Rita Porreca, certainly one of Sydney's leading cosmetic/medical tattooists, has warned would-be tattooists that lots of courses currently available around australia provide vastly inadequate training.
Rita, the md from the Sydney Permanent Makeup Centre, says many of the “crash courses” currently proliferating round the country don't offer “enough theory or practical lessons for college students to succeed professionally”.
“I believe the important thing to success is 'practice, practice and more practice' but sadly many courses don't give their students that opportunity so they 'graduate' with no experience – and are unable to perform the simplest procedure.”
Rita opened the Sydney Permanent Makeup Centre in Sydney's inner-west 26 years back after graduating from the International Institute of Permanent Cosmetics in the US. Five years later she opened the Sydney Permanent Make-Up School “to meet requests for classes from other beauty therapists”.
Since then she's undertaken numerous cosmetic/medical tattooing courses locally and overseas while running the centre and school, and completing a large number of eyebrow, eyeliner, lip along with other tattoos on her behalf clients.
Until late this past year, Rita ran 10-week beginners courses in cosmetic tattooing, “teaching all the fundamentals of cosmetic tattooing including anatomy, safety and health, skin piercing, colour mixing, touch-ups and corrections”, but has become focussing on master classes instead.
She decided there is an excuse for such classes when students in her own beginner's classes informed her “they had already spent lots of money on cosmetic tattooing courses but nonetheless had problems performing treatments”.
“There is surely a requirement for extra practicing beginners in this industry as learning the skills necessary to be a professional cosmetic tattooist needs a significant time investment – and that's something which most of the courses don't offer.”
However she stressed that even when a beginner's course did provide adequate training, “one course is still never enough' inside a rapidly changing area like cosmetic/medical tattooing.
“We have to continually educate ourselves to remain on top of all the developments.”
Rita urges would-be cosmetic tattooists to thoroughly research prospective courses and education providers before enrolling.
“I think beginner's courses should run for at least 10 weeks and students must do some experience in a clinic to get their skills and confidence up to a reasonable standard- Ideally they [students] should have performed each treatment about 20 times before undertaking act as a paid professional.”
Rita's masterclasses at the Sydney Permanent Make-Up School are designed for cosmetic tattooists who want to upskill their techniques or refresh their skills in eyebrow (feathering, powdering), eyeliner, lash enhancement, lip liner, lip blend, full lip and medical tattooing.
Most of the classes are “two times of intensive training” – not “crash courses”
“Success in this industry is related to the standard and professionalism from the service provided and this is directly been from the amount of training received.
“All beauty therapists (not just cosmetic tattooists) should regularly upskill their knowledge to become the very best they may be.”
