Eyebrow · Eyeline · Lip
Permanent makeup starts with design.
The standards and numbers worth knowing before brow, eyeliner or lip PMU — published with their sources.
The artist
Korean PMU artist
12 years
in permanent makeup
2 certifications
Chinese national vocational certifications, 2017 — PMU artist (advanced) and PMU instructor (advanced)
Works from brow, eyeliner and lip design standards learned in Korea, and traces those standards back to papers and training material, published here.
For consultations, please reach out through the person who referred you. This site does not take bookings or list prices.
The standards, in numbers.
Every figure comes from a paper or PMU training material.
2mm
The brow height difference people start to notice
683 measured · Aesthet Surg J 2007 · PMID 19341680
10°
Brow angle chosen most often by Korean women (40.7%)
300 surveyed · J Craniofac Surg 2018 · PMID 29381637
4 wks
Colour and shape are not judged before this
Healing course · PMU training material
0.2%
Infection rate after brow and eyeliner PMU (all complications 12.1%)
1,352 surveyed · Medicine 2021 · PMID 33950961
Brows
Hair stroke · Ombré · Combo
Peak position and angle are set from eye and nose landmarks first, then strokes follow the direction of hair growth.
Eyeliner
Basic · Accent tail
A fine line filling the gaps between lash roots. Thickness and tail length follow the eye shape.
Lips
Lip blush · Full lip
A soft tint over the natural lip colour. Cold-sore history is always checked first.
How a line comes together.
About 90 minutes including numbing, in four stages.
0–15min
Consult · intake
Skin type, old pigment and daily habits are checked first.
15–35min
Design
A sketch is drawn to your proportions; shape and colour are confirmed twice at the mirror.
35–80min
Procedure
After numbing, strokes are placed one by one along the pattern.
80–90min
Aftercare notes
Written notes on scabbing, colour changes and care. Results are judged after 4 weeks.
0–15min
Consult · intake
Skin type, old pigment and daily habits are checked first.
15–35min
Design
A sketch is drawn to your proportions; shape and colour are confirmed twice at the mirror.
35–80min
Procedure
After numbing, strokes are placed one by one along the pattern.
80–90min
Aftercare notes
Written notes on scabbing, colour changes and care. Results are judged after 4 weeks.
Questions, answered.
The worries first.
It looks too dark and thick right after.
Right after, brows usually look 20–40% darker and about 10% thicker than the healed result. Scabs fall off within two weeks; colour settles after that.
The colour seems to have vanished in weeks 2–3.
New skin covers the pigment and it looks faded. Colour comes back from around week 4, which is why shape and colour are not judged before then.
Are there no side effects?
We don't say there are none. In a 2021 survey of 1,352 brow and eyeliner PMU clients, 12.1% reported a complication. Itching was most common for brows (8.2%), swelling for eyeliner (13.2%), and there were 3 infections (0.2%). The authors named proper hygiene, equipment and technique as preconditions.
I get cold sores often. Can I have lip PMU?
Talk to a doctor first. Lip PMU is a known trigger used to study cold-sore recurrence (observational study of 198 people, 2016). In a laser study of 99 people, about a third of those with a history had a recurrence despite preventive medication. Prescribing that medication is a doctor's job.
Will both sides be perfectly identical?
Faces aren't symmetrical, so we don't promise '100% symmetry'. A study measuring 683 people's brow heights found asymmetry starts to be noticed at 2mm. We use that 2mm as a design standard.
Where does the brow peak go?
Not by a single formula. In an eye-tracking study (76 people, 2024), Asian faces were preferred with the peak above the outer eye corner, Western faces with it further in. For angle, 10° was chosen most by Korean women. We draft from these and confirm together at the mirror.
Can I book through this site?
This site does not take bookings or list prices. It collects and publishes the standards and numbers worth knowing before PMU.
Wherever you go, ask these four.
Questions to check at your consultation.
- 1Do they explain how the colour changes over 4 weeks?
- 2Do they give side effects as numbers, not 'none'?
- 3For lips, do they ask about cold-sore history first?
- 4Do they confirm shape and colour twice at the mirror?