Little fact about me: I’ve got a full rotation of lip stains, lip glosses, and tinted lip balms in my bag at all times (srsly). Like, you’ll rarely see me leave the house without something defining my lips, which is ultimately what led me to consider lip blushing, a type of semi-permanent makeup that adds a wash of color to your lips and helps define your lip shape for years. Think: natural-looking lipstick 24/7, but without the mess—so, you know, my dream.
That being said, any cosmetic treatment that’s even slightly permanent requires a massive amount of research. So to find out whether or not lip blushing is safe, how painful it is, and what to expect during an appointment, we tapped four experts for help and got the first-person account from one Cosmo writer who actually got lip blushing…with less-than-stellar results. Keep reading, and get ready to take notes.
Not ready to commit to lip blushing? Try one of these lip colors:
Freck Beauty Makeout Club Soft Blur Lipstick
Rare Beauty With Gratitude Dewy Lip Balm
Makeup By Mario MoistureGlow Plumping Lip Serum
What is lip blushing?
Lip blushing is semi-permanent, tattooed makeup that tints your lips using a cosmetic tattoo gun (on a low setting) and water-based inks. The result is kind of similar to lip fillers—in that your lips will look a little fuller simply by being defined and enhanced with pigment—but lip blushing won’t actually change the shape or feeling of your lips. Instead, it’ll just leave you with a soft, shaded-in color that can enhance your lip symmetry, cover uneven pigmentation or scars, and give you the illusion of bigger, fuller lips.
FYI: This is what good, professional lip blushing should look like (courtesy of LA-based permanent makeup artist and educator Stella Fixman, whose entire Instagram is filled with screenshot-worthy before-and-afters).
The exact color should ideally be a collab between you and the tattoo artist. "I take into account their skin tone, natural lip color undertone, and lifestyle factors," says Nika Randall, a senior lip blushing artist at Hairy Little Things in Los Angeles, CA. "During our consultation, some clients may also bring me inspo colors via my Instagram." You can also bring in your go-to lip colors to give your artist an idea of what you like.
Does lip blushing damage your lips?
No—lip blushing, when done safely and correctly, will not “damage” your natural lips. The emphasis here is on “correctly,” which is why it’s so important to know what to look for before your appointment (more on that below). But, in general, “it’s unlikely you will have any long-term damage to your lips from lip blushing,” says physician assistant Amy Koberling.
Lip blushing generally doesn’t leave behind any scars, but it can leave your lips swollen, irritated, and scabbed-over for the first week. That being said, there are always risks to be aware of with any cosmetic procedure, especially if you’re prone to irritation around your lips, so make sure to discuss any concerns, allergies, and skin sensitivities with your artist before you make the appointment.
Is lip blushing safe?
“Lip blushing is a largely safe treatment when performed by a qualified and experienced professional,” says Koberling. Still, to set yourself up for the best and safest results, it’s vital that you discuss your skin history with your artist beforehand, like whether you deal with eczema, acne, cold sores, or rashes around your mouth, so they can determine if you’re a good candidate, or if they need to take special precautions (like going slower or using lighter strokes) to avoid irritation.
But, again, a semi-permanent tattoo is only as safe as your artist makes it. “With all procedures, there can be complications, so be sure the professional you choose is well-equipped to handle any that may arise,” adds Koberling (more on how to suss that out below).
What are the cons of lip blushing?
The biggest con of lip blushing is that it’s a semi-permanent procedure, meaning it can be difficult (and sometimes impossible) to remove the pigments from your skin if you don’t like the outcome. Another con—or pro, depending on how scared you are of commitment—is that the color won’t stay vivid forever, thanks to constant exfoliation (see: eating, drinking, licking your lips, brushing your teeth, washing your face, etc.), which means you may need to pay for a touch-up every year.
Is lip blushing better than lip injections?
Lip blushing isn’t “better” or “worse” than lip injections—it’s all just personal preference. Lip blushing will add color and definition to your lips, while lip fillers will add volume and shape. They both last about a year before requiring touch-ups, take a week or so to heal, and have about the same level of pain. So again, it really just depends on the results you want, but know that you also don’t have to choose: You can get both lip blushing and lip injections, as long as you wait six weeks in between, and start with the filler first.
Does lip blushing make lips look bigger?
Yep, lip blushing can make your lips look a little bigger. No, lip blushing can’t add any real volume, but it can make your natural lips look more defined, especially around the Cupid’s bow, which will give you the illusion of more depth and fullness. You can also chat with your artist to see if they're able to add a color gradient to the edges of your lips to increase the volumizing effect even more. But, again, if you're looking for true volume, go for lip filler (or both).
How to prep for a lip-blushing appointment
First, Randall tells her clients to hydrate—both internally and externally—a few days before their appointment, as well as exfoliate their lips with a scrub. Them, 24 hours before the procedure, "avoid alcohol and blood thinners—and skip caffeine the morning of your appointment, as these all may cause bleeding and not allow the pigment to set," she says.
Heads up: If you're prone to cold sores, you *have* to get a cold sore medication prescribed by your doctor. "Take it a few days before, the day of, and a few days after the procedure," says Randall.
What happens at a lip-blushing appointment?
What happens during a lip-blushing appointment will depend on your specific artist’s routine and technique, but generally, the whole process will take about an hour and a half. First, they’ll coat your lips in a numbing cream, letting it sit for 20-30 minutes before wiping it off, then map out your lip line with a gel pen and a white pencil so you can approve of the shape before they start tattooing.
Most semi-permanent makeup artists will tattoo the outline of your lips first before filling in the center, taking breaks to slather on more numbing cream throughout the process to minimize discomfort. After they’ve finished tattooing, they’ll coat your lips with soothing moisturizer to help calm down irritation, and then chat with you about specific post-care instructions.
How long does lip blushing last?
Typically, lip blushing lasts between two to three years and will gradually lighten and fade over time, until your lips slowly return to their natural shade. So you can expect your lips to look far lighter after two years than they will after six months, which is why many tattoo artists recommend yearly touch-ups to prolong the lip color you want.
How much does lip blushing cost?
The cost will totally depend on where you live (bigger cities will cost more than rural areas) and how skilled your tattoo artist is (read reviews! Find their Instagram! Look through their tagged photos! DM strangers for their honest opinions on their experience!), but you can expect lip blushing to cost anywhere from $450 to $1500, with touch-ups ranging from free to $400. And please don’t go for the cheapest deal just to save some cash—this is a tattoo that’ll last for years…on your face. If it doesn’t feel a little pricey, it’s probably too good to be true.
How bad does lip blushing hurt?
Even though, yes, it’s a tattoo on your mouth, your tattoo artist should use a topical numbing cream that’ll significantly dull your pain. You might only feel a mild scratching or pinching sensation, according to Randall, who notes that her clients have rated it—at most—a 4 out of 10 on the pain scale. In fact, as our tester discovered during her own lip-blushing treatment, experiencing major pain is a big red flag that something’s wrong (more on that below).
The lip-blushing healing process:
As with any tattoo, there’s a healing process. Immediately after your appointment, your lips will appear super bright and stained, but don’t panic. “You’ll be a bit sore and swollen and scabs may develop,” says Koberling. Moisturize your lips with a skin-repairing lip balm three to four times a day (basically, whenever you think about it) for the first few weeks. Then, once your lips completely heal—which usually takes four weeks—the color will fade up to 50 percent and blend naturally with your lips.
Can lip blushing go wrong?
Okay, so now you know what should happen when you try lip blushing. But, as with any cosmetic procedure, there’s always the incredibly unlucky handful of people who have a terrible experience, with even worse results. And that, unfortunately, is exactly what happened with writer Tanya Akim, whose botched lip blushing now exists as a PSA for red flags. Read it carefully below, then go forth, armed with all of the knowledge, before making yourself an appointment.
Before I tried lip blushing, I did a ton of research—I read blogs, medical journals, and editor reviews, and I consulted with friends who had tried lip blushing themselves. Dozens of women online reported ultra-subtle results, and my friends all said the same thing: "It's like a cute tint, but barely noticeable!"
Me right before the treatment—blissfully unaware.
So I made an appointment with a permanent makeup artist who was kinda ~known~ in the beauty sphere—she had impressive online coverage, lovely looking before-and-after photos, and her studio was brightly lit, lofty, and beautiful. Everything just felt right. She handed me a mirror and explained that she would first numb me up with topical lidocaine for 45 minutes, then lightly trace over the entire surface area of my lips, including the borders, and—most importantly—that it wouldn’t hurt a bit.
Usually, at this point in the appointment, your permanent makeup artist would discuss shade preferences with you—some people want lip blushing to fully change their natural lip color, while others want it to lightly define their lip shape or fill in some faded areas. But I didn’t know that at the time. I didn’t know to bring reference photos, or to show her my favorite lipstick or lip liner, or to discuss what I didn’t want at the beginning of the appointment, because she never told me to. So when she blended her own “go-to shade” without my input, I trusted her. And that was the part that now makes me cringe most about the whole procedure—even more than the pain.
Despite everything I had read and heard (“it feels like little scratches!” and “it’s not bad at all!”), my treatment hurt—a lot. For reference, I have an unusually high pain threshold: I open beer bottles with my front teeth, and I've had surgery on my ear while I was awake and watching. But during the lip-blushing session, my eyes were watering like an unruly tap. "If she goes over the right side of my upper lip again, I might actually die," I thought to myself. At that moment, I realized I hadn't cleared my Chrome history. Only the adrenaline from thinking about someone discovering how often I Google "alpacas after a haircut" kept me going.
I learned later that feeling such intense pain was, like most of my lip-blushing experience, completely abnormal. “Lips are considered a sensitive area, but most of my clients don’t complain about pain at all,” says LA-based permanent makeup artist and educator Stella Fixman, who noted that pain was the first red flag. “The technique itself works on the outermost layer of the dermis, so if you’re experiencing pain, it’s a sign that the artist is likely pressing too hard and going too deep.” At most, she says, lip blushing “should only feel like light scratching of the skin.” I, however, was in so much pain, even after lidocaine, that I was contemplating tapping out while my limbs were still mobile.
"You'll be restaurant ready by the end of the session!" the permanent makeup artist declared almost two hours (!) into my treatment. And that, according to Fixman, was the second red flag. “I never work on a client—as in, needles-on-skin work—for more than one hour,” she says. “Everyone’s skin is different, but what I’ve learned from years of experience is that most lips start to swell at the one-hour mark, and it creates too much trauma.”
Me, immediately after the treatment.
By the end of my appointment, I was so swollen on the right side of my top lip that it looked like I was having a severe allergic reaction. The heat and stinging sensation was unlike any tattoo, lip injection, or bee sting I’d ever had. The artist assured me everything was normal though. She assured me the healing phase would last only one week and sent me home with a custom ointment that would help with any dryness and shedding over the next few days. I took an Advil and tried not to panic.
During the recovery, I expected to look like I had just gone a little heavy-handed with my lip liner. Instead, my lips were more inflamed than a cherry-red Rosso Corsa. Fixman says that, on average, the initial lip-blushing pigment should start to fade by the third or fourth day (which is why the downtime for the treatment is usually so minimal), but my lips stayed red for ten full days, until the pigment started to fade off in uneven patches.
15 minutes after leaving my appointment.
The next day.
“It’s not supposed to look like that,” said a friend who had gotten lip blushing the year prior. She pulled up photos of her healing process; it looked nothing like mine. I called my permanent makeup artist in a panic. She assured me everything was normal, but to come back for a touch-up in six weeks. And that, my friends, was the third red flag.
Though some artists do require follow-up appointments to check on the healing process (which is fine and good), Fixman says that secondary treatments—as in adding another layer of ink to your lips—is typically not necessary. “When you’re trying to achieve a natural look, a touch-up is not needed,” she says. “The lips take pigment very well, and unless a client wants a bolder look, I don’t require second appointments.” In fact, even if a client does want a bolder look, Fixman advises against it. “It’s permanent makeup,” she says. “You can always add lipstick, but you can’t take off a tattoo.”
Ten days (!) later—still inflamed, uneven, and patchy.
But, once again, I didn’t know any of this at the time. So when the artist swore that adding more pigment would correct all my problems, I believed her—and I was desperate. The treatment didn't hurt nearly as much as the first time, but my lips were race-car red again, and after another ten days of peeling, they somehow looked even more discolored, uneven, and patchy than before. I was furious. I scoured the internet for photos of other patchy lip work. Nothing. Why was I the only unlucky soul with bad blushing?
The makeup artist asked that I return for a third time to fix the work she didn't believe was bad in the first place. This time, I reached out to Jonathan Cabin, MD, a board-certified plastic surgeon that I know and trust, who told me to steer clear of adding even more pigment. “One strong recommendation is not to chase lip blush that you don’t like with additional tattooing,” he said. “It’s bound to make the problem worse and more difficult to treat.” I listened to his advice.
Still, I wasn’t about to live with these nightmare lips—I needed a solution. I began looking for tattoo-removal lasers that were safe enough to be used on the lips. And fun fact: there really aren’t any. “Laser tattoo-removal anywhere on the body is typically a challenging, multi-treatment process, and one must proceed with particular caution in such a cosmetically sensitive area as the lips,” says Dr. Cabin, warning that your lips run the risk of getting even darker after treatment—or even black.
Me one full year later.
That’s not to say all laser removal is off the table when it comes to your lips, though. Since lip-blushing techniques and pigments can drastically differ from person to person, you may be able to successfully remove your blushing—but only a dermatologist or plastic surgeon can tell you for certain. And for me, it wasn’t an option. Instead, the only other solution I had was my old frenemy, Father Time. “These tattoos are generally not 100 percent permanent,” says Dr. Cabin. “They can fade over a two to five year period, so in most cases, it’s best to just wait it out.”
And that’s where I am today—waiting for the patches of pigment to fully fade from my lips. Looking back, I’m not mad at myself for deciding to do lip blushing; it's my job to try treatments and report on them (and besides, I'd never betray my former self). But it’s now more than a year later, and I still have blotchy lips. I wear lip liner every day so that the unevenness and shading isn't as noticeable.
If I could go back in time, I would insist on picking my own lip color, and I would have also asked the practitioner to stop the service the moment I started feeling the intolerable level of pain that I was in (seriously, be your own advocate; if something feels wrong, say something). Even though I’ve come to terms with my solution-less reality, I’m still holding out hope for the approval of a new laser or some magical stem-cell treatment. Or, you know, the keys to a DeLorean going 88mph—whichever comes first.
Final thoughts
If you want to make your lips look more defined and flushed, lip blushing might be for you, as long as you do major research before picking a permanent makeup artist. And by research, I mean doing more than just reading the newest reviews online—DM their clients and ask for healed pics and about their experience, read through all the Google and Yelp reviews, and bring tons of pictures and references (like your favorite nude lipsticks) to show what you’re looking for. You can never be too prepared.
Meet the experts:
- Amy Koberling is a physician assistant at Baumann Cosmetic & Research Institute in Miami, FL. She is also the founder of The Skinthusiast, a blog where she educates readers on skincare and dermatology.
- Nika Randall
- is a senior lip blushing artist at Hairy Little Things in Los Angeles, CA
- Johnathan Cabin, MD, is a board-certified plastic surgeon at Skin DC in Arlington, VA.
- Stella Fixman is a permanent makeup artist and owner of Stella Ink in Los Angeles, CA. She offers lip blushing, microblading, brow shading, and more.
Why trust Cosmopolitan?
Beth Gillette is the beauty editor at Cosmopolitan with four years of experience researching, writing, and editing makeup and skincare stories that range from microblading to sunburned lips. She’s an authority in all skincare categories, but is an expert when it comes to lip blushing from interviewing dermatologists and permanent makeup artists.
Chloe Metzger is the deputy beauty director at Cosmopolitan with nearly 10 years of experience researching, writing, and editing skin, makeup, hair, and nail stories across print and digital, including dermaplaning and laser teeth whitening. She interviewed experts and researched reviews and first-hand experiences on lip blushing.
Tanya Akim is a beauty writer for Cosmopolitan with more than three years of experience writing about skincare and makeup, including tattoo removal and the best face oils. She personally received a lip blushing treatment and spoke with experts.
Beth Gillette
Beth Gillette is the beauty editor at Cosmopolitan, where she covers skincare, makeup, hair, nails, and more across digital and print. She can generally be found in bright eyeshadow furiously typing her latest feature or hemming and hawing about a new product you "have to try." Prior to Cosmopolitan, she wrote and edited beauty content as an Editor at The Everygirl for four years. Follow her on Instagram for makeup selfies and a new hair 'do every few months.
Chloe Metzger
Deputy Beauty Director
Chloe Metzger is the deputy beauty director at Cosmopolitan, overseeing the editorial content and growth strategy of the hair, makeup, and skin space on digital, while also obsessively writing about the best hair products for every hair type (curly girl here; whattup), and the skincare routines that really, truly work (follow her on Instagram to see behind-the-scenes pics of that magazine life). She brings nearly a decade of writing and editing expertise, and her work has appeared in Allure, Health, Fitness, Marie Claire, StyleCaster, and Parents. She also has an unhealthy adoration for Tom Hanks and would like to please meet him one day, if you could arrange that. Thanks.