Studio Noir Oakland is an intentionally inclusive space to all bodies and genders. We are proud to offer Gender Affirming PMU services to our Trans and Gender Expansive clientele.
What is gender affirming tattooing?
Gender affirming tattooing is the process of using paramedical and/or cosmetic tattoo services as a tool to help battle gender dysphoria. With the ultimate goal of these procedures being to invoke confidence, gender euphoria, and feeling more at home in your body.
Gender exploration and presentation is such a personal thing, and is different for each individual. There are many avenues of transitioning that Folks can choose to do to feel more at home in their body and tattooing can be versatile and custom to the results you desire.
Services break down…
Gender affirming tattooing is an umbrella term, with the services falling into two categories: Paramedical Tattooing and Cosmetic tattooing.
The Paramedical Tattoos (aka restorative tattoos) for gender affirmation are Areola Restoration, Scar Camo, and SMP.
Permanent inks are used for paramedical tattoos. The areas being worked on most likely already have been altered surgically and the skin is delicate. Therefore the least amount of tattooing and touch ups needed the better.
Areola Restoration
Areola Restoration is the process of using permanent ink to alter the color, size, and shape of the areola and nipple to best reflect your desired look.
Whether you have had pigmentation loss after healing from surgery, want to camouflage the scar left from a procedure, or want to alter the look of what you got going on naturally to better reflect the chest of your dreams this is a great service to accomplish that!
Scar Camouflage
Scar camouflage can be used to blend in and improve the texture of surgical scars. This can be great for those who have had top surgery (the double incision scars), breast augmentation (around the areola and or the place the implants are put in), bottom surgery ( scars left on/around the genitals, scars left at the donor source for phalloplasty, etc.), tracheal shave scars, hysterectomy scars, and more.
It is important to note that In this procedure the ink is color matched to your skin and right after the procedure the redness and swelling can be more visible. This can be triggering to some folks as the scars can initially look close to how they did during your healing process from the surgery. After healing, the redness and swelling from the tattoo go down and the ink blends in with the skin around the scar.
Depending on the size and color of the scar, it will take multiple sessions to complete the full camouflage. Once it is complete it shouldn’t need touch ups for a long time just like a traditional body art tattoo.
If the scar is exposed to the sun, the ink will not tan with your skin, but will still be less visible than the scar prior to any altering with tattooing.
Cosmetic Tattoos, also known as Permanent Makeup / PMU
Cosmetic tattoo pigment is used to make natural and semi-permanent alterations to the appearance of the brows, lips, eyes, or other areas of the face. Cosmetic tattooing is semi-permanent due to the pigments used being safe for the face, made to heal with time, and the pigment being deposited into a more shallow depth in the skin in comparison to body tattoos.
Eyebrows
Eyebrows significantly affect the way your face looks. Using tattooing to alter the arch, brow height, width, and specific placement based on a your bone structure to create a more “masculine”, “femminine”, or “androgynous” look.
Lips
Tattooing the lips can alter the shape, definition, and color to create the look you desire. This service can be especially great for transfemme folks.
Eyeliner
Eyeliner tattoos can be used to alter the lash line to look naturally full at the base for a less traditionally femme look, or go for a sleek cat eye to open up the eye and feminize the face.
SMP aka Scalp Micropigmentation
Scalp Micropigmentation Is the process of using ink to make tiny dots to mimic a hair follicle pattern which helps make the appearance of your hair to be fuller. The ink used is permanent, but due to the size of the dots and the depth of the tattoo your body metabolizes the ink faster. The results won’t last forever and it is considered a semi permanent procedure.
General Notes.
Generally, cosmetic tattoos last 2-5 years depending on service provided, client lifestyle, skin type, etc.; but all require two services to start which are completed 8-12 weeks apart. Annual touch ups are recommended.