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How to Prepare for PMU in Seoul: 6 Things to Do Before Your Appointment in Gangnam

Sep 9
7 min read

Updated: Oct 7

✓ Reviewed by Aya — Lead PMU Artist (9 years, Gangnam Seoul) · Last updated: September 9, 2026 · Reading time: 9 min


Lamp-lit waiting area with leather sofa at Aya Seoul permanent makeup studio in Gangnam

Most guides to semi-permanent makeup start the clock at the appointment. The two weeks before it matter just as much, and almost nobody tells you that until you are already in the chair.


Aya Seoul is a permanent makeup studio on Seolleung-ro in the Gangnam District of Seoul, South Korea, and a large share of our guests fly in from abroad for a single visit. That compresses everything. There is no rescheduling to next month if you used a retinol serum on Tuesday or booked filler the day before, so preparation for PMU in Seoul has to happen before you board the plane.


Here is what lead artist Aya asks every guest to sort out in advance, and why each one changes the result rather than just the comfort of the session.

Quick Answer: The 6 things to do before a PMU appointment in Seoul: 1) stop retinoids and acid exfoliants 14 days ahead, 2) skip alcohol, caffeine and blood-thinning supplements for 24 hours, 3) space out botox, filler and laser appointments, 4) plan cold sore prevention before you fly if you are booking lips, 5) book PMU into the first half of your trip, 6) arrive bare-faced with unfiltered reference photos. Full details below.

1. Stop Retinoids and Acid Exfoliants Two Weeks Before Your Session


Pause retinol, tretinoin, adapalene and all AHA or BHA exfoliants for 14 days before your appointment. 


These ingredients work by speeding up how fast your skin sheds and rebuilds itself. That is exactly what you want from a skincare routine and exactly what you do not want in the week a tattooed pigment is trying to settle into the upper dermis. Skin that is actively turning over sheds more of the fresh pigment during the peel phase, which is a common reason a first session heals patchier than expected.


The rule applies to the treatment area, not your whole face. Brow guests need to keep retinoids away from the brow and forehead; lip guests need to stop lip scrubs and acid-based lip treatments. If you are on a prescription oral retinoid, that is a different conversation and one to have with your prescribing doctor well before you book.


Barrier condition on the day matters more than most people expect, and the American Academy of Dermatology guidance on tattoo skin care is a reasonable baseline if you want to read further.Your skin type also changes which technique suits you in the first place — our brow PMU technique guide for oily, dry and combination skin covers that side of it.


2. Skip Alcohol, Caffeine and Blood-Thinning Supplements in the 24 Hours Before


Avoid alcohol and caffeine on the day of your appointment, and pause fish oil, vitamin E and high-dose supplements for 24 to 72 hours beforehand. 


All of these thin the blood or dilate vessels to some degree. More surface bleeding during a session dilutes pigment at the moment it is being placed and pushes some of it back out, so the healed colour reads lighter and less even. It also makes the artist work slower and more conservatively, which is not what you want from a session you flew in for.


Aspirin and ibuprofen fall in the same category. If you take either regularly for a medical reason, do not stop on our say-so — ask your own doctor, and tell us at consultation so Aya can adjust her approach instead. This is a common one for guests who have been walking Seoul all day and reach for painkillers the night before.


Two practical notes for a Gangnam trip: skip the soju the night before, and if you genuinely cannot function without coffee, have it after your session rather than before.


3. Schedule Botox, Fillers and Laser Around Your PMU — Not On Top of It


Leave at least two weeks between botox or filler and your PMU session, and at least four weeks after any laser or peel on the same area. 


This is the item most guests have never considered, and in Gangnam it comes up constantly because so many visitors are stacking several appointments into one trip. The problem is not safety so much as geometry. Botox in the forehead and brow area changes where the brow sits and how it moves, so a brow mapped before the botox settles is mapped to a face that is about to change shape.


Filler in the lips does the same thing to a lip border. Design a lip blushing shape on lips that are three days into settling filler and the outline you agreed on will not be the outline you leave with in a month. The safest sequence is botox or filler first, let it settle, then PMU — or PMU first and injectables four weeks later.


Worth knowing why this coordination falls to you: in Korea, semi-permanent makeup is regulated under the Public Health Management Act as a public health and sanitation service rather than a medical procedure (Korea Ministry of Health and Welfare regulatory framework). PMU studios and medical clinics are separate providers here, so neither one automatically sees the other's schedule. Tell both.

Not sure how to sequence your Seoul appointments? Send Aya your itinerary on Instagram →

4. If You Get Cold Sores, Plan Your Lip PMU Before You Fly


Anyone with a history of cold sores should speak to their own physician about preventive medication before travelling for lip blushing or lip neutralization. 


Lip tattooing involves repeated micro-trauma to the lip and perioral area, and for people who already carry the virus, that kind of irritation is a recognised trigger for a flare. A flare during the healing window is genuinely disruptive: it interferes with how evenly the colour settles and can mean a patchier result that needs more correction at the touch-up.


Aya Seoul is a PMU studio, not a medical clinic, so we cannot prescribe or supply anything for this — that has to be arranged at home before you travel. It takes one short conversation with your regular doctor, and it is far easier to do that in your own country than to find a walk-in clinic mid-trip. If you have never had a cold sore, this item does not apply to you.


More broadly, it is worth understanding what is actually going into your skin. The US FDA fact sheet on tattoo and permanent makeup color additives is a plain-language starting point, and it also covers a detail almost nobody mentions: tell the technician you have permanent makeup if you ever have an MRI.


5. Book PMU Into the First Half of Your Trip, Not the Last Day


Schedule your session in the first two or three days of your stay so there is room for a follow-up if anything needs adjusting. 


The last-day booking is the single most common scheduling mistake we see. It feels logical — get it done, fly home with fresh brows — but it removes every option. If the shape needs a small adjustment, if you want a second look once the initial swelling settles, or if you simply want to ask a question in person, a same-day flight closes the door on all of it.


Front-loading the appointment also means you are in Seoul for the first two or three days of healing, which is the window when guests have the most questions. Brows go dark, then start to flake, and the panic messages arrive around day four. Knowing what is coming helps: our PMU brow healing stages week-by-week guide walks through what each phase actually looks like.


One caveat on flying itself. A same-day flight after a session is usually manageable, but cabin air is dry and the healing area should not be touched with unwashed hands in a plane bathroom. If you can put a night between the appointment and the airport, do.


6. Arrive Bare-Faced and Bring Reference Photos, Not Filtered Ones


Come with no makeup on the treatment area, and bring two or three unedited photos of brows or lips you like. 


Aya maps every shape to the face in front of her — brow bone, natural hair direction, existing asymmetry, and how your features move when you talk. Concealer around the brow and lip liner both hide the exact information she is reading. If you are coming straight from another appointment, arrive a few minutes early and we will remove it.


Reference photos are more useful than descriptions, with one condition: they need to be unfiltered. Beauty-mode photos smooth and reshape brows in ways that cannot be reproduced with pigment on a real face, and starting from an impossible reference is how expectations end up mismatched. Photos of real people, in ordinary light, from a similar face structure to yours are worth far more than a mood board.


Bring your questions too. If you are still deciding whether the studio is the right fit, our guide on what to check before booking a PMU studio in Korea lists what to ask any studio, including this one.


Frequently Asked Questions


How long before microblading should I stop using retinol?


Fourteen days is the standard guidance for the treated area. If you have been using a prescription-strength retinoid, allow longer and mention it at consultation so the approach can be adjusted.


Can I drink coffee before microblading?


It is better to skip it. Caffeine on the morning of a session increases surface bleeding and sensitivity, both of which affect how cleanly pigment settles. Have it afterwards instead.


How long after Botox can I get microblading?


Allow at least two weeks so the botox has fully settled and the brow is sitting in its final position. Mapping a brow onto a face that is still changing is the most common cause of a shape that looks off a month later.


Can I fly the same day as my PMU appointment?


Usually yes, though a night in between is better. Keep hands off the area, avoid touching it in the aircraft bathroom, and follow the aftercare instructions given at your session.


What if I forgot to stop my retinol?


Tell us at consultation rather than staying quiet. Depending on how recently you used it and how your skin looks on the day, Aya may adjust technique, adjust expectations for the touch-up, or recommend rescheduling.


About Aya Seoul: Aya Seoul is led by Aya, a permanent makeup artist with 9 years of clinical experience who also trains PMU artists in Korea. All treatments are performed in the Gangnam studio using single-use sterile tools and SGS-certified pigments. More about Aya →


📍 Aya SeoulGangnam, Seoul, South Korea


International visitors welcome. English, Japanese, and Chinese consultation supported.


Disclaimer: Permanent makeup is a semi-permanent cosmetic procedure. Individual results may vary based on skin type, lifestyle, and aftercare. A pre-treatment consultation is required to determine the most suitable technique for your facial proportion, skin condition, and goals. All information provided is educational and does not replace professional consultation.



 
 
 

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