How to Get Your First Permanent Makeup Clients
To get your first permanent makeup clients, run a small model call to build healed before-and-after photos, then open with a lower price for a set number of first clients instead of a deep discount. Set up a complete Google Business Profile with a way to book, tell everyone you know, ask every early client for a review and a referral, and answer every inquiry fast.
By Evan Marrone, cofounder, builds the system · Updated
Get the basics in place before your first client
Before you book anyone, check what your state and county require for permanent makeup, since the rules vary a lot from place to place, and get insurance that covers the services you offer. Then set up the things a new client will look for:
- A clean, private space to work in, and the days and hours you'll take clients.
- A way to book: a booking link she can use at night, and a phone number that takes texts.
- A consent form with a photo release, so every client can say yes in writing to before, fresh and healed photos.
- A starting price for each service you offer, and whether the touch-up is included.
Run a model call for healed photos, not for practice
Your first clients can't see your work yet, and that's the real problem to solve. Fresh brows and lips look different from healed ones, and the healed result is what she'll live with, so healed photos are what earn her trust.
A model call gets you those photos. Pick the one service you most want to be known for, brows or lip blush, and take a small group of models at a reduced price. Charge them something, even a little. A model who has paid has a reason to show up and to come back for her touch-up, and the touch-up is where your healed photo comes from.
Put the deal in writing before you start, and include:
- The price, and what it covers.
- Her touch-up date, booked now, so it's already on the calendar.
- Her written okay to post her before, fresh and healed photos.
Choose your models and your photos with care
Choose models who look like the clients you want: a range of ages and skin tones, and brows or lips like the ones your future clients have. A portfolio of one face type can tell a lot of people it isn't for them.
Photograph every model the same way: in daylight, from the same angle and distance, before, right after and healed, with no filter. Matching photos make the change easy to see.
Stop the model price once you have healed results across a few different skin types and brow or lip shapes. From then on, your photos do the work the lower price was doing.
Open with a capped price, not a deep discount
When the calendar is empty, a big discount or a deal site is tempting. The catch is who it brings in: people shopping on price. They can be hard to move to full price later, and a calendar full of half-price work keeps you busy without paying you.
An opening price works better when its limit is stated up front: a lower price for your first 10 clients, say, with what's included spelled out, like whether the touch-up is. It thanks the people who trust you first, and it ends on its own, so moving to your full price doesn't feel like a price hike.
Show your full price right next to it, so everyone can see what the opening price is worth. Price comes up a lot: in the studios we work with, 44% of leads who texted asked about price or cost (7,716 leads across 36 studios, Jun 1 to Oct 20, 2026). A starting price on your page answers it before she has to ask.
Set up your Google Business Profile
When someone near you searches for microblading, powder brows or lip blush, your Google Business Profile can show up on Google Search and Maps, even before you have a website. Pick the category that fits you best, add each service you offer with a short description and a starting price, add your hours and your booking link, and add healed photos as you get them.
Reviews help you show up, and they're what a new client reads first. Ask every early client for one when she sees her healed result, usually at her touch-up, and text her the link to your Google review page that same day. Ask everyone, not only the clients you're sure loved it, and never trade a discount or a gift for a review. Google's rules don't allow either one.
Start with the people who already know you
Your first clients are often people who already trust you: friends, family, coworkers and anyone you've done beauty work for before. Tell them you're booking, show them a healed photo or two and send them your booking link.
Ask your own hairstylist, esthetician or lash artist whether they'll mention you, and offer to do the same for them. A salon or spa that doesn't offer permanent makeup may be glad to send its clients to someone it trusts.
If you're new to the area and don't know anyone yet, start with those businesses: introduce yourself to the salons, lash and nail artists, estheticians, bridal makeup artists and photographers near you, and join the local groups that allow business posts.
When an early client loves her healed result, ask her to send a friend. A small thank-you, like a credit toward her next touch-up, makes it easy to say yes.
Answer every inquiry fast, especially at night
People reach out when they're free, and that's often after you've closed. In the studios we work with, 43% of lead form fills arrived between 8pm and 7am, and the busiest hour of the day was 9pm (14,067 leads across 36 studios, Jun 1 to Oct 20, 2026).
The first day matters most: 58% of people who booked a consult did it within 24 hours of filling out the form (1,148 people across 26 studios, form fills Jun 1 to Sep 20, 2026). If she hears back right away, she can ask her question and pick a time while she's still thinking about it.
Turn on notifications for every place someone can reach you: texts, calls, Instagram and Facebook messages and your booking app. Answer the question she asked, then offer a couple of consult times. If she goes quiet, follow up more than once. Quiet isn't the same as no.
Show healed work on Instagram, and say where you are
Post healed before-and-afters, not only fresh work, and give each service its own highlight. Put the service and your city in your bio and your captions, so someone nearby can tell in a few seconds what you do and where, and put your booking link in your bio.
You don't need to post every day. A steady stream of healed before-and-afters matters more than daily posts.
What can wait until you have healed photos
Early on, some things cost you time or money without bringing in clients yet:
- Paid ads. Ads send people to look at your work, so they pay off once you have healed photos, a few reviews and a way to answer fast. Before that, you're paying for people to see a portfolio that isn't ready.
- A big menu. Start with the one or two services you do best, and add more once those are booking.
- A custom website. A complete Google profile, an Instagram with healed photos and a booking link go further at the start. Add a simple site with a page for each service when you can.
- Deal sites and deep discounts, for the reasons above.
Where Permanent Profits fits
If you're just starting out, the steps above come first, and you can do every one of them yourself. None of them needs an agency.
Once you have healed work to show and you want a steady flow of consultations, that's what we do. We run your Facebook and Instagram ads, and our AI texting assistant texts your new leads as your studio, day or night. It answers their questions, follows up when they go quiet, sends reminders and books consultations onto your own calendar. You can read every conversation and step in any time.
It's $0 to start. For your first 45 days of ads, our only fee is $50 per consultation that shows up. Your ad spend goes straight to Meta on your own card, with a $500 minimum across the 45 days, and we suggest about $30 a day. Texts and calls pass through at carrier cost. At day 45, you decide. If you keep going, there's a one-time activation fee based on your results, then a small monthly amount plus a small fee for each consult that shows.
Questions artists ask
How do I get clients as a new PMU artist?
Build healed photos first with a small model call, then open with a lower price for a set number of first clients instead of a deep discount. Set up a complete Google Business Profile with a booking link, tell everyone you know, ask every early client for a review and a referral, and answer every inquiry fast, nights and weekends too.
Should I charge models for microblading or lip blush?
Yes, charge them something, even if it's well under your full price. A model who has paid has a reason to show up and to come back for her touch-up, and the touch-up is where your healed photo comes from. Put the deal in writing: the price, her touch-up date and her okay to post her photos.
Should I use Groupon or a big discount to get my first clients?
Usually not. A deep discount or a deal site brings in people shopping on price, and they're hard to move to full price later. A lower opening price for a set number of first clients, with your full price shown next to it, does the same job and ends on its own.
How do I get PMU clients if I don't know anyone where I live?
Introduce yourself to the beauty businesses near you, like salons, lash and nail artists, estheticians, bridal makeup artists and photographers, and offer to send clients both ways. Set up your Google Business Profile so people nearby can find you, join local groups that allow business posts, and run a model call so you have healed photos to show.
Do I need a website to get my first PMU clients?
Not at first. A complete Google Business Profile, an Instagram with healed before-and-afters and a booking link will do more early on. Add a simple website with a page for each service, with healed photos and a starting price, when you have the time.
How long does it take to build a PMU portfolio?
Plan on several weeks per model, since her healed photo is taken at her touch-up. That's why it pays to run your model call as early as you can, before you need the photos.
See if you qualify
Permanent Profits is run by Isabelle Marrone, a permanent makeup artist, and Evan Marrone. We work with one artist per area.
If you do brows or lip blush in the US and you'd rather have the ads and the follow-up handled for you, see if you qualify at offer.permanentprofits.co.