History of Cosmetic Tattoos
Cosmetic tattooing is older than you might think! Micropigmentation became popular in the early 1900s, although it is possible it was done as far back as ancient times! This is because archaeological evidence shows us that tattoos have been in use for thousands of years, and their purposes cannot be exactly certain (History of Tattoos Blog, n.d.)
The first modern application of permanent cosmetics was in London by Sutherland MacDonald in 1902. MacDonald became well known for tattooing a pink complexion on the cheeks, and he was later followed by George Burchett in this technique in the 30s, pictured below (Becker, 2019).
Burchett is coined as the major developer of this technique, as cheek blushing rose to popularity during this time (Becker, 2019). Many beauty salons at that time began performing this service through vegetable dye injections, however, it was only ever referred to as a “complexion treatment,” and clients were not even informed it was a tattoo! (History of Tattoos Blog, n.d.) This is perhaps due to widespread negative perceptions of standard tattoos at the time.
As opposed to the microblading and ombre techniques of today, cosmetic tattooed eyebrows were much simpler at this time and consisted of one black line. The black pigment was of poor quality, and eventually turned green over time! Clients had to draw over their tattoos to hide the green tones (Arch Angels Blog, n.d.).
References:
Arch Angels Blog. (n.d.) The History of Permanent Makeup. Arch Angels NYC. https://archangelsnyc.com/the-history-of-permanent-makeup/
History of Tattoos Blog. (n.d.). History of Permament Makeup as Tattoo Technique. History of Tattoos. http://www.historyoftattoos.net/tattoo-history/history-of-permanent-makeup/
Becker, J. (2019, March 27). The History of Permanent Cosmetics. Huntington Academy of Permanent Cosmetics. https://www.huntingtonacademy.com/the-history-of-permanent-cosmetics/#:~:text=The%20first%20modern%20application%20of,major%20developer%20of%20this%20technique.
Art of Micropigmentation. (2021, January 12). Here’s some facts for you! Micropigmentation has actually been in use for thousands of years [Image attached.] Facebook.
Haas, M. (2022, June 9). British tattoo artist George Burchett applying cosmetic tattoo on a woman's face, London, UK, circa 1930 [Photograph]. Getty Images. https://www.gettyimages.ie/photos/george-burchett
Caroline Y., Feather & Blade Intern