Why your second session matters

Why every permanent makeup treatment includes a second session, and how it differs from a colour boost.

Every brow, lip and eyeliner treatment I do comes with a second session, 6 to 12 weeks after the first. It's one of the things I get asked about most, usually along the lines of "do I really need it?" The short answer is yes, and here's why.

Your skin decides how the first session heals

Permanent makeup is designed for how it looks healed, months and years from now, not just on the day. And while the first session puts the colour and shape in place, it's your skin that decides how much of it holds.

Brows, for example, look darker and bolder for the first few days. Around the end of the first week they start to flake, and for a week or two after that they can look lighter or patchy as the skin settles. Lips flake around days three to five, and can look faded before the colour comes back. That's all normal, but everyone heals slightly differently, and some areas hold pigment better than others.

Combination brows in three panels: healed on top, reddened just after treatment in the middle, before at the bottom
Before, just done and healed after the first session

What happens at the second session

Once your skin has fully healed, I can see exactly how it's taken the pigment. At the second session I fill any gaps, build the colour and perfect the shape. It's where the result is finished, which is why it's part of the treatment rather than an optional top-up. My brow and lip prices include both sessions, and eyeliner prices show the second session alongside the first.

It's best to book it when you book your first, so it lands in that 6 to 12 week window.

Second session, colour boost or new treatment?

Three appointments sound alike but do different jobs:

  • Second session: the second half of your first treatment, 6 to 12 weeks after it, once your skin has healed. It's where the shape and colour are perfected
  • Colour boost: a refresh of healed permanent makeup that has softened with time, usually 12 to 24 months after your second session, in a shorter appointment than the original. Some skin needs one sooner
  • New treatment: if your permanent makeup has almost faded away, or was done somewhere else, it's booked as a new treatment or correction, starting with a consultation
Healed, softened brow tattoo with a lighter, patchier tail before a colour boost
Softened after two years, and ready for a colour boost

If you're not sure which you need, send me a photo of your permanent makeup as it is now and I'll let you know. There's more on the colour boosts page.

Looking after it in between

How long your results last depends on your skin type, your skincare and how much sun they see. Following your aftercare while you heal, and wearing SPF once you have, is the best way to protect both sessions' work.

Ready to start? Book a consultation, or read more about brow tattooing, lip tattooing and eyeliner tattooing.

UKPMU Hairstroke Artist of the Year 2026

Ready to get started?

Book a consultation to talk it all through, or message Alex with a photo if you're not sure whether you need a second session, a boost or a new treatment.

Brow and lip prices include both sessions.