Women beware, permanent makeup can cause permanent disfigurement

Jun 27 2007

Researchers in the United States are warning consumers that "permanent makeup" can leave some people permanently disfigured.

Permanent makeup ink is injected into recipients to enhance eyebrows, eyelids and lips and is a form of tattoo.

More than 8 million women in the U.S. alone undergo such procedures to supposedly enhance their appearance.

The researchers from the Cosmetics and Colors branch of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) say the process can cause long term disfigurement for patients who suffer allergic reactions.

That allergic reactions can occur with such ink injections, is well documented and in 2004, the American Institute of Intradermal Cosmetics in Arlington, Texas, recalled and replaced inks in its Premier Pigments brand after they were implicated in many of the problems reported to the FDA.

In order to assess the extent of the problem and how long the disfigurement lasted, Masja Straetemans of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and her colleagues interviewed 92 women who had problems following the procedure.

More than 9 out of 10 had swelling and tenderness and almost as many complained of itching with more than 4 out of 5 experiencing bumps.

They found that in 68 per cent of 63 cases the reactions had not healed at the time of the telephone interview, and the allergic reaction lasted anywhere from five months to more than three years.

According to the FDA reports of allergic reactions to tattoo pigments have been rare and from 1988 to 2003 they received only five reports of adverse reactions after permanent makeup procedures; however since 2003, more than 150 reports were made.

The FDA says when things do go wrong they may be particularly bad because the pigments can be hard to remove and occasionally people develop an allergic reaction to tattoos they have had for years.

Side-effects reported include tenderness, swelling, itching and bumps and the FDA says the application of permanent makeup can result in serious, long-term disfiguring reactions.

They have called on consumers and medical professionals to report adverse reactions to permanent makeup procedures to the FDA.

The report from the CDC appears in Thursday's New England Journal of Medicine.