What to Do Before Your Permanent Makeup Appointment

Your permanent makeup result is shaped partly by what you do before your appointment. At Shaded & Bladed in Tulsa, Candra provides pre-appointment instructions to every client — but this post covers the full list in detail so you can start preparing as soon as you book. Some items need two weeks of lead time. Others apply only to the day of your session. Both matter.

Two weeks before your appointment — what to stop

The two-week window before your appointment is when skincare habits have the biggest impact on your result. Several common products and supplements affect how the skin handles the PMU process.

**Stop retinol and AHAs (glycolic acid, lactic acid):** These ingredients increase skin cell turnover. Faster cell turnover in the treated area means the fresh skin over your new pigment renews faster — which shortens the window for optimal retention. Stop applying retinol, tretinoin, or AHA-based serums directly to the brow or lip area two weeks before your appointment. You can continue using them on the rest of your face.

**Stop blood-thinning supplements:** Fish oil, vitamin E, and high-dose vitamin C can thin the blood. Aspirin and ibuprofen (taken regularly, not as one-off pain relief) do the same. Thinner blood means more bleeding during the session, which dilutes the pigment as it is being deposited and leads to patchy retention. Stop these 7–10 days before.

Note: if you are on prescription blood thinners (warfarin, aspirin therapy), do not stop without talking to your prescribing doctor. Discuss this with Candra at your consultation.

**Avoid chemical peels and microneedling:** Both procedures accelerate skin renewal and leave the skin in a more sensitive, thin state for several weeks. Allow 4–6 weeks between any peels or microneedling and your PMU appointment.

**Avoid Botox near the brow area:** If you get Botox, schedule it either 2 weeks before or 4 weeks after your brow PMU appointment. Fresh Botox can shift muscle position as it settles, which affects brow mapping accuracy.

One week before — sun exposure

Fresh sun damage or sunburn on the brow or lip area makes the skin more reactive during the PMU session. Sunburned or recently tanned skin is also more likely to produce uneven pigment retention.

Avoid direct, prolonged sun exposure on the treatment area for at least one week before your appointment. Oklahoma's UV index runs 9–11 from May through September — even a long outdoor afternoon without sunscreen can leave the skin in a sensitized state.

If you have an outdoor event — a day at Keystone Lake, an afternoon at Gathering Place, a River Parks run — try to schedule it more than a week before your PMU appointment rather than right before.

Applying SPF 30 or higher to the brow and lip area in the days leading up to your appointment is not just good aftercare advice — it is good pre-care.

24–48 hours before — alcohol and medications

Alcohol thins the blood. Even moderate drinking the night before your appointment can increase bleeding during the procedure. Avoid alcohol for 24–48 hours before.

Ibuprofen and aspirin also thin the blood — avoid them as one-off pain relievers in the 24 hours before your session if possible. Acetaminophen (Tylenol) is fine.

If you take prescription medications, do not stop them without consulting your prescribing doctor. Bring a list of current medications to your appointment — Candra reviews this at the start of every session.

Day of your appointment — what to do

**Arrive with a clean face.** No brow makeup, brow tint, or brow gel. No lipstick, tinted lip balm, or lip liner. For lash line enhancement, no mascara. Removing these products takes time and delays the numbing step.

**Eat a meal before you arrive.** Your appointment runs approximately 3 hours. A 3-hour session on an empty stomach makes everything feel harder — including any mild discomfort during the procedure. Eat a regular meal before you come in. Coffee is not a replacement for food, and caffeine specifically reduces numbing efficacy — skip the coffee and drink water instead.

**Wear comfortable clothing.** You will be reclined for most of the session. Wear something you can relax in. If you are getting lip blushing or a lash line procedure, avoid anything tight-necked that pulls around your face.

**Bring photo references if you have them.** If you have a specific brow shape or lip color in mind, save photos of healed results you like. Fresh-result photos look dramatically different from healed ones — bring healed results if possible. Candra uses your references as context, not as a template; your natural features and skin tone drive the final design.

What not to worry about

You do not need to do any special skin prep beyond what is listed above. No special moisturizing routine, no skin brightening, no facial treatments. Clean, healthy skin in its normal state is the best canvas.

You do not need to shave or shape your brows before a brow appointment. Candra maps everything from scratch, and existing hairs are useful reference points for placement. Arrive with your brows exactly as they normally are.

For lip blushing: do not exfoliate your lips aggressively the week before. Dry, cracked lips are slightly more sensitive, so keeping them normally moisturized is helpful — but do not overdo it. A regular lip balm habit in the days before is fine.

If anything comes up between booking and your appointment — a new medication, a cold or illness, an unexpected sunburn — contact Shaded & Bladed at (918) 940-2888 before your session. Some circumstances require rescheduling; others are fine to proceed with noted. Candra would rather know than not know. Our studio is at 8026 S Memorial Dr, Tulsa, OK 74133.