Permanently Beautiful

Power Makeovers (see our previous post) aren’t just for women. Stiff competition from younger rivals has older, experienced male executives and managers looking for new ways to maintain their competitive edge. Recession-driven layoffs in middle, upper and executive management have revved up competition both in the workplace and on the job market, putting more mature workers in direct competition with much younger rivals. A touch of gray may still be an asset in America’s corporate board rooms, but looking old has never placed men at a greater disadvantage than it does today.

To keep their job, gain a plum promotion or score a new job, men are using all kinds of new tricks to outfox Mother Nature and give themselves a competitive edge. Sales of hair coloring products for men are on the rise. More male patients are seeking cosmetic surgery procedures to achieve a more youthful face and body. And men are turning to permanent cosmetics for men to give themselves a more commanding, more youthful appearance.

Under the hands of a skilled permanent cosmetics artist, permanent eyebrows can reshape, darken and add commanding fullness to thin or light eyebrows. This specialized form of cosmetic tattooing can redefine unattractive, irregular lip lines and restore youthful, natural color to pale, aging lips. Permanent makeup for men can also camouflage scars, including many scars from transplant and cosmetic surgery. A permanent cosmetics Power Makeover can give men the younger, more vital, more commanding appearance needed to jump ahead of the competition.

Women aren’t the only ones hoping to receive a gift certificate for permanent cosmetics this holiday. Men just as interested in looking good all day, every day. In a tight job market, appearance counts. Gray hair, bald spots, pale lips and thinning eyebrows shout old and tired. You may have years of experience, but that’s not instantly visible when you meet with a hiring manager or apply for a step up the corporate ladder.

Hiring managers are always looking for experience, but they also want to see energy and vitality. Companies spend thousands of dollars training new and promoted employees. To maximize their investment, they’re more likely to choose a younger-looking man over one who looks old and tired. Permanent cosmetics for men can give experienced workers the youthful appearance that attracts job offers and propels men up the corporate ladder.

Cosmetic tattooing performed by a skilled permanent makeup artist can turn thin, gray eyebrows into dark, thick and commanding brows; the eyebrows of a leader. Permanent makeup for men can tint aging pale lips with the natural vibrancy of youth. An artistic permanent makeup artist gifted in color matching and pigment application can make those bald spots that brand you as past middle age disappear, shaving years off your appearance.

This holiday, show your man you believe in him. Give him the gift of permanent makeup and give him the competitive edge he deserves.

Every year the post-Thanksgiving madness seems to start a little earlier. Many stores are opening their doors at 3 a.m. this year! That means shivering in the dark for hours if you want to scoop up the best bargains. Some families make an annual ritual of night-owl shopping after Thanksgiving, but most people don’t enjoy fighting the mobs or the traffic just to save a few bucks. Most of us would rather sleep in after the Thanksgiving festivities and share a lazy brunch with out-of-town visitors. But the pressure to participate in the annual Black Friday buying frenzy niggles away in the back of our brains, urging us to get out there and start shopping for the perfect gift.

You can pull the plug on the insanity by deciding to give your honey a holiday gift certificate from The Whitney Center for Permanent Cosmetics. The two things every woman wants are a lovely appearance and more time. Permanent cosmetics give them both. Women who wear permanent cosmetics don’t have to waste time ”putting on their face” in the morning or touching up their makeup as they move through the day. Getting out the door in the morning couldn’t be faster — cleanse, moisturize and you’re ready to go! When you wear permanent makeup, you don’t have to worry about eyeliner smudging or lipstick wearing off. You always look fresh, relaxed and beautiful. What gift could be better? And you don’t have to go near a store!

Women’s breasts are often the focus of attention, but male breasts are more often exposed to public view. Men doff their shirts during a pick up game of basketball or while they’re mowing the lawn to cool their bodies down. In the gym or at the beach, it’s male breasts that are out there for all to see. For men who have suffered breast cancer or gynecomastia, a glandular problem that causes the breast to swell around the nipples, scarring left after surgery makes them uncomfortable among their peers and often embarrassed about having what most perceive to be a “woman’s problem.” Their bodies feel damaged, no longer virile or complete. The loss of a man’s nipples and deformation of the surrounding areola during surgery can be devastating to a man’s self-confidence and personal sense of masculinity.

Developed to help restore the breasts of women who had undergone a mastectomy due to breast cancer, permanent cosmetics nipple and areola restoration is finding a new market helping men who are recovering from male breast cancer or gynecomastia. Increasingly, men who have had breast surgery are turning to nationally-renowned paramedical tattoo artist Melany Whitney to restore their bodies. The innovative cosmetic tattoo technique Melany originally developed to help female breast cancer survivors has found a new use helping men recover from male breast cancer and gynecomastia. Melany is able to create natural-looking, three-dimensional male nipples and areolas that are perfectly blended to the patient’s skin color and give every appearance of being original equipment.

When Aol News decided to do an article on nipple and areola restoration after breast surgery, they sought out Melany Whitney, a prominent national expert in permanent cosmetics and creator of a revolutionary three-dimensional cosmetic tattooing technique that makes breasts look completely normal and natural. In the November 12, 2010 article, Nipple Tattoos Come with Permanent Perks, Melany talks about her long-term commitment to helping breast cancer survivors recover and how she uses her unique artistic talent to make reconstructed breasts look natural.

In working with breast cancer survivors who had undergone mastectomy, Melany was struck by the importance women placed on having a normal-looking breast. Blank breast mounds were a daily reminder of their struggle with cancer, preventing them from moving forward with their lives. The absence of a natural-looking areola and nipple intensified their loss, making women feel unfeminine and incomplete.

“Ever since I saw that first woman without a ‘face’ on her breast, I knew I had to do this,” Melany told Aol News in an interview. “These tattoos give women their lives back. They can begin to put the trauma behind them and move forward with confidence again.”

Like a Renaissance master painting the human form, Melany, a professionally-trained artist, uses her vast knowledge of pigments and artistic shading to create what she calls “the illusion of protrusion.” The results delight her permanent cosmetics clients. Click here to view a video in which Melany explains the procedure.

Power brows.

In Europe they’re calling it Browtox! Power brows are the hot new look for female movers-and-shakers and the up-and-comers chasing them up the corporate ladder. Enhanced by permanent cosmetics, power brows are full, filled and fierce, identifying their wearers as power players to be reckoned with. Dark and beautifully shaped, power brows command attention. These are brows that draw people in, immediately focusing attention on your eyes and giving you instant command of any meeting.

What makes power brows so compelling is that they not only give women a more commanding, more self-assured appearance, they are exotically sexy. Women aren’t the only ones who find power intoxicating. Powerful men are bedazzled by equally powerful women who know what they want and go after it — especially when they are the object of the woman’s desire. Whether you’re a man or a woman, there’s nothing so beguiling as being chased.

When permanent makeup artist Melany Whitney creates permanent eyebrows, she carefully considers the unique contours of your face, the placement of your eyes and your skin tone so that your permanent brows will personally enhance your unique personal beauty. Click the link to find out how Melany creates the perfect permanent eyebrow.

Note to men: Permanent eyebrows aren’t just for women. Power brows give men a take-charge appearance that’s an asset whether you’re commanding the board room or fighting your way to the top.

The popularity of permanent cosmetics has enticed many new players into the field. A number of spas, beauty salons and tattoo parlors have begun adding permanent makeup or cosmetic tattooing to their list of services. What customers may not realize is that there’s a world of difference between having your nails done or your eyebrows waxed and having your face permanently enhanced. While many people may be performing permanent cosmetics, they are not equally skilled; a harsh reality that some customers discover too late, after the damage is done. In the field of permanent makeup, successful results depend, certainly, on the provider’s training, skill and experience; but it is the elusive gift of artistic talent and vision that elevates permanent cosmetics to an art form with your face the artist’s canvass.

It is her prodigious artistic talent coupled with years of exacting technical education and experience that have earned Melany Whitney national recognition as “the Voice of Permanent Makeup” — and the devotion of her satisfied clients. Permanent cosmetics clients give Melany a 5-star rating across the board in artistic or aesthetic sense, commitment to personal beauty perfection, technical expertise, communication and rapport with clients, and sensitivity and responsiveness to client concerns. Read what real clients have to say about Melany and their permanent cosmetics experience at The Whitney Center for Permanent Cosmetics.

The Few, The Proud, The Forgotten

They may only comprise 1% of all breast cancer victims, but men can be just as devastated by a breast cancer diagnosis as women. While decades of consciousness-raising afford women plenty of support during their fight against breast cancer, male victims suffer in silence. The embarrassing stigma of contracting what is perceived to be a woman’s disease keeps most male breast cancer victims silent and isolated. Until now.

A group of ex-Marines gathered in Washington D.C. last week to pose for a beefcake calendar promoting male breast cancer awareness. All of the men were stationed at the Camp Lejeune Marine base in North Carolina in the 1980s when drinking water was found to be laced with toxic chemicals. More than 65 former Marines who served at Lejeune have contracted breast cancer, most after age 60s. Calling themselves ”The Few, The Proud, The Forgotten,” they form the largest male breast cancer cluster known.

Male breast cancer often necessitates a mastectomy to remove cancerous breast and affected lymph nodes. Men are left with ugly scars across their chests. In the pec-dominated male world where shirts are often duffed to beat the heat or play sports, mastectomy-caused chest scars and loss of pec-defining nipples and areolas are embarrassing. Permanent cosmetics for men can restore a man’s confidence in his appearance by using paramedical tattooing to create the very realistic illusion of a 3D nipple and areola.

In the past decade, the sale of skin-care products and cosmetics for men has jumped from $40.9 million to $217 million. Men are discovering that a little wrinkle cream around the mouth, some concealer under the eyes and a light bronzer on the face can make them look healthier, younger, more virile and more capable. Men who just a few years ago would never have considered wearing makeup are now rubbing tinted creams into their skin to improve their appearance and give them a competitive edge in the work place.

L’Oreal, Dove, Menaji and other skin care/cosmetic companies that are targeting the male market have been careful not to scare away potential customers by using the “M” or “C” words. Men still blush with embarrassment and stalk quickly away if they hear the words “”makeup” or “cosmetics.” They may be interested in the products and what they can do to improve appearance, but they balk at anything with a female aura. “Skin care” is the operative term when marketing to men. Even containers and product names have been changed to appeal to the male market. Concealer becomes camo and comes in a Chap Stick-like applicator tube. Products are shipped in discretely unmarked boxes or camouflaged in old cigar boxes.

Men from Tim McGraw and Charlie Sheen to Terry Bradshaw and Howie Long have embraced male cosmetics but most men are still nervous about being outed. They want the appearance-enhancing benefits of these products without the telltale collar smudges.

Next time: Permanent cosmetics for men is the perfect answer

It’s a fall ritual that induces a touch of panic in even the most accomplished individual — the class reunion! High school and college reunions invoke equal feelings of curiosity and dread. While it’s fun to reminisce, facing not-quite-forgotten stereotypes can be tough. Then there is the whole “judgment” issue. The big event at class reunions isn’t finding out who came the farthest; it’s who still looks hot, who has the most prestigious job, and who makes the most money. Shallow? Sure. But admit it; you’re curious too, aren’t you?

With a little help from artfully-applied permanent cosmetics, you’ll garner a lot of admiring looks from your old classmates and be able to stand up to their closest scrutiny. Permanent cosmetics enhance your natural beauty, hide scars and facial imperfections, and improve imperfect features. When you make the “hottest classmate” list, only you will know why you look so good.

A friend, who just attended her 40th high school reunion, confided that the 30th reunion is the most fun. At 10 year, everyone’s checking to see who drives the hottest car and makes the most money. At 20 years, it’s who’s going bald or gained the most weight. By the 30th, my friend joked, everyone’s showing their age and is comfortable with their life choices so people just relax and have a good time. But I’ll bet they’re still checking each other out! Schedule your permanent cosmetics appointment today and watch your classmates stare in admiration when you walk through the door.