Things to Know About Tattoos
By · Comments
Getting the first tattoo can be a very hard decision for a lot of people. For some people just deciding what design to get is the problem while others may struggle with deciding what colors, size or where to place the tattoo. After all the other decisions have been made, please take some time to pick the right tattoo parlor for you. There are some different things to know about tattoos.
Most people understand the tattoo ink has been developed to last a life time. The style and design of the tattoo should not be made on a whim. If this is your first tattoo, please make sure this is something you will be comfortable about and proud of for the rest of your life. Never get a tattoo thinking that it can be removed later with the laser tattoo removal process, you should not consider even having the tattoo applied if you are thinking this. Certain colors will also have different meaning for different people to choose.
A good tattoo parlor can make almost any design that you can think of. Most of the tattoo artists think of the skin like a blank piece of canvas waiting to be developed. But do keep it realistic, the tattoo artist can only do so much. For example, the lower back tattoos can not be placed on your little finger. W
hile the placement of the tattoo is important to you, take the time to consider the loved ones around you. The idea of tattoos today is not as taboo as it was several years back but there are still some people that may be offended by them. Will your job allow you to show the tattoo or will it have to be covered up? Location is important in more ways then one.
Once the size, style, location and design of the tattoo has been decided, now it is time to find your tattoo parlor. You should take some time in choosing your tattoo parlor. Getting a tattoo is a very personal experience and you need to feel comfortable with the tattoo artist and with the tattoo parlor. If this is your first tattoo, take plenty of time to find a parlor that you feel good in. It is always a good idea to talk with the tattoo artist and make sure you are both in agreement with the work that is to be done. Tattoo safety is very important in todays society. If the tattoo artist is opposed to your ides, that the time to listen. The tattoo artist is the professional and is the one who works with the equipment and the pallet or the skin and knows better then the average person why something should not be done. Listen and learn is a good idea in this situation. If the tattoo artist is not comfortable with the design or placement of the tattoo, you may want to either reconsider the tattoo or the artist. This is the work of the artist and it will be seen for years and they want you to be proud of it;
Tatoo Removal Made Easy
By · Comments
Tattooing, which is defined as the permanent insertion of ink or other pigments below the skin using a sharp instrument, has been used for cosmetic and ritual purposes since the Neolithic era. It has been used to identify criminals, invoke magical powers and, most recently, to adorn the skin with colorful designs in what has become a major trend.
Indeed, a recent telephone survey done by the American Academy of Dermatology reports that 36 percent of people between the ages of 18 and 29 are tattooed, and 24 percent of people between the ages of 18 and 50 have been inked. This represents a 16 percent increase over a similar survey done in 2003!
But what happens when that tattoo you thought was so cool 20 years ago just isn’t cool anymore?
Yes, tattooing has been around a long time, and something that has always gone along with tattoos since the very beginning is the desire to remove them. Whether the desire to remove the tattoo is a result of social, cultural, or physical reasons, people go to great lengths to get the job done.
Early techniques for removing tattoos included painful and scarring procedures such as sanding, cutting, and burning the skin. Unless you were willing to go to these lengths, tattoos were seen as permanent and irreversible. However, thanks to medical advances in the field of dermatology, surgeons are now able to remove tattoos safely and effectively.
Methods for tattoo removal today include dermabrasion, surgical excision, salabrasion, chemical peels, and laser surgery. Let’s examine how tattoos are removed with each of these methods.
Dermabrasion
With dermabrasion, the surface and middle layers of the skin are “sanded” away with a hand-held scraping or sanding tool. This process removes the pigmented skin and encourages the growth of new skin.
Dermabrasion is not for everyone. If the tattoo is old, or if the ink has been injected into the subcutaneous fat, dermabrasion may not work. Also, if the tattoo was done by an amateur and the ink is deposited at varying depths in the skin, complete removal may be difficult.
Side effects include skin discoloration, infection at the site of the tattoo, and scarring from repeated scraping and sanding. Complete removal of all the ink is not always possible.
Until laser surgery was introduced, dermabrasion was considered one of the most popular and effective ways of removing tattoos.
Surgical Excision
Surgical excision is performed under general anesthesia. During the process, the surgeon literally cuts the tattoo out of the skin, and closes the wound with sutures. This technique is more suitable for smaller tattoos.
This is one of the more invasive tattoo removal procedures, and complications include swelling, infection, and scarring.
Chemical Peel
A chemical peel, during which trichloracetic acid is usually used, progressively removes layers of skin, and eventually the tattoo.
Depending upon the age of the tattoo, and whether the ink is evenly distributed, it is not guaranteed that a chemical peel will completely remove a tattoo. Chemical peels can also cause permanent damage to the skin, such as lightening where the design used to be, or scarring.
Salibrasion
Salibrasion is perhaps one of the oldest methods of tattoo removal, and requires the skin to be “sanded” with salt. A local anesthetic is usually injected around the design, and the skin is aggressively rubbed with salt or a salt sanding block.
Complete tattoo removal can’t be guaranteed, and the procedure can leave the patient with raw, red, burned skin. Scarring is also a possibility with this method.
Laser Treatment
Laser treatment was introduced in the 1980s, and presented the best alternative to tattoo removal. The CO2 laser beam was used to vaporize the ink and the overlying skin, and was less painful, safer, and much easier than other techniques. However, the technique was not perfect. The healing process was long, there was considerable risk of scarring, and in almost all cases a faint image of the tattoo was left behind.
Q-Switched Lasers
Q-Switched Lasers were introduced about 10 years ago, and have been shown to be the most effective way to date to remove tattoos. Q-switched lasers emit light in very short but powerful flashes, which pass through the skin and break up the tattoo pigment.
Because the absorption of the laser light affects the energy’s ability to break up the pigment, different types of q-switched lasers are best used on different colors of pigment.
There are four different types of q-switched lasers:
1.Q-switched ruby lasers have a red light and are effective on most black, blue, and green pigments.
2. Q-switched alexandrite lasers emit a deep red light and are effective for most black, blue, and green pigments.
3. Q-switched Nd:YAG lasers emit an infrared light and are effective on most black and dark blue pigments.
4. Q-switched frequency-doubled Nd:YAG lasers emit a green light and are effective on most red, black, dark blue, and purple pigments.
While tattoo removal with q-switched lasers is completely safe, patients usually experience discomfort on the same scale as receiving the tattoo. A topical anesthetic can be applied one to three hours before treatment. The more treatments the patient has the less pain he or she will feel, as there will be less pigment to absorb the laser energy.
Antibiotic ointment and a light dressing are applied to the area after treatment and normal activity, including showering, can resume the next day. Light blistering or bleeding following the treatment is normal and should subside within a day or two.
All tattoos will require more than one treatment, the average being between five and 10 treatments depending upon the depth of the tattoo, the colors used, the location of the tattoo, and the health of the patient. Fading of the tattoo should be evident about two weeks after treatment, and another treatment can be done as soon as a month later.
While scarring will not occur as a result of q-switched lasers, mild skin texture changes can occur. Darker skinned patients may also experience some skin lightening, though this is usually temporary.
Is it guaranteed that the tattoo will completely disappear when treated with a q-switched laser? Well, because more than 100 tattoo inks are used today, and none of them are regulated by the FDA, it is impossible to predict how a particular ink will respond to laser treatment. However, in most cases the tattoo will completely disappear.
To find a physician board-certified in laser surgery who removes tattoos look in the yellow pages under Cosmetic or Laser Surgery, and/or Tattoo Removal. Or contact the Ethical Cosmetic Surgery Association to find a practitioner in your area.
When Tattoos Are No Longer Fun
By · Comments
We received an email last week that we’d like to share from “Sherri” (Not her real name):
“I’m worried that my younger brother has become a tattoo addict. It started off innocently enough. I even helped him to get his first tattoo when he was visiting me in Berkeley. He thought it was a very California souvenir, and he was eighteen, so I thought if I couldn’t stop him, I might as well help him, and besides, what’s the harm?
Even then, though, I inspected the tattoo parlor with an eagle eye; making sure that it was clean, that the needles were new, and that they used autoclave sterilization. Having grown up in the eighties, I was bombarded with AIDS fears, and I wanted to make sure that little brother didn’t catch something because of a dirty tattoo needle. The parlor passed inspection, the tattoo, was applied, and he left California proudly sporting a snake tattoo on his shoulder, and I thought nothing more of it.
Now it’s almost ten years, and five tattoos, later. I wince whenever he shows me a new addition to his body art gallery, and I hope that he’s as careful with his choice of tattoo artists as I was for him. These days there’s the risk of getting Hepatitis A or B, and AIDS still lurks about in the background like an old movie monster; almost comfortingly familiar, yet still scary as hell. Yes, reputable tattoo artists can make sure that they use the latest sterilization techniques, and I have met some who are almost religious in their cleanliness. Yet still, there’s that nagging thought in the back of my mind; that blood-borne pathogens can find an opening through the smallest of cuts, and from the times that I’ve seen tattoos being applied, I can tell you that blood is definitely a component of this art.
With the advent of reality shows in tattoo parlors like “Miami Ink” and actors making body art trendy, tattoos are more popular than ever, and I wonder how many people have gotten a nasty disease in the process of getting a tattoo. I do think that tattoos are safe, if they’re done correctly and sanitarily. Yet I wonder about tattoos done by amateurs, or as a favor to a friend, or even of a drop of blood falling where it shouldn’t in a carefully run parlor. I’ve thought of getting a tattoo myself many times, but every time I’ve chickened out when I think of the risk involved. The next time my brother shows me another tattoo he’s acquired, I’ll do what I always do: tell him it looks great, and hope for the best. “
One thing Sherri should remember: Sometimes even the most rebellious young person thinks better of a particular tattoo he got when he was more impulsive. If her brother ever decides he regrets his latest tattoo, removal options are available.
10 Things to Consider Prior to Getting a Tattoo
By · Comments
If you are thinking about getting a tattoo, take a moment to consider your answers to the following 10 questions. You will be glad that you did.
1. Is the tattoo artist experienced? This is perhaps the most important thing to consider before hiring any one particular tattoo artist. An experienced professional will be knowledgeable in the proper cleansing of equipment, which is an absolute necessity, and also how to create designs that the customer will enjoy.
2. Will the tattoo image be as important to you in the future as it is right now? For instance, if your tattoo will be in celebration of a love interest, are you absolutely certain that person will be there 10, 20 or even 50 years from now?
3. Why do you want to get the tattoo? Is it because you want to or because someone else wants you to? Is it to fit in with a crowd or possibly a love interest? If you are making any type of permanent marking on your body, including a tattoo, you will want to be sure that you are doing it for the right reasons.
4. Are you prepared to deal with possible consequences that may arise out of getting a tattoo? This may include an infection or severe soreness of the skin at the site of the tattoo. In addition, surgery will be the only way to later remove it if you should ever change your mind.
5. Do you have a design in mind? If you don’t, stop by the local tattoo parlor and ask to see some samples of what is available.
6. Can you afford the tattoo? The larger the tattoo, the larger the cost. Even the smallest tattoo can be expensive, especially if you are on a budget. Before deciding to get the tattoo, make sure that you know how much it will cost and make arrangements to have the full payment ready on the date of it’s application.
7. Do you have a fear of needles? If you do, tattoos may not be for you. Either this or you will have to find some way to put the thought of it out of your mind. A lot of people have a fear of needles and perhaps the best alternative is a temporary tattoo, which are made to look quite realistic these days.
8. What type of tolerance do you have for pain? There is no other way to say it, but getting a tattoo is painful. It does involve needles and you should really consider your level of tolerance before signing up for a tattoo.
9. What will you do if you ever decide to have it removed? Can you afford the cost associated with surgery? The only way to remove a tattoo is through surgery, which can be very expensive. Unless it is for medical reasons, most health insurance policies will not cover the cost of a tattoo removal. This means that the patient will often find themselves with 100% of the financial responsibility and, before getting a tattoo, you should make sure that you will be financially able to handle any future medical procedures that are associated with a tattoo.
10. Are you prepared to treat the area as recommended to avoid infection? This will likely involve keeping the tattoo site covered until it is able to heal properly and keeping it clean in the way that the tattoo artist or physician recommends.
This article is to be used for informational purposes only. The information contained herein is not intended to be used in place of, or in conjunction with, professional medical advice. Before deciding on getting a tattoo or having one removed, the patient must consult a licensed medical doctor for medical advice and/or to determine the best course of action for his/her individual healthcare needs.
Tattoo Ink Removal and Ink Removing Creams
By · Comments
So you got a tattoo and now you have decide it wasn’t for you; but how other then laser surgery can you get tattoo ink removed. Recently the market has arisen for tattoo ink removal creams. Obviously, less painful and not requiring surgery these are becoming more popular in the world of tattoo removals. So how do these work and are the creams worth the money?
Firstly, you have to take into account when it comes to cream products to remove tattoo ink. Like most things in life, this can be a case of you get what you pay for. Some of the less expensive products may work, but research shows many do not. Some say these creams work, well others claim they made no difference except on the pocket book. Do you research about the various creams on the market, read through the testimonials and see what customers have to say about the products before you purchase. There is nothing more important than proper product research. No matter which one you look at you need to know how exactly these creams work to remove your tattoo.
The tattoo removal cream works to slowly force the skin to break down and peel away. It pretty much is forcing the skin to age prematurely and will slowly fade the tattoo away from removing layers of skin more rapidly then they should be naturally shed. Of course, the majority of these creams involve harsh chemicals that are quite literally damaging your skin and forcing to break down and peel away before its time. It would be like exposing yourself daily to a sunburn which you peel away to get rid off. Though it is probably the most inexpensive way to remove a tattoo is could cause some serious issues due to the chemicals involved in the process. Your skin may blister and burn during this process and it can take a fair amount of time dependant on the colours of your tattoo. After all, the cream is composed of acids. Not something to take lightly.
No matter the reason you are seeking tattoo ink removal, do your research, as previously stated you often get what you pay for and if you can endure the blisters and pain of the cream then all means go with the inexpensive choice. Do your research and seek which removal method is best for you and the type and colour of tattoo you have.