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By infmom, March 5, 2008 11:55 am

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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By infmom, March 4, 2008 11:55 am

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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By infmom, March 3, 2008 1:46 pm

Tomorrow, I’ll start a series on health issues for tattooed people. In doing research for this, I found a few issues that I had not thought of before, and hadn’t discussed in previous posts.

I discussed the possible problems one might encounter earlier in the context of getting a first tattoo, but there are some things we multicolored people need to be very careful about, whether it’s a first tattoo or one of a dozen.

With MRSA, especially, becoming more of a nationwide problem, it pays to be informed. Watch this space.

photo credit: Alex Campos ♂

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By infmom, January 25, 2008 12:29 pm

There was a recent news item about people getting shot at a tattoo party in a hotel room. It’s tragic to think of people’s lives being jeopardized because they were in the proverbial wrong place at the wrong time… which led me to think about whether a tattoo party is ever the “right place” to be.

Let’s face it, folks, getting a tattoo is not in the same league as buying cosmetics or plastic containers. You are asking someone to create an open wound on your body and fill it full of ink. You take enough risks having this done in a clean environment with properly sterilized equipment. Do you really want to take a chance on getting inked in a room full of who-knows-what kind of germs, with an artist whose equipment can’t be properly sterilized? Do you want to be the tenth person in a row, when the artist is getting tired? Do you want your ink to be some kind of quickie job because there are ten other people waiting in line?

Excuse me while I shudder.

Now, people who have read through this blog so far will, I’m sure, point out that I personally got an unplanned tattoo at a big tattoo show in the bowels of the Queen Mary, which is hardly a hospital suite. And that’s a legitimate objection. At least the artists at the show had to go to mandatory classes on hygiene and safety, and they had their autoclaves and other sterilization tools there with them. But yes, I took a risk, the more so because the artist was from out of town and if something went wrong, all I had was a long-distance call.

Do a Google search on “tattoo party” and take a look at what turns up. The emphasis is on fun and doing the latest in thing. No one seems to think about the germs in the surroundings, or the ethical integrity of an artist who’d be willing to go along with the idea of a tattoo party, or whether he or she is playing hooky from a legitimate shop to get paid under the table.

I read about.com’s body-art boards (see the link under “Resources”) on a regular basis, and their host Karen Hudson has wise advice for everyone. Do yourself a favor and check it out.

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By infmom, December 28, 2007 12:49 pm

When I got my most recent tattoo, I certainly didn’t expect it to be the last one I ever got. However, the healing process was unusually slow, and it’s only now (more than two years after the fact) that the swelling and itching under the red ink has finally subsided.

I had pretty much made up my mind that it would be a bad idea to get more ink, since I had (and have) no way of knowing what exactly I reacted to. And that was dismaying. Because tattoos are addictive. (The photo at left shows my dragon, which also remained itchy under the red parts for quite a while after application).

But since it seems that I do evetually heal, I’m thinking about getting a visible tattoo this time around. My other three are usually concealed by my clothes. I’m proud of being a multicolored person and I’d like to show off my ink on a more regular basis, but really, the only practical way to do that is to get another tattoo.

To show or not to show?

I’m considering a sleeve, an armband or a bracelet. My daughter has an armband that she designed herself, and I’ve always admired it. I wouldn’t get something quite as elaborate as hers (which includes a picture of her great-grandmother’s totem animal, the red-tailed hawk) but I would definitely have a talented artist design it (and, of course, pay her for her skills). That would be a reasonable compromise between visibility, size, and price.

But on the other hand, the idea of a bracelet appeals to me too. I never wore “real” bracelets much till fairly recently, but now I find myself picking one out nearly every day. Would I do as well with a permanent one? The older I get, the fewer real constraints there are on visible ink placement, and a bracelet would certainly be visible.

I suppose I’ll have to come up with a design with no red ink in it, just to be safe. Oh, and find a local artist. That’s going to be the fun part.

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By infmom, November 20, 2007 12:12 pm

As I mentioned before, I am one of the many people who is sensitive to nickel.

I don’t know whether it’s all because my first pierced earrings were cheap, because up till the time I got my ears pierced, I seldom wore much jewelry. I’ve been trying to think back before that to remember if I ever got the itchies from something I wore, and I just don’t remember.

I had a nice neck chain that was supposed to be “rhodium plated” that made my neck itch like nobody’s business, but I think I got that after I had my ears done. I know I owned it in the same town we lived in when I got my ears pierced for the first time, but that’s as close as I can come on the timeline. Rhodium is related to platinum and it is supposed to be nonallergenic. Whether the manufacturer of the chain was a bit less than honest about the contents of the plating or whether I truly do react to rhodium, I don’t know. I have avoided rhodium plated jewelry like the plague ever since.

Of new holes and old

I got the first ear piercings done when I was sixteen. Two friends and I went to a local doctor’s office to have it done, and we were told to bring our own earrings. Foolishly, I trusted my mother to buy the earrings for me, and she just flat-out didn’t listen to the instructions. I was suposed to have plain gold balls. She bought daisies, made of who knows what. By the time I saw what she’d bought, it was too late to get replacements. The result of that was pretty much a foregone conclusion–I got horrible red crusty patches behind the earrings and ended up having to take them out and put lengths of nylon guitar string through the holes to keep them open while they healed enough to put new earrings in. Ugh.

However, those holes have stayed with me all these years and have never closed up. I can’t say the same for the second set of ear piercings I got. Of course, I got the second set done at an earring shop, with a piercing gun. I don’t think most people knew what a bad idea that was, at the time. Those holes tend to close up if I don’t wear earrings for more than a few days, which is a real nuisance.

The third ear piercings are right next to where the cartilage begins, on the outer edge of my ear. They were done by a professional piercer and (as one would expect) caused me the least pain and the fewest problems. Those holes don’t close up, but they do narrow down.

On finding good earrings

When you’ve got nickel allergy, finding good earrings isn’t always easy. Even the ones labeled “for sensitive ears” sometimes give me problems. I’ve had horrible reactions from ear posts labeled “surgical stainless steel.” On our recent vacation I wore one such pair by mistake and arrived at our destination with the second ear holes hurting and mostly swollen shut. Sigh. I have gold earrings from Tiffany’s in New York, that my aunt gave to me, that I can’t wear without coating the posts with clear nail polish. It seems as though neither price nor material is any guarantee.

So what do I wear when I want to be sure nothing’s going to happen? Titanium ear studs from the Fire Mountain Gems catalog. They don’t hurt. They don’t itch. The problem is, they are small and rather blah looking (even though they come in several colors). I need to find a source for more decorative, guaranteed nonallergenic earrings. If you can’t find ‘em at Tiffany’s, where on earth can you go?

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By infmom, October 19, 2007 12:16 am

One of the free e-newsletters I get is from Bottom Line, purveyors of all kinds of interesting information. This one is called Daily Health News, and you can check it out here if you’re interested.

Nickel, a common culprit

Today’s newsletter dealt with the fact that allergy to nickel is becoming more and more common in the USA today. A sensitivity to nickel most often causes a raised, itchy skin rash, which can be quite severe. People can go along for years, coming in contact with nickel through their jewelry, and then all of a sudden they’ve got a rash under their treasured watch or ring or earrings like you wouldn’t believe. It can also, as I can attest, happen if you’ve got bare skin up against the inside of the snap in your jeans.

I got sensitized to nickel when I got my ears pierced for the first time 40 years ago. In those days, you just bought gold earrings of some kind and put them in while the piercings were healing and hoped for the best. My starter earrings weren’t that good. I got a crusty rash while the holes were healing (and had the unenviable task of pulling those first earrings out while the holes were only partway healed, and replacing them with other earrings that I had to sterilize myself as best I could). Forever after, I have had a reaction to nickel in anything that touches my skin for any length of time. (Clear nail polish makes a reasonable coating for earrings that you just can’t give up.)

Related metal allergens in tattoo ink

What I hadn’t known, and found most interesting, is that people with nickel sensitivity may also show a reaction to some kinds of tattoo ink. It is most common with green and blue inks, which contain chromium and cobalt. So if your watch band drives you nuts, you might have problems with your tattoos as well.

Just something to think about. We decorated people have to watch out for our health.

I’ve just summarized the article briefly, here, so if you want to read more I’d suggest checking out the Bottom Line Secrets Daily Health News web site.

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By infmom, March 31, 2007 10:46 pm

I was just watching an episode of “American Chopper” where (among other things) the guys from “Miami Ink” came to the OCC headquarters to give some of the guys tattoos.

First thing they did when they got done inking Rick was tape a big patch of plastic wrap over the tattoo on his back. Aiieee!

Bad, bad idea. I know that plastic wrap is very popular at many shops (and I ended up with a patch of it myself, over the
dragon on my back). But I’ve learned a bit more about it, and the latest thinking is that it’s just asking for trouble to slap that stuff on fresh ink.

For one thing, your skin is going to “weep” for quite a while after the tattoo is done. With plastic wrap stuck to your skin, that substance that you’re weeping has nowhere to go. It will accumulate under the wrap and then drizzle out wherever it can. This will concentrate all that liquid, and ink, and whatever germs are present, somewhere at the edge of the plastic wrap, and it will almost certainly leak out and get all over something.

And if it doesn’t leak, it will sit there on your skin and recirculate all the germs until you peel it off. Heaven only knows what will be growing in there by the time you get into the shower to wash your newly inked skin.

Ask your artist to please put a bandage on your skin rather than the plastic wrap. Any reputable artist will do that. You don’t need to give a reason or do anything more than make the request.

Every artist has his or her own timetable for the removal of the bandage after the ink, but if you think about it–the best time to remove the bandage is the next morning after the tattoo. Because you definitely do not want that newly inked skin sticking to either your sheets or whatever you wear to sleep in.

So restrain your curiosity, keep the plastic wrap off your skin, and leave that bandage in place till after your first night’s sleep–then carefully remove it and wash with soap that doesn’t contain a whole bunch of extra chemicals that might make you break out in hives. If you don’t have anything like that, stop by the store on the way home from the tattoo parlor and buy yourself a bar of Ivory. It’s just cheap insurance for your ink.

photo credit: harryalverson

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