Introduction
These days more than 45 million people in America have tattoos, which is 15% of the total population. Tattoo as a form of body art is almost as old as the civilization. Tattoo is claimed to have been existed since 12,000 BC and its purpose could depend on culture and period in the history it was used in. Tattoos played important role in rituals and were a kind of tradition for a certain people who attached special importance to it. “In Borneo, women tattooed their symbols on their forearm indicating their particular skill. If a woman wore a symbol indicating she was a skilled weaver, her status as prime marriageable material was increased” (“A Brief History of Tattoos”, 2008). Ancient Greeks and Romans had their own purposes for tattoos. Greece applied tattoos for military purposes; they served as a means of communication between spies for whom the tattoos marked the rank. For Roman tattoos were the means of indicating slaves, and sometimes, criminals, which, in fact, is still practiced today (people who were in prison tend to have tattoos over their bodies). Marking criminals with tattoos could also be observed in Japan; it consisted in drawing a line on the criminal’s forehead which indicated his first crime; an arch and other lines pointed to the person’s subsequent offences. Resorting to tattooing the body can be traced throughout history and even these days it has not lost its primary meaning. In the modern world people tend to tattoo their bodies not only for the reasons of beauty but because it can mark belonging to some clan or a certain society. Images of different animals reflect the person’s character or the attitude towards other people. Nevertheless, modern tattooing does not stop and decorating the body alone. Tattooing acquired new forms, such as, for instance, lip, eyelids, or eyebrow tattoos. Eyebrow tattoos are quite widespread in the 21st century; each day a number of people, mostly women being among them, weigh all pros and cons and eventually agree to go through this procedure. This kind of tattoos is less criticized than tattooing other parts of the human body since it does not serve as mere decoration. Of course, some women get their eyebrows tattooed exceptionally for beauty purposes but some people resort to it because of the loss of hair or the diseases which make it impossible for them to use make up. The procedure itself is safe and gives desirable results if it is performed by a specialist. Eyebrow tattoos are more accepted than other tattoos because most people cannot even tell that the eyebrow is tattooed.
Main body
To begin with, eyebrow tattooing is performed by a specialist and its aim is to conceal the existing defects of the human face. Eyebrow tattooing is a popular procedure among women who for some reason are not satisfied with form, color, or fullness of their eyebrows. Beauty of the face is extremely important for women and eyes are what adds the beauty its completeness. Eyebrows initially serve as frames for eyes and their shapes and color are important for the eyes’ expressiveness because “they accentuate the size of the eye” (Jablonski, 2008). Women tend to use eyeliner to correct the form of the eyebrows but some of them consider it inefficient and time-taking. Moreover, when the make-up is taken of, the original deficiency of eyebrows returns. Eyebrow tattoos refer to permanent make-up which most of women find beneficial and much easier “than [to] apply make-up on a regular basis” (Lanigan, 2000). This procedure is the same as that of a regular tattoo: “A tattoo gun, which automatically dispenses biocompatible inks to the area to be tattooed, is used for the procedure. The inks, which are delivered below the skin, are made of iron oxide or titanium dioxide pigments” (“Cosmetic Eyebrow Tattooing”, 2007). Some women claim that tattoo gun makes the procedure painful this is why alternative means for tattooing are also possible. One of the most widespread methods is applying a hand needle. This not only makes the procedure less painful but helps make the work more delicate, for instance, when a woman wants very thin eyebrows. In cases when a woman does not want to feel pain at all anesthetic can be used before tattooing the eyebrows. In general, the procedure does not take plenty of time; though tattooing eyebrows with a hand needle is more time-consuming than using a tattoo gun, the result of the procedure is usually more satisfactory. This is achieved by drawing separate lines to imitate individual hairs. After completing the procedure, the color of the eyebrows can be too bright but in several days it gets lighter. When the procedure is carried out successfully, there are no after effects and the tattooed eyebrows look naturally.
What else should be mentioned is that eyebrow tattoos are made not only when women desire to hide their drawbacks but because they are necessary for people with particular diseases. In this case, it is vital to look most naturally, since people, especially women, tend to conceal the disease. Loosing eyebrows after chemotherapy is stressful for women; the eyes, even the most expressive, lose their beauty without eyebrows, and this, together with realizing the hopelessness of the situation, may result in depressions. The matter is that “the powerful medical used in chemotherapy to attack cancer sells also attack other rapidly-growing cells […] including the hair roots” (“Eyebrow Loss (Alopecia) and Chemotherapy”, 2005). Chemotherapy does not necessarily result in complete loss of hair but, whether or no, the eyebrows get thinner and most of the hairs fall out. Women who have gone through chemotherapy usually wear wigs but the unnatural thinness of eyebrows cannot be dealt with. The best way out here is making eyebrow tattoos which will make the face look more natural and healthy. There are a number of other reasons for alopecia, or hair loss and they usually include taking different medications usually used “for gout, arthritis, depression, hypertension, chemotherapy, and heart problems” (“Eyebrow Loss (Alopecia) and Chemotherapy”, 2005). Loss of the eyebrows can also be caused by “eczema, fungal infections, hormone imbalances, lupus erythematosus, over plucking, parasites, psoriasis, seborrhea, scleroderma, thyroid problems” (”The Ultimate Eyebrow”, 2006), though sometimes the reasons may be even more serious. Eyebrow tattoos can be the best possible solution for people suffering from alopecia or diseases which may lead to shaky hands and in result of which a person is unable to apply make-up in an appropriate way, or for blind people who do not have a chance to see how they look. Moreover, eyebrow tattoos can be useful for people having asymmetrical eyebrows or a part of the eyebrow missing due to some reasons. Eyebrow tattoos will help to hide these drawbacks which most of women have to do with the help of the eyeliner.
And finally, eyebrow tattoos is a cosmetic surgery and in order to achieve the desired results, one should trust the expert who will be altering the shape of the eyebrows. Some women who went through this procedure remained dissatisfied with it. Saving money on this procedure is unacceptable and usually results in bad shape or too bright a color of the eyebrows, which distorts the face and adds it rude expression. Moreover, with time the color may blur which is even more frustrating. The women who hesitate whether to agree to eyebrow tattoo or remain faithful to regular eyeliner usually get frightened with the stories about sad experience of other women, or see such women themselves. Whether the tattooed eyebrows will look naturally or not, depends on how skilled the tattoo expert is this is why it is advisable to use the services of a reliable cosmetologist. Most of women who went through this procedure state that even the pain they felt in the course of it was worth it, and that their eyebrows look so natural that their friends and relatives do not even notice that they are tattooed. This is what distinguishes eyebrow tattoos from the rest of tattoos. It is always easy to notice if a woman has gone through lips tattoo. This is due to the fact that the contour of the lips is naturally uneven, and when it is tattooed, the lips may look artificial; sometimes more than one procedure is needed because the skin of the lips is sensitive and can react to the pigments injected into it, which results in dissolving of 70 percent of the pigments; due to the skin sensitiveness, the rehabilitation period is needed after lips tattoo during which special medications should be used. However, even passing rehabilitation period successfully does not mean that the lip contour will be of desirable color and the lips will have a desired shape. This is what makes lip tattoos more noticeable as compared to eyebrow tattoos.
Thus, people, mostly women, resort to eyebrow tattoos for beauty purposes in case they are not satisfied with their natural eyebrows; this procedure can also be necessary for people suffering from diseases which cause loss of hair; lastly, eyebrow tattooing is a relatively safe procedure but only under condition that it is performed by a reliable cosmetologist.
Conclusion
Taking into consideration everything mentioned above, it can be concluded that eyebrow tattoos are indeed less noticeable than any other kind of tattoos. They help to deal with certain defects of the eyebrows, such as thinness or absence of definite shape; eyebrow tattoos can also help those who went through chemotherapy or lost hair because of some other diseases; it can be helpful for people who do not have an ability to use make-up every day. Eyebrow tattoos look more naturally than lips or eyelids tattoos which can add the features of the face artificial look. The procedure itself consists in dispensing the inks of a corresponding color to the area of eyebrows. This can be done by means of a tattoo gun or manually; at this, the latter variant is more preferable because it is less painful and gives the eyebrows more delicate form. Sometimes anesthetic can be used in order to reduce the pain but most of the women who went through correcting the form of eyebrows state that the pain is tolerable. Since it is a cosmetic surgery it is better to have a reliable tattoo expert who will carry out the procedure without any after effects, such as giving the eyebrows undesirable shape which can distort the face or blurring of the inks with time. Eyebrow tattoos are better than other kinds of tattoos because it gives the eyebrows the desirable shape and makes them so natural that other people may not even notice that eyebrows are tattooed.
Reference List
Jablonski, N.G. (2008). Skin: A Natural History. University of California Press.
Lanigan, S. W. (2000). Lasers in Dermatology. Springer.
A Brief History of Tattoos. (2008).
Cosmetic Eyebrow Tattooing. (2007). Web.
Eyebrow Loss (Alopecia) and Chemotherapy. (2005). Web.
The Ultimate Eyebrow (2006). Web.