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Let us start our practice and the understanding of hand placement. Our pressure goes into the elbow as well as the pinky. We hold the pencil or the machine with the index finger, the middle finger and the thumb. Our machine or pencil is always at a 90 degree angle to the paper. We start with the linear stroke.

We always take our time, and we always go back about 80% on each stroke. We typically use this stroke for linear hairstrokes or linear shading. There are different types of strokes, but this is the main one, and we practice it until we can draw a perfectly straight line.

Then we move forward to the shading strokes. The first one is towards us, meaning that our pencil or machine only works towards us, and we work on getting the shading all merged together without any different darkness. The next one is working away from us.

The most used shading technique is the pendulum. We will try all of the different shading techniques to find the perfect one for you, and the pendulum is the one most used in PMU work. Once again, we work on having it all even.

Now we work on connecting and moving forward, as if we were shading a brow, a lip or anything else we might work on, so that we can merge two blocks together in an even way. We continue to merge the blocks that we shade, overlapping them by about 70 to 80%. Here we have made two blocks. Depending on the technique we are using, we might use 100% on the first layer and then 70% layering, 70% layering, depending on what type of gradient we would like.

For your homework you will work on linear strokes as well as shading strokes. Fill a full page or two of paper with pencil shading. As in the example video, layer three blocks on each other until you reach a result that is satisfactory to you.

This is an example of how we do not want it to look. The blocks are not merged together, the lines are not flowing, and you would not be able to achieve an even gradient.

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Hi everyone, let's move on to the next step: practice on latex. These are the items you will need: a wax pencil, a black disposable brush, baby oil, two types of needles (I use a 3 RL and a 1 RL), cotton pads and three types of latex. You can work on any of them.

The first one has pre-drawn eyes, and the other side is empty, so you can draw whatever you want. You can practice with the face, with lines, and with the pre-drawn eyeliner. One more is this 3D practice skin. Unlike traditional latex on the market, this practice skin allows you to feel your intradermal movements through the needle's vibration. It is made of the highest quality medical grade silicone. In the beginning I would recommend using the first one, because you can practice on the eyes and on different shapes of eyeliner, and you also have one more side, which is empty.

The latex should be placed like your client's head, and you should be on the right side of the client if you are right-handed. If you are left-handed, you need to go around and sit on the left side of your client, or just rotate the latex this way.

How to build a lash enhancement: take your pencil and place it vertically. Start drawing along the lashes, moving from the outer corner towards the inner one, or the other way around. The maximum width starts from line two, and the line becomes thinner from the second point to the third, in the center of the eye. You keep thinning your eyeliner, making it fade away in the inner corner of the eye. You can also make a thin wing at the outer corner, but not below line number one.

I use a wireless machine. My needle is a single 1 RL, 0.30 mm, textured. The machine is held at 90 degrees and the needle length is about 1.5 mm. I take the ink from the cup and start from the outer corner with pendulum movements, back and forth. I outline the highest point of the line we drew before.

Now that the line is ready, let's clean it. I use baby oil. Don't push too much on the latex with the baby oil. Clean with cotton pads and a paper towel, with no pressure, just slightly. And here we go: we have our lash enhancement with a tiny wing.

We will fill it in now with the 3 RL needle. First I will show you how to change the needle. Push and twist to the right side and take it out. To put the new needle on, insert it, push, twist to the left side, pull gently and check that it is secure. To adjust the length of the needle, twist it and make sure the tip of the needle is exactly on the edge of the cartridge. Turn the machine on. The needle has to come out about 1.5 mm.

How to start filling in the lash enhancement: first, place your hand correctly, with your little finger as a support. Your machine is at 45 degrees to the surface (this is 90, this is 45). Use your other hand to stretch the skin with two fingers. With a pendulum movement, start from the air, gradually go down, touch the latex and start working back and forth, from the outline to the last lash line, and again back and forth. Try to reach the outline we did before. You should feel vibration. It means your needle is inside the latex and works correctly.

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How to perform the lash enhancement technique and create a beautiful eyeliner that enhances the lash line and makes lashes look thicker and richer. I will show you how to do it on my iPad, and you will be able to repeat it after me on your model, with your equipment.

Please make sure you follow these rules when you begin the procedure: hold your machine at 45 to 60 degrees to the surface and use pendulum, back-and-forth movements.

The lash line consists of several rows, up to four. When the eyeliner heals, lash enhancement might fade out, which is why I am showing you what the boundary should be when we start filling in. As the lashes grow, we start shading from the innermost row, which is our first boundary. This is where the eyelashes start growing. From here we keep thinning the line more and more as we move towards the tear duct, the inner corner.

Now it is time to start filling in between the lashes that belong to the uppermost row. That is our second boundary. Our goal is to fill in this area. I am drawing from the lower boundary towards the upper one, and in sections. Let's move on to another section and draw it through with the machine at 45 to 60 degrees to the surface, moving forward in sections from this row of the lash line to that one. Repeat the movements for the following section smoothly. Do not rush. We finish the procedure near the tear duct. This is our lash enhancement line.

Unfortunately it is hard to repeat the real-life procedure on an iPad, but when you work with a client you will be able to see all the rows clearly and see how to draw between them.

Now I will show you how it works on an image. This is our eyelash line. We perform back-and-forth movements for the first section, back-and-forth movements for the second and the third, and so on. We do not draw one straight continuous line, because that would produce a thin line, which is not our goal, and it might fade out completely after healing.

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Hello, my name is Anna Kara. I am a permanent makeup artist here in San Diego, and today we will discuss how to draw a lip sketch on paper or on an iPad. I am using an iPad. There are two stages. The first tutorial covers the geometry of the drawing, and the second free tutorial is on a real person, with all the volumes. Before performing permanent makeup on a face, you should start by drawing on paper. There is a difficulty: on paper you draw flat, while on the face you draw volumetric shapes. That is why I prepared two free tutorials.

Let's start. First, draw the central axis, using a ruler. On the face you can find the center between the eyebrows or use the chin, and in your head you imagine the central line for the lips. Then draw the horizontal line, so that a cross appears. The distance between the center and the lip edges should be equal on both sides, so let's measure. Keep in mind that it is fine if these parts do not look equal on the face. Usually one side is a little different from the other. That is why we try to create the most symmetrical sketch we can, and we are learning how to do it properly.

With the cross in place, let's start with the cupid's bow. Put a dot to mark the lower part of the cupid's bow. Then mark dots for the tops of the arches, at an equal distance from the central axis. The tops go up. You can place them a little higher than the lower part of the cupid's bow. You can do all these measurements on paper, with a ruler or with the squares of a notebook. Focus on natural landmarks on the face as well as on the points on the paper. So we have three dots for the upper lip.

Next is the lower lip. It is usually more voluminous than the upper one, so the distance on the central axis is larger and it shortens towards the corners. Put two more points in the middle of the lip and give it a little more volume, for instance nine millimeters. Then connect the dots. I use a ruler for the straight connections, but feel free to draw by hand. Later we soften these lines. We will soften all the sharp parts. I take a red color and soften the lines, and our lips are ready.

The most important part is the distance between the central axis and the tops of the cupid's bow. Here they have to be equal. The lip parts might not be equal on the face, but on paper try to draw them as equal as you can. When you work with a client it is sometimes not possible to achieve a perfect result, so follow their natural shape. The corners of the lower lip should almost come to a point, and there should be no semicircles in that zone. Imagine a big circle: the biggest distance from the horizontal line is in the central part. Proportions differ from person to person. The upper lip can be thinner, thicker or equal to the lower one, and the arch tops can be closer or farther from each other. The depth of the cupid's bow is individual too. Our goal is a symmetrical, equal, beautiful shape.

To move the cupid's bow, create one more layer, move the dot a little down and erase the pencil on those areas, and we get a deeper cupid's bow.

You can also print a photo of your client's lips (the before photo) and work on it. In this example the right side is a little longer than the left. I measured everything as I showed you on paper, then followed the shape with white color. It is a raw sketch and not perfect. Then I made it symmetrical as much as I could.

Working with volume is harder, because the face is not flat. I recommend practicing on rounded objects like fruit or a rubber ball. Take a regular pen, a gel pen is better, and practice on an apple. In time you will develop your hand position and feel more confident drawing on lips. In the next video I will show it on a live model. Train, develop, be accurate and put your hand in position to feel confident. Good luck.

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Hello everyone, my name is Anna Kara. I am a certified permanent makeup artist here in San Diego, and I have 47 international certificates. I would love to share all my knowledge with you. We prepared free tutorials for you to bring your level up.

Regarding the lip sketch: the lips should be the most symmetrical part of the face, and all the lines should be equal to each other. Before the procedure we discuss with the client how much they are ready to change the shape and size of the lips. If they want them bigger, remember that the pigment color differs on the lips and on the face skin, which is not beautiful and sometimes even looks cheap. Don't hesitate to advise your client to enhance the lips with fillers or other procedures with a doctor.

Where to start? I always start from the point where the lower lip can be extended to, making sure that I don't draw over the outline. Look at both lips and keep in mind the ideal formula: a semicircular lower lip, and a slightly smaller upper one. We decide how far we can make it bigger, and only after that do I draw the upper lip.

Now the central point. You can find it between the columns of the philtrum. You can even mark them. Then we find the points of the upper part that make our arches, one point and another one. My advice is to draw the straight lines first and round them later, connecting the three points: the lower point and the two arch points. Then divide each side of the upper lip in two and put a point, put the same point on the other side, and also find the corner points. Remember, we are drawing a draft right now. When all our lines are completed, we make sure everything is symmetrical. Lead the lines to the corners and connect the points. You can make them straight and round them later. Measure the distance with a ruler. It should be equal on both sides. You can move your dots if they are not equal, a little higher, and make sure the distances are equal on the left side and on the right side. Put two dots on the bottom lip, connect them, and connect the corners. Next you can use the pencil to fill the shape in and show the full picture to your client.

Basically you can erase these lines, but I like to keep them until the end to make sure the symmetry is perfect and the arches are on the same level. First of all, it is a visual check with your own eyes. Ask the client to smile a little bit, a little more, to smile showing teeth, slowly. Then ask the client to squeeze the lips, to check that the corners go to the same place. As you can see here, this line is a little off, so we clean it a little with a small lip brush. The two lines, on the bottom and on the top, have to connect in the same spot.

Once we have made sure that all our lines are symmetrical and equal, it is time for the client to lie down, and the artist can start creating the shape. Now we make our lines round. Why is it more convenient for the artist when the client is reclined? The answer is simple: your hand has a support and doesn't tremble. Try not to move out of the top line, and paint the lip densely. Then we discuss with the client whether everything is okay or we need to add more. Start drawing the second lip. Clean all the imperfections that you think need to be removed.

When creating the lower lip line, make it clear and perfect. Sometimes the lip shape doesn't let you make it more rounded. In this case, if your client convinces you to do it, you will get a square shape. This line must end right before the mouth slit. In an ideal world the upper and lower lines join in one point, and we check it by asking the client to squeeze the lips.

When you have done the lines as perfectly as you can, take a picture and check on the photo whether they are symmetrical or whether you need to enhance or fix something. Ask the client to sit up and show them in the mirror.

Once your outline is perfect, here is what I do next. I use a white paste. I take a brush, put the paste on and follow my sketch. My first outline with the machine will be between the white and the red, so you have to perform it as precisely as you can. When you are done with the white paste, take a picture again and make sure your sketch is perfect. Make sure you don't overdo it, otherwise it will look fake and not natural. I hope you enjoyed this video tutorial. See you next time.

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Hi everybody, I am happy to see you again. My name is Anna Kara and I am a permanent makeup artist. Today I would like to discuss the ombre or powder technique, and also to change your vision about shading strokes: how to do a softer transition and how to make better brows. In the next video I am going to do everything on latex and show you in more detail.

Let's begin. I have heard a lot of questions from artists who use a machine: what is the speed of your power supply? What I can tell you is that there is no universal speed, because everybody is different. First, everybody uses a different machine. Second, everybody uses a different type of needle; I am using a 0.25 single needle. Third, everybody has a different power supply and a different speed of hand movement. Some people work faster than others. It is really easy to adjust the speed of your machine, and there is a universal approach: adjust your power supply to how fast you move your hand. Let's do it together.

First, shaded strokes at a speed of 6.0. I move my machine at my regular movement speed, and I try to make shaded strokes within one centimeter. What you can see here are dots, only five of them, and the space between them is more than one millimeter. It doesn't work for the powder technique. It means you need to move your hand faster to get better strokes, but that is too fast for my hand and uncomfortable. So let's increase the speed on my power supply. My regular speed for powder shading is 7.5. Now you can see really soft shading. The distance between the dots is around one millimeter, and if you count the dots in one shaded stroke, there are from eight to twelve. If you get approximately eight to twelve dots, that will work for your powder technique.

What if I move my hand faster at the same speed? As you can see, we get lines. We don't need these lines, because when it heals it will look the same as non-shaded strokes: lines. And if I move more slowly than my regular speed, we also get lines. I hope you understood how to adjust your machine together with the movement of your hand. If your hand moves faster than mine, you need to lower the speed of your power supply. Long story short: you can either adjust your power supply to your hand movement or your hand movement to the power supply, but it is better to adjust the power supply to your hand.

Now the brow technique. When your hand is in the right position and your machine is fully set up, you are ready to start. Imagine this is a real person and I am working on the left brow, which is why I am sitting on the right side of the person; in our case it is a latex mat. First I do the shading movements towards me. I gradually start making a pendulum movement from the air, go down until I touch the latex with the needle, and keep shading. I start from the edge point of the tail and spread my shading strokes from the bottom line to the top line. Please keep in mind that our goal is to avoid joints and gaps. That is why I make a pendulum movement for a softer result, and every time I start the movement for a new section, I start in the middle of the previous one.

It is important not to make the strokes flat. Keep the natural curve of the brow in the arch area. I shade from the bottom to the top, so I can control the pressure and make the top area softer. Remember, there shouldn't be any joints, because when your client's brow heals you will see all of your mistakes.

Keep a 90 degree angle of your machine. About pressure: use as little pressure as you can, in every movement. When I deposit pigment on the first pass, I use less pressure, especially close to the head area of the brow. I clean the pigment with vaseline and baby wipes. After the first pass you will see an almost transparent brow, with almost no color. Don't worry, it is always like this. You just need to be patient and use less pressure. It doesn't mean that you need to increase the pressure. It means you may need more layers, more passes. By the way, it is better to work on latex with mineral-based pigments, but if you practice with different inks, baby oil will help you with the cleaning. For the second and third layers we do everything the same. You can always try to create your own technique. My principle is to make brows look natural.

If you are patient and follow the rules I am telling you (90 degrees, less pressure, pendulum movements from the air), the result will be good in the end. Try to follow the natural curve of the brow when you are shading the arch area, and avoid a sharp line at the bottom. The head area looks lighter than the body and the tail, but the color transition is very soft.

The next step is to keep following the same principle from the tail to the head. An important note: in the bridge area you should begin making diagonal pendulum movements, going from the middle to the top of the eyebrow, towards yourself, to achieve the powder look. In the head area I make dots; it helps me control the coloring process and make the transition softer. Then I make pendulum movements with minimal pressure. Now I finish the areas that I think are not perfect, and I keep the working latex area clean. I make the bottom area a little darker.

At the end of the process I sit behind the client, which in our case means I rotate the latex mat the same way as the head of the client. If you look at this eyebrow you will not see any gaps, because of the pendulum movement, 90 degrees, slow work with less pressure, upward movements from the bottom line to the top with less pressure on the top, and starting every new section in the middle of the previous one. For the head area, I don't make a square box, because with this type of technique I usually try to make a powder look: the top area looks softer and lighter, and there are no sharp lines, just shaded strokes. There are three different types of head area: a square shape, a soft square, or a soft round head. If you want to do it differently, make your own brow.

Now I will show shading strokes in different directions: towards you, from you, and pendulum movement. This knowledge will help you achieve the softest result you can.

A little advice when you work on latex: look at your final work at arm's length. When I work with a client, in the middle of the procedure I ask her to sit up, or I stand up, and see how it looks from afar. It really helps me see gaps.

Now I will show a much softer powder technique on this second brow. I start from the edge of the tail, and one thing I do differently from the previous brow: I don't spread the shading strokes from the bottom to the top. I spread them with a pendulum movement, at 90 degrees, from the bottom to the middle part of the brow. I don't touch the top part, because for now it is important to keep it softer and lighter. The same in the head area: use as little pressure as you can. On the first pass you can even leave the head area untouched. Then I turn the latex and start moving from the bottom middle part, overlapping, with the same movement. Move towards me from the bottom to the top and don't stop at the top edge with the needle. Every movement is like a plane going up. Less pressure on the top, and in the head area as well. Keep your latex clean. Most of the transparent part is the top area of the brow. The second pass is the same: you shade from the edge of the tail towards the head area, from the bottom to the center, then turn the latex and make upward movements towards yourself.

This kind of brow is more for people who like a natural look, who just want to enhance or define their brows, or who have hair and need just a little color. On the head area, use less pressure again. You can see I make more diagonal movements on this brow than on the previous one. Remember, the head shape is up to you: you can choose between the square, the soft square and the round shape, or create your own.

Here you can see two different brows made with almost the same technique of shaded strokes, and it is easy to perform once you understand these aspects. If you have questions, you can message me on Instagram, annakara.pmu. I am happy to help.

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To understand how hairstrokes work, we need to understand that there are several types of them and how we can create them. First we need to learn how to do them.

The first type is the monoline stroke. The key point here is that the needle enters the latex and stays within it. We don't make any additional movements. We simply guide the needle smoothly inside the latex, at a controlled depth, creating one continuous line. Then we exit downward, flicking out into the lower part of the stroke. After that, to refine the upper part and create a soft, airy finish, we start again from the middle of the stroke and move upward, creating that flick at the top. When we wipe, we use baby oil and a dry towel. This is the easiest way to remove pigment. We clean it well, and we can also lift or bend the latex to see the result, like I am showing in the video. If you pause and look closely, you will see that it is actually very difficult to hit exactly the same stroke twice, so the stroke doesn't always look like one clean line. It can look slightly duplicated.

The second type is the one we actually use in our work. It uses back-and-forth movements. We don't enter the skin directly. We start from the air and continue layering. I will explain the layering percentage later. The stroke ends up looking slightly point by point. Let's clean it with baby oil. Baby oil and a paper towel work really well for latex, as I mentioned before. You can see that the first strokes we performed, the first type, look less clean, and the next ones are more even and more airy.

The next type of stroke. Here we spend more time in the air. We move faster but barely touch the surface, so the strokes are even lighter and more airy. This movement is important to practice, to understand how to finish your strokes. This is what we call flicking out: exiting downward and upward. As you can see, the overlapping is a lower percentage than in the previous one.

Now I want to show layering. Before, I worked with 50 percent layering, which is the overlapping. Now I am showing 70 to 80 percent layering. You can see that this is 50 percent, the second type I showed you, and this is 70 to 80 percent, the fourth type of strokes.

So what is the homework? Draw all four types of hairstrokes, at least two rows of each, fully from the beginning to the end of the latex. If you position it the way I do, you can see how much denser it becomes even from the first pass. A very important task is not just to draw a few rows of strokes, but also to go over them again with a second layer, hitting exactly the same strokes. That is what I am doing right now. I go over the stroke again and focus on the middle part. Mentally I divide the stroke into three parts: the beginning, the middle and the end. I build more density in the middle, because that is where the pigment accent should be. I am working with about 50 percent layering. It may look like 70 or 80 percent density, but the stroke still remains airy. We do not oversaturate it, to maintain the nano technique effect.

We need to stay within the correct skin layer so that the strokes do not spread. If we go deeper, especially with the monoline stroke, the stroke can blur and spread. That is why we work in the technique I am showing you now.

I want you to draw curved strokes using the same 50 percent layering technique, because they will appear very often in your patterns, in both directions. I also want you to draw another type of stroke that we will use in the pattern. You may or may not use it later, but these strokes are very common in brow patterns, and they will give you hand stability and practice. This is exactly what we are doing now, to make your work easier and reduce the difficulty when you move to a real model. Do two to three rows. The more the better. Practice is everything in nano brows.

Now I will draw again, dividing the stroke into three parts. Again I build more density in the center and release the stroke at the ends, going out upward and downward. I always start from the air. Notice that I never place the needle directly into the latex. I start from the air, very gently, with a pendulum motion, and then slowly come down, touch the latex and begin the stroke. My movement is continuous, always starting from the air. Here as well I focus on the central part of the stroke.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask. To achieve a good result on skin you need multiple passes, around three to five passes per stroke, on a live model. But if your hand is already trained on latex, it will be much easier for you to work on real skin.

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