COSMETIC MICROPIGMENTATION OF THE LIDS

Tattooing the lids of women is a controversial procedure whose purpose is to eliminate the need for applying eyeliner. The procedure is also occasionally used to simulate cilia following reconstruction of the lid margin. It is performed under local anesthesia using a power-driven handpiece to implant various pigments adjacent to the eyelashes or eyebrow. Because subcutaneous impregnation of certain mercury-based dyes can cause a local inflammatory reaction, these dyes have been abandoned. Carbon particle tattooing appears to be harmless, but the long-term consequences of dye impregnation at the lid margin are unknown.

As is true also of tattoos elsewhere on the body, the intensity and crispness of the image tends to fade with time. Complete removal of the pigmentation because of misplacement or change in fashion is difficult.

10.1036/1535-8860.ch4

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