Search for a PMU starter kit and you will find boxes with sixty items, most of which you will never open. Here is the honest list — what you need, what can wait, and where cheap costs you money.
The machine: spend here
Your machine is the one item worth real money. Look for adjustable stroke length, low vibration and a comfortable weight balance. A cheap machine with inconsistent needle depth will undermine every technique you have been taught. Buy once.
Cartridges: never compromise
Single-use, sterile, individually sealed — no exceptions. Start with a small range and learn it properly: a 1RL for crisp lines, a 3RL for strokes, and a 5RS or magnum for shading. Ten needle configurations you half-understand are worse than three you know intimately.
Pigments: fewer, better
Beginners buy twenty colours and use four. Start with a warm brown, a neutral brown, a cool/ash brown and a corrector set. Buy from a manufacturer that publishes ingredient sheets and complies with EU cosmetic regulation — this matters legally as much as aesthetically.
Mapping and design
Pre-inked mapping thread, a brow ruler or calliper, and a white or removable pencil. Mapping is where symmetry is decided, and it costs almost nothing to equip properly.
Hygiene: non-negotiable
- Nitrile gloves in your actual size
- Barrier film for machine, cables and work surfaces
- Surface disinfectant rated for the setting
- Sharps container for cartridge disposal
- Single-use pigment rings and gauze
What can wait
Ring lights, branded furniture, and a full lip and eyeliner pigment range can all come later. Master brows, build a book, then expand. If you are still choosing your first setup, the equipment list in our Essentials Course names the specific configurations we use.
