Multi.Colored—tattooed people, tattoo dreams

I sometimes get asked how much my tattoos cost. Since they were all done several years ago, the prices I paid then won’t
really be applicable now, but in any case I always say they were worth every penny.

Let’s face it, folks: The best tattoo artists are not going to give their art away. They’ve spent years perfecting their craft, and their talents ought to be appreciated in more than just eyeball time. If you have an artist in mind, and you can’t afford their current rates, don’t try to haggle. It’s insulting to the artist and will likely result in your getting shown the door, permanently. If you don’t have the money now, then it’s time to start saving your pennies. You’re going to be decorating your body with something you’ll have to live with for the rest of your life. Do you want to spend the rest of your life advertising just how cheap you were? Do you want to settle for a second-rate (or worse) tattoo just because the artist’s prices were low? Sure, many people are so thrilled by the idea of getting a tattoo that they want to get it done as fast as possible, but there’s where the old “Act in haste, repent at leisure” saying comes into play in full force.

Most reputable artists will be happy to give you an estimate, based on their hourly rate and the complexity of the design you want. Try to find out when the shop is least busy, and stop by then to discuss your artwork. If you just want to pick some flash off the wall or get a cartoon character on your butt, it probably won’t take more than an hour of the artist’s time (perhaps even less) and you’ll pay accordingly. Your own custom design would be the next step up the ladder, and the artist can give you an idea of how long it will take to apply and how much it is likely to cost. But if you want a custom design by the artist, you’re going to be paying for his or her talent, his or her time to create the design, your time with the artist approving or modifying the design, and then the hourly cost for the actual ink.

And no matter how much that costs, it will be a bargain. You’re getting a precious jewel that will last a lifetime.

So if you want to be a classy, artistic, well-decorated multicolored person, don’t be cheap.

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I’m taking a night class, catching up on stuff I wanted to learn a long time ago. It’s an elementary machine shop class, and I usually get partnered with a man who’s about my age, who reminds me a lot of the character “Monk.”

Besides wanting to jump in and do everything for me, he apparently gets the heebie-jeebies looking at some of the other students in the class who are covered with various kinds of body art. Last night in class I was chatting with a (much younger) classmate who showed up with a septum piercing for the first time (or so I thought). It was one of those big silver horseshoe shaped rings that hangs down over the upper lip. I hadn’t noticed it before, so I asked if it was something new, and the young man smiled and said no, he’d had it for years, he just usually tucked the ring up inside his nose when he was in class. We chatted about that for a bit and then he moved off to work on something.

And that’s when “Mr. Monk” told me that he thinks that the way people decorate their bodies is a sure indication of their character. The implication being that people with big nose rings are in some way deficient.

I, of course, immediately let him know that I’m a tattooed person, and that I’d chosen to have my tattoos in places that could be covered up fairly easily, mainly because other people sometimes have a problem. Alas, I think I was being far too subtle.

Are our body decorations an indication of character? Well, perhaps to the extent that we multicolored people are independent thinkers who don’t want to just settle for whatever skin we happened to be given by Mother Nature. I don’t really understand why other people have a problem with body art–but then again, I don’t understand why my father said I couldn’t get my ears pierced because it would “look cheap” either.

I have been thinking about getting a more visible tattoo, probably a bracelet. The main things that have been holding me back are the cost of good tattoo work (I don’t mind paying it, it’s just that I don’t have anything in the budget right now) and the idea that it might be a problem for a potential employer. Yes, even at my age, and after taking early retirement from my last job, I still think about some HR person catching a glimpse of a tattoo and resolving to run my application through the shredder ASAP.

We have to wear protective clothing in the shop, but only on the upper half. Soon’s the weather gets warmer I’m switching to capris so at least my Egyptian ankle will show. And “Mr. Monk” is just going to have to like it or lump it. Perhaps an averse reaction to body art is an indicator of character too!

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A lot of people get their start in body art by drawing on their own skin with ballpoint pens (or having their more artistic friends draw on them). I had a little flower drawn in green ballpoint ink on the inside of my left ankle for several years. I’d just re-draw it every time it got washed off. My daughter had an extremely elaborate abstract pattern on her arm when she was in high school–apparently that was a good way to fill time in boring classes.

I recently read a post on the about.com tattoo/bodypiercing forums (a link to their home page is under “resources” on the right) whose son had actually tattooed himself with a ballpoint pen. The parent’s concern was whether ballpoint ink was toxic; the kid’s was that after he put the ink on himself he decided he didn’t like it. (It is said that a person who represents himself or herself in court has a fool for a client; seems that some people who tattoo themselves have fools for artists, too.)

From everything I have read, ballpoint ink used in the USA is not toxic, but nowadays who knows where the ink is actually manufactured? I sure wouldn’t want to take a chance on ink manufactured in China out of who knows what kind of industrial waste. It might be OK for a temporary design on top of the skin, but injected into the skin? No WAY. Ballpoint ink is pigment dissolved in solvent, and you’d have to be nuts to want solvent punched into your skin.

And there doesn’t seem to be any consensus about whether ballpoint ink can be laser-removed like tattoo ink. The pigments are different. There’s the solvent to consider. It may well be that this particular adolescent folly is there for good. If the kid hates it now while he’s still in school, just think how he’ll feel about it later when he (presumably) grows up.

I think this is yet another example of why people should think before they ink!

photo credit: awrose

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Even though tattooed people are highly individual, there are a lot of tattoo designs that show up more often than others. People like hearts and flowers and butterflies and stars and military symbols. They like dogs and religious symbols and tattoos that show they love their mothers. They like dragons and Celtic knots and abstract tribal designs.

But what about the ones that are more offbeat? Like a bar code, or an outline silhouette of a person with an arrow pointing to the tattoo’s location and the caption YOU ARE HERE. How about a tattoo that looks like a window through the person, or an open wound, or that contains deliberately misspelled words?

My own tattoos are a combination of the common and the offbeat. My first tattoo was a “swoosh” of seven stars amongst multicolored dots. (Yes, I had a reason for wanting that, but it’s really too personal to explain.) My second was a dragon, which is a common motif, but I adapted it into an abstract, multicolored design to at least make it a bit less common. And my third was a scarab and Eye of Horus, which was later expanded into a larger Egyptian-themed design. I felt it was important to make my designs as uncommon as I am.

But yet, I have seen lovely work done with standard flash. Those pictures are on the tattoo parlor walls for a reason. They are tried and true. And of course the artist is free to adapt a standard flash design to make it a bit more original while it’s being applied. But truthfully, if a person wants the Marine Corps symbol or a classic butterfly, no need to reinvent the wheel, so to speak.

So which do you think is best–a completely original new design, or a good piece of standard flash?
photo credit: graphic.ward

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I should begin by saying that the health issues I’ll conclude with in today’s post are very, very uncommon.

Which is a good thing, because they really are the worst that can happen: Tetanus, MRSA, hepatitis and HIV. All of them come from unclean conditions and a lack of proper precautions. While no one can guarantee 100% that you won’t end up with serious health problems from getting tattooed, starting out with a reputable artist and making sure you take care of the tattoo properly afterwards can put you pretty close to that hundred percent.

If you’re getting a homebrew, gang, or prison tattoo… you’re on your own.

Tetanus

It never dawned on me that one should be sure to have an up-to-date tetanus shot before getting a tattoo. As it happened, I had gotten one only a few years before (they are supposed to be good for ten years) so I was not at risk. But if you don’t know when your last shot was, or don’t know if you’ve ever actually had one–time to check with your doctor. People who are my age (born in the 1950s) might or might not have gotten immunized as children. People younger than that most likely got the full series of immunizations–but they have to be kept up to date and booster shots given every ten years or so for the immunity to remain strong. Getting a shot might be inconvenient, but getting tetanus is far, far worse. You don’t have to step on a rusty nail to get it. Here is the official FDA page that talks about tetanus and how to prevent it.

MRSA

MRSA is the abbreviation for “methicillin/oxacillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.” While Staphylococcus bacteria have probably been around for longer than humans have, it’s only in recent years that the antibiotic-resistant form has become common enough to be a serious health concern. It got its start in hospitals, and the most common place to get infected by it remains health-care facilities, but that doesn’t mean someone who isn’t in a hospital or nursing home can think they’re home free. “Staph” bacteria are everywhere–you’re probably carrying billions of them around right now even though you are perfectly healthy, and you may even have the MRSA variant without knowing it. It isn’t till they get into your body through a wound of some kind that they can cause problems. And guess what a tattoo is?

All kinds of staph infections produce small red bumps that can quickly turn to deep abscesses. It goes without saying that if you see anything like that, run, do not walk, to get medical attention. You don’t want to take chances with your life, because make no mistake about it, MRSA can kill you. Ask your doctor to test the wound for the presence of MRSA before prescribing treatment. Ordinary antibiotics that are used to treat staph won’t help and can make the problem far worse. Here is a good, clearly written article from the Mayo Clinic that should give you an idea of what MRSA is all about.

Hepatitis

Hepatitis comes in several variants, but the one most commonly transmitted through unclean needles is Hepatitis B. Again, if your artist uses proper sterilization procedures and the shop is kept clean, your chances of getting Hep B are pretty close to zero. However, again, since you have an open wound, contact with other people might be a problem, the more so because something like 30% of Hep B carriers have no symptoms of the disease themselves. While there is a vaccine available, many people have never been vaccinated and are thus at risk of infection. Treatment is available, but far better never to contract the disease in the first place. If you haven’t gotten the Hep B vaccine, ask your doctor about it. You will have to wait before getting your tattoo, to allow the vaccine to become effective. Here is a fact sheet from the CDC about Hepatitis B.

HIV/AIDS

The good news is that according to everything I’ve read, there has never been a reported case of HIV being spread by a tattoo parlor in the USA. Again, if you’re letting someone other than a tattoo artist in a tattoo shop where proper sterilization is practiced have his or her way with your skin, what happens to you after that is up for grabs. They may tell you it’s perfectly fine to just wipe things down with alcohol or boil them for a few minutes. Don’t fall for that. It’s obviously also not perfectly fine to just put ink on your skin and have at it with a sharp instrument. It doesn’t matter how many of those National Geographic shows you’ve seen about some teenager out in the jungle getting who-knows-what cut or punched into his or her body with no apparent concern for germs or disease, and living to tell the tale just like the people who are punching the ink or cutting the skin. You don’t have to prove yourself that way. Getting a homebrew tattoo may be inexpensive; the real cost may be your life. Here is what the CDC has to say about the risks of HIV from tattooing.

Conclusions

Avoiding health problems when you get tattooed is mostly a matter of simple common sense. Spend a little time checking things out. Don’t take risks with your newly inked skin. Keep yourself and your surroundings clean during the healing process. Make sure your immunizations are up to date. A little time spent on things like that can keep you safe from a lifetime of misery. Doesn’t it make sense to just take care?

Starting next message, I’ll talk about happier subjects.

photo credit: geishaboy500

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Most reactions to new tattoos are fairly mild, and temporary. Swelling, scabbing, weeping ink, peeling skin and itching are all normal in the aftermath of getting inked. Take common-sense precautions and all will be well.

However, there are more serious things that can happen and it is important to be aware and be prepared. Going to a reputable, clean tattoo parlor is just the first step in avoiding serious problems. The serious problems I’m going to talk about next are uncommon. But that doesn’t mean you can dismiss the possibility of it happening to you.

My skin ‘asplode?

If you notice sudden, severe swelling, pain in your joints, the appearance of hives anywhere on your body, or shortness of breath, get yourself to an emergency room, pronto. This is an indication of a severe allergic reaction and it can be life-threatening in very short order. You need medical treatment–home remedies will not do. Your doctor can decide the best course of action. Unfortunately, when the allergen is injected into the skin, treatment is more complicated than it would be if inhaled or simply came in contact with your skin and produced a reaction.

Allergic reactions can come without warning, even if you’ve been tattooed before with absolutely no problems. Our bodies get sensitized to things over time, especially with all the chemicals and crap in the environment worldwide these days. The trauma of a new open wound filled with ink may be just the last straw as far as your body’s immune system is concerned. You may be lucky and it may be a reaction to whatever ointment or antiseptic your skin was treated with–your doctor can help you figure that out.

And, of course, once you’ve gotten treatment, if the cause of the reaction is the tattoo ink, you need to have a clear understanding that you cannot risk getting tattooed again.

Weeping, oozing and more

Even if you’ve taken proper precautions, your new tattoo can still get infected. It’s one of a long list of reasons why you should say no to plastic wrap, right from the get-go. The makers of plastic wrap don’t sterilize their product, because it’s not intended to be slapped on open wounds. The plastic wrap, besides being contaminated with who-knows-what, can seal in environmental contaminants as well, long enough for them to take hold in your system and start an infection. If the artist whips out the plastic wrap, insist on having a sterile bandage instead.

It’s normal for a new tattoo to ooze and weep color for a while, sometimes for several days, as the healing process begins. But if the skin around the tattoo remains red, swollen, and hot, and if you see any evidence of blisters or pus, it’s time to seek medical advice. Catch an infection early and it can be cleared up early. If you piddle around hoping it will go away on its own, you may end up with a crater where your ink was supposed to be. Do not pick at the scabs, or pop blisters or try to squeeze out pus. You’ll just make things infinitely worse. You can try applying hot compresses (clean cloth dipped in boiled water and allowed to cool to a temperataure you can stand). Some people suggest trying a topical antibiotic, but that may or may not make a difference, since it might not be able to penetrate to where the infection is.

In any case, if there is evidence of infection, don’t try home remedies for more than a day or so at the most. You don’t want to risk ending up with damaged skin and lingering, serious problems. Should you see red streaks coming from the tattoo, or if your lymph nodes are swollen, or if you have a fever, seek medical treatment as fast as you can.

The life you save…

Many people are reluctant to go see a doctor these days, because let’s face it, medical care is expensive. But if you are having a serious problem after getting a tattoo, it is important to get medical attention as fast as you can. The cost of a visit to the ER is going to be a lot less than the cost of long-term hospitalization… or of your funeral.

These problems (allergic reaction and infection) are uncommon, especially if you’ve gone to a reputable artist and have taken proper care of your skin afterwards–but they do happen. Forewarned is forearmed, as the saying goes.

In the next post, I will take up the most serious (and, fortunately, the most uncommon) health problems that multicolored people might face.

photo credit: macwagen

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A tattoo is not just a work of art.  It’s an open wound.  Your skin has been punctured thousands of times, and foreign matter has been pushed into it and left there to stay.  Is it any wonder that most of our bodies raise objections to this?

One look at any tattoo artist’s portfolio that includes photos of brand new tattoos will show you that the entire area around a
tattoo is bright red.  This is inflammation, and shouldn’t be disregarded.  First and foremost, do not let your artist put plastic wrap on your tattoo.  It will only seal in contaminants and keep the newly punctured skin from protecting itself in the only way it knows how, by forming a scab.  Make sure the artist covers the new ink with a gauze bandage.  Although most artists say you can take the bandage off when you get home, my own personal recommendation is that you leave it on overnight.  That will keep your new ink from being rubbed by whatever you sleep in, or your sheets.
It’s very likely that the skin around and under your tattoo will be swollen after the work is done.  This is a normal reaction to trauma, and it should go away after at most a day or so.  If the swelling increases, or won’t go away, it’s time to see a doctor. You may be having a serious reaction to the ink, the artist’s latex gloves, the ointment or cream that you’ve been using on the skin, or something else.  It may be that you’re finding out the hard way about an allergy you knew nothing about up till then.  (I found out about the fact that my body doesn’t like red ink like that.)

Since the tattoo process punctures the skin, it’s almost inevitable that you will bleed while the work is being done.  Any reputable artist knows how to deal with that and will wipe your skin with something that will clear away the blood.  The liquid used varies from artist to artist.  Some use plain distilled water, some use an antiseptic of some kind.  It would be a good idea to ask the artist what he or she uses so you will know if you react to it.  Your skin will probably continue to bleed a little bit after the tattoo is finished.  If it’s still bleeding more than 24 hours later, call the artist and see what he or she recommends.

The oozing usually continues for several days.  While you don’t want to rebandage the inked area after you’ve taken off the bandage, it’s a good idea to wear old clothing that you won’t worry about if the ink comes off a bit or if the clothing gets oozed on.  When I was getting ready to have my dragon tattoo put on my back, I went to the local thrift shop and bought several shirts for a couple bucks each.  They all buttoned up rather than pulled over my head, and had busy enough patterns that if the shirt got oozed on, it wouldn’t be glaringly apparent.  I wore those shirts while the healing process was going on.  They were nice enough to wear to work, but for a couple bucks apiece I could consider them disposable if need be.

And the new tattoo is going to itch while it’s healing.  Don’t scratch.  :)   Seriously, you do not want to do anything that might pull off or crack the newly formed scab.  Some people say to just slap the area lightly.  That does work.  You could also use a topical antiseptic/anaesthetic like Bactine Pain Relieving Antiseptic Spray.

Those are the most common and least dangerous health issues that newly tattooed people encounter.  In the next post I’ll take up less common but more serious things to be concerned about.
photo credit: kitsune tsuki
photo credit: rbatina

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It pretty much goes without saying that you’ll be a lot happier with your tattoo if you’ve done a bit of “homework” in advance. After you’ve decided on your artist, go visit the shop.

Don’t just look at the flash on the walls or the artist’s portfolio and walk out after picking a design. There are more important things to look at, believe it or not.

• Is the shop clean? Do the floors look like they’re washed, and is the furniture in good shape? What does the artist’s work area look like? Can you see debris lying around? What does the waiting area look like?
• Is smoking allowed in the shop? In some states smoking is prohibited in all places of business, but if your state isn’t among them, and there are smokers in the shop, you might be better off going somewhere else. Tobacco smoke puts all kinds of noxious chemicals and particulates into the air and it’s impossible to keep them from spreading throughout the whole interior. You don’t want that stuff being imbedded in your skin along with the ink.
• Are the inks dispensed into single-use containers that are discarded after each tattoo? Are the needles used on one person only, and discarded in a proper “sharps” container after use?
• Does the shop have proper sterilization equipment, especially an autoclave? No reputable tattoo artist will object if you ask about sanitary procedures.
• Is the tattoo equipment covered with plastic during the procedure and is that discarded afterwards? Blood is shed during tattooing, and you don’t want the artist using equipment that has been used unprotected on someone else.
• If possible, stick around long enough to see how the artist cleans up his or her work area after the tattoo is finished. All surfaces should be wiped down with disinfectant and all materials should be put away and ink cups discarded. An extra half hour watching the artist might save you a lifetime of grief afterwards.

If you’re sure you’re in good shape and the shop is clean, you’ve taken the most important steps toward getting a safe tattoo. But sometimes, things happen that you can’t prepare for. I’ll talk about those in the next posts.

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When we think about “health issues” associated with tattoos, the first things that come to mind are serious stuff like hepatitis and major infections. While those issues must be high on anyone’s list of cautions, tattooed people are more likely to have other, less major problems that can be avoided or lessened by simply taking time to think things through.

In the beginning…. you.

Don’t set foot in the tattoo parlor before you take stock of your own health. Do you have a chronic illness like diabetes, or an autoimmune disorder like rheumatoid arthritis? Do you have nickel allergies, or a tendency to form keloids? Do you catch colds often or get sick easily? None of that can absolutely prevent you from getting a tattoo (I say, as a multicolored Type 2 diabetic with nickel allergies) but don’t put yourself at risk by pretending you’re perfectly fine and sailing right on in to the shop.

If you have a chronic problem, chances are you’re well aware of how you react, but let me go into some detail here: Diabetics take a lot longer to heal. People with RA risk pushing themselves into a flare-up by doing things that challenge their immune systems (and a tattoo is an open wound that your immune system must heal). Some tattoo inks cause reactions in people with nickel allergies. And a person who forms keloids is almost certainly going to end up with keloids under the ink. People who get sick easily may have compromised immune systems even if they have no more serious disease.

So don’t be lah-di-dah about the risks. You know how your body reacts. (It might help to check with your doctor, but some doctors are against tattoos on general principles and will tell you no even if it might be OK for you to proceed with caution. A second opinion might not hurt.) Do some research, and make sure that you are in optimum health. You don’t want to walk out of the shop with a new tattoo and a major health problem as well.

And for heaven’s sake don’t lie to your tattoo artist or “forget” to inform him or her about your health. If the artist feels that tattooing you would be too risky and declines, pay attention to the reasons. Don’t argue about it. The artist has been through this a lot more than you have.

A word about allergies

I mentioned nickel allergies, which may cause problems with blue and green inks. Red ink seems to be a very common allergen as well, but unfortunately there is no way to predict whether you’ll react to it. If you’re concerned, and your design has a lot of red in it, it might help to go in at least 24 hours in advance and ask the artist to put a small dot of red ink in some inconspicuous place to see how you’ll react.

One of the most common allergies you might have to contend with when getting a tattoo is an allergy to latex. Artists commonly wear latex gloves. If you have a latex allergy, you can ask your artist to wear something else. You may want to let the artist know about this when you make your appointment, so he or she can be prepared with nitrile or other gloves.

And if you’re allergic to fish oil, check to see what your artist uses on a finished tattoo. Some common ointments contain cod liver oil and may give you a serious reaction if applied to your skin.

Getting a tattoo can be a profoundly satisfying experience, and a lot of us multicolored people have found that just one tattoo is nowhere near enough. But it’s just plain stupid to put your life at risk. If your health is under control and you’ve been honest with your artist… well, the multicolored world awaits you.

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Well… I don’t happen to believe in astrology, myself, so the “sign” I refer to is a gravatar.  Mine is the logo I created for myself 40+ years ago, to sign my artwork.   I don’t see it on many other sites, yet, but I think it’s a pretty neat idea.

Never a dull moment on the internet. 

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