Czytaj książkę: «Camouflage: everything you need to know about dark circles under eyes»

© Viktoriia Kosareva, 2024

ISBN 978-5-0064-3912-2

Created with Ridero smart publishing system

INTRODUCTION

There are contraindications. Consult a physician before the treatment

Beauty trends are changing so rapidly that they are already being compared to fashion trends. The ones that were popular in makeup 10—15 years ago are considered bad taste today. At the same time, beauty industry experts and fashion observers do note one trend that has been rising consistently over the past decade – the trend towards naturalness and health.

A trend is a clear, noticeable tendency towards something, a direction of development that is difficult to ignore.

The first signs of this natural beauty trend were such makeup concepts as baby skin and nude makeup, which encouraged to give up using too bright, pretentious colours in makeup, highlighting the natural beauty of the skin.

In 2024 two more trends have appeared following the natural concept: skinimalism (skin + minimalism) and clean girl [1]. Both magazines and make up journals write about these trends. The key is to stop chasing unrealistic beauty standards and instead opt for basic beauty care and minimal makeup which make the skin look natural. Moreover, even celebrities are increasingly exposing natural beauty, highlighting healthy skin. However, this does not imply abandoning some aesthetic procedures.

While some skin imperfections can be dealt with quite easily at home by choosing the right cosmetic products, circles under eyes can spoil the look even of the healthiest skin. Due to the advent of the aesthetic camouflage treatment many regulars of a beauty salon have forgotten about tiresome and painful beauty injections.

The camouflage treatment is applicable to any body or face area; it can disguise stretch marks, acne marks, scars after injuries and operations. But the most important thing is that many people ask to camouflage dark circles under eyes that are common for most women and men. For some this is hereditary while for others circles appear with age. If this blemish causes discomfort, camouflage is a suitable solution to the problem. The pigment can be selected so that it matches the skin as closely as possible; as a result, a slight correction does not allow blood vessels to show through, making the circles look almost invisible and the skin around the eyes fresh and rested.

Given that, few people have the time and desire to use a concealer and correctors every day in order to hide signs of fatigue, even fewer are ready for surgical intervention; camouflage becomes a convenient and high-quality solution to the problem. Camouflage has a number of advantages that make it popular: painlessness, safety, a long-term effect: you can forget about foundation, concealers and other disguises for about a year and a half after the treatment. Like any other permanent makeup, camouflage involves working in the upper layers of dermis: a specialist selects a pigment that most closely matches the skin colour, thereby minimising the difference between the healthy skin shades and the ones with aesthetic flaws. Unlike surgical and laser correction, camouflage is accompanied by minimal tissue trauma, so there is practically no rehabilitation period.

All in all, what a pleasure it is to have a cheerful reflection in the mirror, which gives confidence and lifts your spirits.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Viktoriia Kosareva is an expert in permanent makeup, camouflage, and tattoo removal. Head of her own studio Victoriya Kosareva in St Petersburg. Certified trainer in permanent tattooing and aesthetic camouflage. Speaker at conferences and master classes. Prize-winner of the First International Camouflage Championship. Author of articles in the journals APNI, Bulletin of Science, Innovative Science, Current Research, Medicine. Sociology. Philosophy. Applied Research, Universum: Medicine and Pharmacology, as well as author of publications for magazines and lifestyle periodicals such as Komsomolskaya Pravda [The All-Union Leninist Young Communist League Truth]. One of the top 15 permanent makeup artists in Russia according to the Only Names project.

My path to becoming a permanent makeup artist began both interestingly and banally. During maternity leave, many women tend to think how to change their lives. That is what happened to me too. I was thinking about what I wanted to do when my children had grown up and started kindergarten. Before maternity leave, I used to work in an office, but I didn’t want to go back. Considering possible employment spheres, I realised that I wanted, firstly, to work with women, it sparkles me. And, secondly, that I was interested in the beauty industry. There is nothing more beautiful than seeing the eyes of a woman who likes her reflection in the mirror. I myself often noticed in a beauty salon, as a client, how the inner feeling changes when a woman, satisfied with the work of the master, leaves the chair.

That is when the idea of trying something new popped up. I started working with classic permanent makeup areas and did well. Aesthetic camouflage came next, as I would be often asked to paint over a scar or do something with circles under eyes. Having researched this topic, I realised that camouflage was the future, and I was not mistaken.

Today there is no doubt that camouflage is a sought-after service. Having started studying this topic, I came to understanding that the world of permanent is not restricted by only eyebrows, lips, eyelids; it’s much bigger. Camouflage, i.e. a method of correcting defects in skin tone, allows a person to eliminate many cosmetic imperfections; it seems to me one of the most promising areas of permanent makeup. In my opinion, it is more than just makeup. People often come to me for tattooing over scars, and I understand that this is not only a desire to hide aesthetic flaws and feel more confident, but also to get rid of the memories of the experienced pain caused by this scar.

Today, after several years of practice, I often speak in industry conferences on the topic of camouflage and always see great interest in the eyes of listeners and experts. Speakers at such events mainly talk about classic areas of permanent makeup, such as eyebrows, eyes, while camouflage is a quite little-known topic, therefore arousing great interest.

Today more masters of aesthetic camouflage get employed, which promotes competition. In my view any master who is passionate about their craft only approves of professional development stimulated by competition. I myself do a lot of work to ensure that there are more high-class permanent makeup artists.

As a certified trainer, I train masters myself; over the years of practice, I have taught approximately 30 specialists from various cities of Russia. At the same time, I stay in touch with each student and provide support if necessary, but there are especially memorable cases. For example, not long ago I had a student from Moscow, a wonderful woman, who decided to obtain a new job and conquer the beauty industry at the age of 50. I helped her master all areas of permanent makeup, and she did a great job. An inspiring example.

Apart from training, I constantly publish articles dedicated to techniques and effects of under eyes camouflage, as well as about the safety measures. There are many difficulties in permanent makeup; the industry is constantly developing, new pigment formulations are being developed, and methods of applying them are being improved.

Chapter 1. PROBLEMS OF THE ISSUE

Many women ruminate about the role that appearance plays. People talk about the importance of a personality over appearance a lot as well as about the fact that beauty is relative and that the body and facial features have nothing to do with success; but statistics still state the opposite. In the modern world, every person has an opportunity of building any career. A striking example of this is the model Winnie Harlow with vitiligo or Valentina Yasen who successfully began her modelling career at the age of 60. These women are undoubtedly an inspiration and role models to look up to. However, it is difficult to argue that if a person considers themselves beautiful, if they are not embarrassed by any imperfections in their appearance, they feel confident, coping with difficulties more easily and achieving success. And the well-known Russian proverb which states that you meet a person by their clothes and see them off by mind only makes matters worse.

According to opinion polls, only 20% of women and 11% of men in Russia consider themselves beautiful, while 40% of women and 37% of men are dissatisfied with themselves. At the same time, as many as 36% are dissatisfied with their skin to a certain extent [2].

As for the international market, according to a survey by One Poll (an international market research agency specialising in PR surveys, consumer insights and opinion polls), in spring about half (49%) of women feel less confident than usual being unhappy with the condition of their skin after winter.

Noticing a more or less objective (not far-fetched) flaw on their body, a person is embarrassed by themselves and tries to hide the “problem’ area in various ways such as clothing and cosmetic treatments, which causes a loss of self-confidence. Life would be so much easier if those flaws disappeared on their own. Which, naturally, does not happen. Despite the fact that most often other people either do not pay attention to the “flaw’ or consider it a distinctive feature, a person develops complexes, which cannot but affect the quality of life and self-perception. Perhaps it is for this reason that cosmetology, correction of appearance in particular, from wrinkles to scars, has become more popular lately, expanding the range of services.

According to the research by Allergan company, in 2019 more than 73% of respondents confirmed their willingness to spend money on aesthetic medicine services. The analysis concludes that the vast majority of respondents (about 14,500 clients and 1,300 doctors from 18 countries, including Russia) believe that to look attractive is a must at any age, and that to get better looks one must use professional services. Also, the survey showed that respondents are ready to invest in beauty treatments, since they are value for money.

At the same time, one of the most common and major aesthetic problems are dark circles and under eye bruises. Perhaps everybody has faced this blemish at least once. Moreover, many women and men constantly deal with this problem due to stress, fatigue, and lack of sleep. Some have dark circles under eyes all their lives, which is attributed to the individual body features: blood vessels are located close to each other or a lower eyelid is thin causing blueness. Some people don’t mind their dark circles and are not embarrassed by them. When the circles are congenital, they can even suit many people. Unfortunately, few are able to accept this feature; complexes appear, which significantly affects a mental state of a person.

According to a sample in research published in the Annals of Dermatology journal, 68% of participants reported having this problem. Interestingly, the clinical visualization of dark circles was 97% [5].

In connection with this, dark circles treatment is particularly sought-after. Thus, employees of various beauty salons and clinics providing similar services note that dark circles camouflage is one of the most popular services [6].

Dark circles or bruises under eyes are a popular name. In science, this concept means a change in the shade of the epidermis in the area around eyes from flesh-coloured to grey, purple, bluish, or brown. It is impossible to hide dark circles with any foundation, powder or even a concealer. Therefore, the most effective, fastest and, perhaps, the only way to solve the problem would be aesthetic camouflage.

Dark circles under eyes are not solely an aesthetic problem, it also affects the mental state of a person. Often getting rid of this defect leads to a whole avalanche of changes in a person’s life. Not only do they gain self-confidence and own their charm, but also many become more open-minded and sociable, which leads to major changes in life.

I would say that over almost seven years in this job I have had some very curious cases. I once camouflaged under eyes circles of a client, and the result impressed her husband so much that he also approached me for the treatment. I am delighted when women bring their mothers and grandmothers to me, which is a very frequent case. This proves that camouflage is universal and can improve a person’s quality of life, regardless of their gender and age. I am sure that it is the future. The natural trend will always be relevant, and this is exactly the essence of camouflage.