AB Artistries Puts Clients’ Best Face Forward

WARREN, Ohio – Amanda Busick didn’t bat an eye when starting her own business. 

Busick celebrated the ribbon cutting for AB Artistries, her permanent makeup shop, Thursday in Warren’s Crystal Spring Plaza, 3219 Elm Road NE.

AB Artistries uses ink as a replacement for makeup for eyebrows, eyeliner and lips. The process is similar to tattoos, but the ink isn’t placed as deep into the skin.

According to Busick, the Department of Health said her shop is the only one of its kind in Trumbull County. Many salons offer permanent makeup alongside their other offerings, she said, but AB handles only the one beauty technique.

Busick started in cosmetics approximately five years ago. By law, she had to complete an apprenticeship to work with ink, similar to the training a tattoo artist must go through.

“I feel super grateful and blessed because when you’re growing up and just love art, you’re taught that you can’t do anything with art – it can’t be a career,” Busick said.

Permanent makeup has become more popular over the last five years. Busick decided to work with permanent makeup after reading a newspaper article detailing how permanent eyebrows positively impacted the lives of women with cancer while receiving chemotherapy.

Busick took that to heart, working with cancer patients while she worked at salons in the area before opening AB. The reward, she said, was helping them through the difficult time. 

The practice became an uplifting moment in her career.Now with her own shop, Busick still lends a hand. She gives a 50% discount to customers with cancer or alopecia, or hair loss.

“I just thought it was so cool, just being able to restore something,” Busick said.

Before opening the shop, the Warren City Department of Health had to conduct an inspection because the shop is legally classified as a tattoo parlor.

Unlike a normal salon, AB Artistries must maintain a sterile environment and her tools have to be replaced after each use.

“With makeup you’re just putting topical – on the skin – when we’re actually going in the skin and implanting,” Busick said. “This is all considered tattooing.”

The healing process is similar to tattoos. Customers have to avoid water and too much sunlight, and use a healing ointment.

She sees between 25 and 35 customers each week. The cost for eyebrows is $625 and usually takes about two hours. Payments are broken into a three-step plan that span four to six months.

“There’s a deposit and then they’ll come see me in two to three months, that’s how long it usually takes to get in,” Busick said. “And then there is a second visit which is two months after that.”

Busick started planning her one-person operation at the beginning of the year. She opened her doors in June after investing $30,000 into renovating the suite.

“Matt [Lewis], who was the project manager, helped me a lot by getting the workers, coming to let them in, because I was still working my job,” Busick said. “I couldn’t be here every day.”

The next step for Busick is finding a staff and developing AB Artistries into a multi-artist operation. 

The problem is the lack of permanent makeup artists in the area.

“It would be nice to have a whole team of permanent makeup artists here and have this studio specifically for permanent makeup,” Busick said.

Pictured: Joining Amanda Busick at the ribbon cutting of her business, AB Artistries, were representatives from her business’ neighbors: Louann Snow of Liberty Tax Service and Deb Parsons of Ryan Staffing.

Copyright 2024 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.