Once upon a time, the accepted wisdom in permanent makeup circles was that melanated skin and darker skin tones were suitable for PMU treatments.

Luckily, we now know that’s simply not true!

In the run up to the release of the much-anticipated Chocolate Collection, a collaboration between Perma Blend LUXE and Amina Sadiq that’s been formulated for melanin-rich skin, we wanted to discuss how we can all become more inclusive in our work, and celebrate the natural beauty in all of our clients!



Education

The first place we need to start is in our education. It’s typical for PMU students to seek out education from someone with a similar skin tone to themselves and the people they’re expecting to work with - this can result in artists failing to realise that they don’t know how to tattoo darker skin tones!

Part of an artist’s job is to keep learning and trying to improve ourselves. If your initial course lacks information on darker skin tones, you should seek out one that’s more representative, or find one online. While there has traditionally been a shortage of live training and industry events focused on the needs of people of colour, that is no longer the case!

If you’re looking to expand your own education, the incredible Natalie Della-Verde from Bad Gal Brows will be demonstrating how to create ombré brows on melanin-rich skin at the Killer Beauty Community Event in Manchester on 4th May 2024. Secure your ticket here and get an up-close look on Natalie’s signature technique, using the brand-new Chocolate Collection.

Natalie’s Online Course with Perma U is coming soon – this will provide artists all over the globe with access to specialist training on how to work with melanin-rich skin, for beautiful and natural healed results. Stay tuned for more info on this!



Language

As part of being properly educated, it’s important that we’re using the proper language, both for our own treatments and to discuss the many beautiful skin tones, shades and types we might come across.

Even when PMU artists started opening up their appointment books to people with melanin-rich skin, they were advertising procedures as “corrections” – or simply turning these clients away due to a lack of education and understanding of how to work with all skin tones.

When you talk about working on people with darker skin tones, try to phrase treatments as “enhancing” or “celebrating” so that your potential clients know you don’t want to fix them, but bring out their natural beauty instead.

This extends to the words we use about people and their skin too – the term ‘melanin rich’ helps us to understand darker skin types and the properties they possess (such as more melanin within the skin, when compared to lighter skin tones) – helping us understand how to use the correct products and techniques to produce a flawless result.



Brands & Products

Luckily, there are more pigments, needles and drawing tools available for working on different skin tones than there ever has been before! Most recently we’ve had the Skin Gradient PMU Drawdown Pad from Perma Blend that helps you to understand colour theory on a variety of skin tones, and options up to Fitzpatrick skin tone 6 in Skinz™ Practice Skin sheets.

The Tina Davies I Love Ink Eyebrow Collection, Perma Blend’s Microblading Pro Set and the Perma Blend Luxe Ready, Set, Go Pre-Modified Set all feature pigments designed for use on all Fitzpatrick skin tones, but before now there’s never been a dedicated set for melanin-rich skin.

That’s why we’re SO excited about The Chocolate Collection, a gorgeous collection of pigments specifically designed to work well in melanin-rich skin, an industry-first and collaboration between Amina Sadiq and Perma Blend!



Your Portfolio

Many artists with the best of intentions find themselves in a self-perpetuating cycle - their portfolio doesn’t contain any people of colour, so people of colour won’t book with them. Limiting your portfolio could be limiting your reach as an artist, as some clients may think they’re not suitable for your services!

Going on extra training courses and getting footage of your work on more varied skin tones can only improve your likelihood of getting bookings, and give you the experience you need to gain confidence working on anyone’s skin. Plus, talking to clients and other people in the industry with melanin-rich skin can help you to understand their pain points and how you can help them.

Investing in training such as Natalie’s upcoming Perma U course, attending events, following artists you admire on social media and investing in educational PMU tools are just some of the things you can do to improve your skills as an artist and learn how to work on all skin-tones.



If you’d like to learn more about diversifying your portfolio, you can join the amazing Natalie Della-Verde from Bad Gal Brows as she teaches the secret to ombre brows on melanin-rich skin, or pick up The Chocolate Collection by ordering here!