Fine Lines Permanent Cosmetics opened in March as an addition to A Beautiful You salon on Main Street.

Permanent makeup artist and business owner Sarah Burton does permanent eyebrows, eyeliner, lip liner with shading and scar camouflaging.

“It’s not just a vanity, it’s a way to replace something that someone may have lost or never had,” Burton said.

Permanent tattoo ink can help make lips and eyebrows look fuller and save the time of applying make up every day. It can also disguise hair loss or uneven lips.

Some people also turn to Burton for help to correct permanent makeup that may have faded or become discolored over time.

She uses digital tattoo machine to apply the permanent ink after numbing the area with a topical ointment,

Some may remember a time when the ink was applied with a tattoo artist’s coil gun. Both the ink and the practices have improved.

“Back in the day, people would go to a biker tattoo shop,” she said.

Now all permanent makeup artists must have a state licence, and the work is done in a comfortable private room.

Burton, a Cortez native, has been practicing for a year and attended school in Denver before opening her business.

She pursued this career to help people look and feel better and express her artistic nature.

“It’s an art, you have to have a steady hand,” she said.

The ink is applied freehand, similar to a tattoo. But she works enhance the features someone may already have. For example, for eyebrows she uses the existing brow to help select the ink and to shape the permanent brow. She can also camouflage scars by returning them a natural skin color and help woman who have had mastectomies return to a more natural appearance.

As a cosmetologist, Burton also does hair, nails and waxing.

mshinn@cortezjournal.com