Why I Lighten with Saline

When I was in tattoo school in 2017 it was very much a “character building experience.” In some conversations I have even gone on to call it a “dumpster fire.” I say this because so many things that I learned in that year of tattoo school had to be intentionally unlearned if I ever wanted to be a reputable artist in the cosmetic and paramedical field. But, because I live in Oregon where we have very strict licensing and continuing education requirements, the tattoo school “dumpster fire” was successfully unlearned. In all of the continuing education I have undergone I have finally learned all the pieces I need to know (up to this point) on how to properly tattoo and how to maintain tattoo over time.

One of these key things that I have learned is saline tattoo removal (also called lightening).

Now to circle back to tattoo school. When I was in school, we were taught that we “touch up” eyebrow tattoos every 6 months. And when I say “touch up” here I am referring to the process of repigmenting the eyebrows. We weren’t taught anything in terms of “when” someone is ready to be touched up or “what” to look for in order to know if a touch up needs to happen. We were simply just told every 6 months you touch them up no matter what. There are many problems with this.

1.) Tattoo pigments stay put in the skin. Sure, there is some fading over time as the immune system naturally and gradually removes pigment. But, the idea that cosmetic tattoos are “semi permanent” and eventually fade from the skin is just a straight up lie. Extreme fading used to be the case when iron oxide pigments were the only option used; these are pigment particles that come from the earth (think umbers, ochres, and natural sienna, etc). Because of their larger pigment sizes, they tend to fade fairly quickly and sometimes leave a salmon/pink pigmentation to the skin. Most of the pigments we use today are hybrid pigments (a mix or iron oxides and organic pigments) and they stay in the skin with a small amount of fading over multiple years.

2.) Continually “touching up” eyebrow tattoo without allowing time for the immune system to slowly remove pigment particles is setting us up for disaster. That “disaster” that I am referring to is overly saturated brows that no longer have any details. Overly touched up eyebrows definitely do not have visible hair stroke detailing and they are what I call “tootsie roll brows.” They are heavy and dark and they are the first thing that enters the room before a person walks in.

3.) Tattooing the skin too often should always be avoided if possible. Even when we are using proper technique and doing as little damage to the skin as possible, there is still a degree of trauma to the skin…no matter what. We have to think about tattooing as a completely foreign process for the body…because it is! We are using sharp instruments to implant pigment particles that are unnatural to the human body. When we allow ample time between touch ups so that the skin can regenerate and heal…we are setting ourselves up for a successfully maintained and beautiful tattoo. The skin isn’t being overworked, there is less risk of scaring and the visual effects are soft and natural (not tootsie roll)!

So, when do I choose to lighten? Well, it would be the ideal option when a client has allowed their brows to fade over a few years and we just hop back in with tattooing. But, that isn’t always the case. Sometimes a clients skin will hold on to pigment with little to no fading over time. Before I tattoo, I must take down some of this pigment saturation FIRST in order to get a natural and soft finished product. Additionally, sometimes there are cases of pigments shifting over time to an undesirable undertone. It is most common that the tattoo will begin to “pull cool” with a strong blue or gray undertone. This is for many different reasons, the most common reason being the “warmth” within the pigment mix has been processed through the immune system and the remaining pigments are what we see visually. Saline is amazing for this.

Also, if clients come to me with previously tattooed brows, I usually recommend a lightening process. There are situations where clients that found me had such strong fading that I didn’t need to worry about any removal. But in cases where the previous tattoos’ color or shape will impede my ability to make the most suitable brow for the client, lightening is the move. For more information on my lightening services, check out this page here.

I love the type of saline removal I use at my shop. I use a brand called Botched Ink® and from experience with other removal systems, I prefer Botched, hands down. I lean towards this saline system the most simply because of its emphasis on maintaining skin integrity above all else. It is very much a “get in and get out” approach focusing on a straight forward process and strategic application. If you’d like to learn more, definitely follow this link here to an article written by the creator of Botched Ink®, Lisa Henning.

To wrap this up, I always explain to clients in my consultations that lightening procedures are a normal part of maintaining soft and beautiful tattoo work over time. It doesn’t always come into play in everyones process, but in times where we “need” it, I am so grateful that this option exists! Definitely check out the visual example I provided on this blog of a photo of one of my clients. We went through 4 saline removals to get her to a point of being “ready” for more tattoo and they turned out awesome.

Lightening will forever be a “trust the process” process and I am always incredibly thankful for the clients that go “all in” based off of my education and background. Here’s to soft and natural brows over tootsie roll brows, all day every day!