So you want to get a tattoo?

Tattoos seem to be wildly popular these days for adults of all ages, but does anyone really look into what they are injecting into your skin and how they are doing it?   I was surprised to read that

1)  "....the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does not regulate 'any tattoo inks for injection into the skin, and many ink pigments used are industrial strength colors suitable for printers' ink or automobile paint.'”

http://www.mnn.com/lifestyle/natural-beauty-fashion/questions/tattoos-are-they-good-for-the-environment

http://hubpages.com/hub/Tattoos-What-are-the-Risks

3)  They sometimes cause allergic reactions.

4)  They are very difficult and costly to remove

5)  “Tattoo pigments may contain industrial organic pigments, including azo and polycyclic compounds, sandalwood and brazilwood, as well as aluminum, cadmium, calcium, copper, iron, phosphorus, silica, sulphur, titanium dioxide and barium sulphate, each of which may be the cause of a skin reaction like a rash or be toxic.”

http://www.aad.org/media/background/factsheets/fact_tattoos.html

6)  "Other major risks of tattooing include contracting HIV, hepatitis B and fungal or bacterial infections, according to the study. The known risks of tattoos are why the American Red Cross and most blood banks require people to wait 12 months after getting a tattoo before allowing them to donate blood."

http://www.lifeslittlemysteries.com/are-tattoos-risky-1053/

7)  "some black ink used in tattooing is animal bone burned down to charcoal while the “carrier” solution in the ink may contain glycerin derived from animal fat. "

http://ezinearticles.com/?Tattoo-Ink-Controversy---Risks-and-Dangers&id=808953

9)  "People with tattoos are nine times more likely to be infected with hepatitis C according

to a recent study by Robert Haley, MD, Chief of Epidemiology at the University of Texas

Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas."

http://www.childrens-mercy.org/Content/uploadedFiles/mayjun03.pdf

10)  "Other problems associated with body art were toxic shock syndrome, tetanus, venereal ulcers, tuberculosis and a host of skin diseases..."

http://www.globalhealingcenter.com/health-risks-warning-on-body-art.html

 

Still want to get that tatoo?  If you do, be VEWY VEWY careful.

Author: Denise L.