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Treatment guide

Professional makeup and semi-permanent makeup

Makeup services range from occasion and bridal application — which sit outside England's proposed licensing scheme — to semi-permanent makeup, which implants pigment with a needle and falls inside it. Conventional makeup carries hygiene considerations; semi-permanent makeup carries the risks of a tattoo.

Last reviewed · How we research and check this

Depends

Is it regulated?

No licence is required to perform this in England today. Whether this is covered depends on what is actually done. Versions that break the skin fall inside the scheme; versions that do not, sit outside it.

Semi-permanent makeup — lip blush, eyeliner tattooing, powder brows — involves needle insertion and so sits within the licensing scheme's definition, as well as usually requiring local-authority registration for tattooing and skin piercing. Conventional makeup application does not.

Basis: Section 180, Health and Care Act 2022 and the Government's consultation response of 7 August 2025, tracked in House of Commons Library briefing CBP-10331.

What the practitioner should hold

Conventional makeup: no legal requirement; portfolio and hygiene practice tell you more than a certificate. Semi-permanent: specific SPMU training plus council registration.

Insurance

Semi-permanent makeup needs its own cover; bridal work often needs cover for working at venues.

What it costs

Guide price: we do not yet have enough member listings to publish a reliable range for makeup. We publish this figure only when there is real data behind it.

Questions to ask before you book

  1. Do you sanitise brushes between clients, and use disposable applicators for lips and eyes?
  2. For bridal: do you offer a trial, and is travel included?
  3. For semi-permanent: are you council-registered, and can I see healed results?
  4. How long will semi-permanent work last before a top-up?

Red flags

  • Brushes used between clients without cleaning
  • Testers applied directly from the palette to your lips or eyes
  • Semi-permanent work offered without council registration
  • A portfolio showing only fresh results and never healed ones

Common questions

Is semi-permanent makeup regulated?

More than most beauty treatments. Because it inserts pigment with a needle, practitioners and premises usually need local-authority registration under skin-piercing and tattooing rules, and it falls inside the scope of the cosmetic licensing scheme for England.

Should I have a bridal trial?

Yes, and treat it as an interview. It tells you how the makeup wears on your skin over a day, and how the artist works under time pressure.

How long does semi-permanent makeup last?

Typically one to three years depending on the technique, the pigment and your skin. Ask to see healed photographs, not just fresh ones — healed results are the honest test.

Members offering makeup

By area

Where members currently offer makeup, with the local guide prices.

Related guides

Lash treatments Brow treatments

Sources

  1. Section 180, Health and Care Act 2022
  2. House of Commons Library briefing CBP-10331