Get the big picture before getting ‘small’ tattoo
I am 53 years old and I’ve never had a tattoo. I resisted the urge to get an ear pierced when it was the thing for hip, middle-age men to do. But I don’t think that I can resist the urge for a small, inconspicuous tattoo. I’m thinking about it now because recently there was a story in the Handle Extra about the tattoo artist at Skinny Boy Tattoo in Coeur d’Alene.
Also, my daughter turns 18 in December and on her list of things to do once “Mom and Dad can’t say no” is to get a tattoo. Actually, I’m all for it – a small, inconspicuous tattoo. Oddly enough, her mother, the same person who overrode my veto of a tongue piercing, which I can demonstrate with many medical articles is a dangerous thing to do, is “like totally” against the tattoo.
That may stem in part from the picture that appeared on the refrigerator some time ago of one of those all-the-way-across-the lower-back tattoos that so many teen girls seem to be getting. Remember, Christine, I’m OK with a small and inconspicuous tattoo. Plus, I’m armed with another piece of medical information that changes the whole perspective on tattoos.
Tattoos have come a long way since Popeye got an anchor scratched on his arm. If you are careful in selecting your tattoo artist, the tattoo really can be a work of art, with intricate detail and multicolored designs – and the colors are truly amazing. Tattoos are no longer simply black lines forming letters and pictures. Now the designs can be filled in with all sorts and varying shades of color.
The tattoo can become a talisman, make an important personal statement, or just be aesthetically pleasing. The results can truly be something to be proud of, if they are initially well thought through so that you have an enduring symbol of your personality, and not just an embarrassing reminder of a passing fancy. In this age of shifting and drifting relationships, I’d recommend against getting your boyfriend’s name stenciled on your breast. It may cause problems later.
Years ago, I had an older female client who had her eyebrows and eyelids tattooed to avoid having to apply makeup. They had not aged well – actually, neither had she. Similarly I have seen many World War II-era men with tattoos that were no longer legible.
At 53, that shouldn’t be a problem for me, I figure. The key is small and inconspicuous. So it won’t be on my arm or on my neck. But it also won’t be on my back, because I want to be able to see it. In fact, I’ll probably be the only one to see it. I think I’ll have it placed on the front part of my left shoulder. Then I can easily see it in the mirror.
The other bit of medical information I had mentioned will take a lot of the risk out of a bad decision. I recently heard an interview on National Public Radio with a dermatologist from Harvard University, Dr. Rox Anderson, who has helped develop laser techniques for tattoo removal.
Based on removal problems he often encounters with traditional inks, he and his colleagues have developed their own tattoo ink composed of medically safe pigments. They have placed the ink in a polymer, a type of liquid plastic which the body cannot break down, so the tattoo is as enduring as ever. This polymer has been FDA-approved for implantation.
With a single laser treatment, however, the polymer is destroyed and the body will begin to absorb the biodegradable ink. In a short time, the tattoo simply fades away. According to the company, Freedom-2, which will be marketing the ink in 2007, it will “provide a level of safety that has previously not existed in the tattoo market, and a freedom for tattoo wearers to change their mind.”
Unfortunately, there are real risks in getting a tattoo. As is the case with any contaminated needle, tattoo needles may transmit diseases such as hepatitis, tuberculosis and even HIV. Bacterial infections, allergic reactions, skin thickening and scarring are all possible outcomes without the proper sterile technique or a medically safe ink. Some inks have even been found to contain toxic or carcinogenic compounds.
By far the biggest problem, however, is future dissatisfaction with the tattoo. Surveys vary, but from 17 to 50 percent of Americans with tattoos would like to have them removed. A prominent tattoo is a serious thing to be unhappy with. These days you can change spouses more easily than you can remove a tattoo. How would you like to be stuck with the same hairdo and clothes from 20 or 30 years ago? That’s not funny!
Remember, small and inconspicuous. By the way, I recommend the same for relationships, but that’s another story.