of infection and cause poor healing.

Looking after your brows long term

• Protect them from the sun. Once healed, use sun block on your brows whenever you're out in the sun. Sun fades pigment faster.
• Book your colour boost. Semi-permanent makeup fades gradually over time, and a colour boost keeps it looking fresh. Most clients need one every 18–24 months.

Any questions?

If anything worries you while your brows or eyeliner are healing, or you're not sure whether something is normal, get in touch. I'd much rather you ask than guess.

Email hello@emilyedwards.beauty or call 07726 910 845.

Thinking about semi-permanent makeup? Take a look at semi-permanent makeup at Emily Edwards Beauty or book a free consultation.