February 2009 Archives

One of the greatest things about tattoos is that you have control over every aspect of the tattooing process. From what your tattoo design will be and where you want your tattoo to reside for the rest of your life. Well this all may change for the state of Oklahoma. Oklahoma is taking serous action against getting one body part considered illegal to get tattooed. The body part they are trying so hard to make illegal getting tattooed is the white part of the eyeball. A Senate panel has already passed the bill to prohibited this body part from being tattooed, all that is needed now to make it official is to have the full Senate pass the bill.

However, lawmakers are quick to admit that this practice of tattooing the white part of the eyeball has not caught on by too many citizens of the state of Oklahoma.  Several do fear this practice may caught on in their beloved state, due to the fact that several people living on both east and west coasts have eye tattoos.

Besides the awful pain and discomfort a tattoo in this area would cause it can also cause an even worse reaction, blindness. Ophthalmologist's say this procedure is very dangerous and should not be able to be practiced. It not only can cause loss of vision but it is also susceptible to easy infection. So if you live in the state of Oklahoma and are dead set on getting a tattoo on your eye then you will more than likely have to travel out of the state to get this tattoo done.

Last month we talked about the tattoo removal using the laser tattoo removal process. But aside fro lasers, there are other options on getting rid of that one ugly tattoo you don't like.

Here are your four options for getting rid of the tattoo you now hate:

1. Cover up tattoo
2. Excision
3. Dermabrasion
4. Lasers

Cover up tattoo

If you still want to have a tattoo, just not that one, you should consider covering it with a bigger, gnarlier tattoo. The obvious problem is that you have to think of one that will cover the old one and that you will like better so that you don't have to get rid of it five years down the road. Therefore, this decision is even more difficult than your first tattoo was, because you have to choose something that either incorporates or blocks out the old tattoo. Them's some parameters. Your tattoo artist should be of help here, if you've found a good one by now.

Cover-ups are about the same cost as getting a new tattoo (see Can you afford it? in section 2) except that it will almost always be custom work. It will probably take longer, too, as the work must be done very carefully.

Excision

Cut that sucker right out of there. You get a physician to remove the skin with the tattoo and suture the sides together. It's relatively cheap, but it won't work on really large tattoos and it will definitely leave a noticeable scar. There are two ways to remove a tattoo through excision. First, a physician can place a small balloon under the skin which is inflated so that the tattooed skin gradually stretches. When it has stretched out enough, the physician cuts the skin and stitches it up, leaving a thin scar. Second, the physician can simply cut out the skin in small patches and sew it together, which can create significant scarring.

Dermabrasion

This is fairly nasty. The skin is scraped or "sandpapered" off or, alternatively but no more appealingly, chemicals are applied, after which the skin is peeled off. This is time-consuming, but it scars less than excision and it costs less than lasers.

Lasers

This is probably the best method, as laser technology has improved significantly. It doesn't hurt and it has a pretty good success rate. However, it costs a lot and it can still cause scarring or discoloration of the skin. A laser removal session usually costs about $300 and it can take five or more sessions to remove a tattoo. Lasers are less effective at removing lighter colors such as green or yellow, so if your tattoo contains those you could be looking at a lot of money and a lot of hours in the chair. Most laser removal specialists will provide you with a free initial consultation, in which they will tell you how much the removal is likely to cost.

Peace be with you, friends, as you select, get, and remove your very own tattoo. And if, after reading this article, our sage advice has led to your decision not to get a tattoo, peace be with you too. Get a nose ring instead.

Kanjis and Japanese inspired tattoos are one of the most popular styles of tattoos according to a recent tattoo survey. Most people who think about getting a kanji tattoo are under the mistaken belief that you can translate Japanese symbols directly from English into kanji. This lack of awareness hasn't stopped an increasing number of people from getting Japanese characters tattooed onto their bodies and sometimes regretting it after they discover that their kanji doesn't mean what they thought it did.
Here's a video of one of the more desirable ways to translate English names to Japanese kanji.

Tattoos have always been used as a means to identify members with particular gangs. Members use tattoos for several reasons. Some members will have numerous tattoos, particularly if they have spent time in prison. These tattoos may include one or more symbols that has been adopted as something unique to identify it's members.

Tattoos such as a tear drop under an eye or a spider web represent prison time. Many members will have their name tattooed in large bold letters so that rival members will be intimidated. For the uninitiated wearing an unauthorized tattoo could be very dangerous particularly in prison. Prison inmates have been known to remove unauthorized tattoos from non members by literally cutting the tattoo off the person's flesh.

Some members in particular take pride in branding themselves as outside of the boundaries of conventional society. Tattoos are also used to express their often nihilistic philosophy. Gangsta style tattoos popularized by rappers are often done in a black and gray style and depict firearms, bullets, secret letters and numbers, in old English or gothic script. It is common to have the name of the person tattooed on the back of the neck or have a motto tattooed on the chest.

It is clear that tattoos have been adopted by mainstream society even though not too many middle-class wannabes are willing to get facial tattoos, or tattoos on their hands - practices common amongst members.

But although gang members try to use tattoos to separate themselves from mainstream society, the effect it has had on the young hip middle class is undeniable. Teenagers who may have no idea of these symbols' original meaning are now wearing tattoos which were originally worn by gang members as badges of honor.

source: offbeatink.com

Thinking about getting a tattoo? Before you go and get inked, know what to look for in a tattoo shop by taking a look at important tips from the pros.

Check the Tattoo Shop Appearance

If I was going into a shop, the first thing I would do is appearance - the very, very first. When you're looking for a shop, you want to definitely go in and make sure it's a nice clean studio and that they're certified with the local board of health, which do inspections to make sure everything is up to par. If it smells bad, or looks bad, I would definitely turn around and leave.

That means no food, no drink, no cosmetics, no animals, anything. No smoking. And make sure that's always kept clean - you want to bag your machines, keep your area clean. After one customer is done, you dispose of everything that's disposable - you get rid of it, you throw it in the trash. And then you clean your room with betacide and let that soak, and you just want to make sure it's safe and well-lit for the next person.

Ask About Tattooing Equipment

Everyone has their own particular equipment they think about - needles and tubes, the machines, power supplies, and supplies - all of our razors are throwaway razors. The ink-caps are throw away, the aprons and baggies are all one single use. The inks are different - a lot of them are organic inks that are safe that they use. They always put it into a cup and it's thrown away when they're done.

Find Tattoo Shops Through Referrals

Referrals are really important to me because that's how you build up your clientele base. If you're not very good, and you're not good people, people aren't going to refer you. And sooner or later, if you're not any good - if you're bad with people - they'll know that.

Note the Tattoo Artist's Demeanor

You should look for people being courteous, kind, and help you with any kind of questions you might have concerning your tattoo. I would think that they'd be very knowledgeable if you have questions about your after care and that type of thing. And they should be willing to work with you and draw, and be able to help you out with whatever you want.

Don't Assume Anything

When you're looking for a shop, it's really important not to assume anything until you go in. Check for it being clean, and well lit, and they have really nice artwork, and seem compassionate about what they do, then I would say that would be the way to go.

source: About.com

You've saved up your money. You've made up your mind. You make the appointment. You show the tattoo artist a piece of paper with the words you'd like tattooed written on it. They draw up the transfer and put it on your skin. You look at the design and placement in the mirror and sit down to have it inked. But then when you're done and showing it off to your friends, one of them points out there is a misspelling in one of the words. Whose fault is that now: yours or the tattoo artists?

This is one of those debates that surfaces from time to time, and the latest occurrence is due to an instance in Chicago. Jade Dragon Tattoo has now been served with a second lawsuit in the last year and a half over a misspelling in someone's tattoo. In the first instance, a man got a tattoo that read "CHI-TONW" instead of "CHI-TOWN." In the most recent case, a man wanting the phrase "Tomorrow Never Promised Today. John P. R.I.P." wound up with an extra "m" leaving him with the word "tommorrow."

The other cases you hear similar to this are when people get tattooed with Japanese kanji, Chinese characters or some language not their native tongue and something goes wrong. David Beckham's Hindi tattoo of wife Victoria's name is purported to have an extra "h" in the spelling. Britney Spears got a Hebrew tattoo on her neck as part of her Kabbalah fascination that was supposed to read "new era" but the Hebrew letters were put in the wrong order, leaving the tattoo reading as gibberish. (It's since been lasered off).

Clearly, it's the sort of mistake that can happen to anyone, from the common man to a world-famous celebrity. Even the word "tattoo" have been misspelled by many as "tatoo", "tattos", "tatoos", or "tatto." However, the debate over who is responsible for such things is still up in the air. Tattoo artists claim that they do exactly what is requested of them by the paying client. The tattooed customers complain that for the high-price of tattoos, a second opinion on the spelling should be included.

To save yourself some embarrassment and lawyer's fees, take a few simple steps before committing to ink. If you want to get a phrase tattooed on you, take the time to look up any words you are unsure of in a dictionary. For tattoos in a language that are not your own, have someone who can speak, read and write the language fluently check the translation and writing of the tattoo. Both of those things take only a bit of time, and are so much easier than a lawsuit and less painful than laser removal.

Is it true that you can't have an MRI if you have tattoos? Generally speaking, it's safe to have magnetic resonance imaging or MRI if you have tattoos. However there are a few things you should consider.

Reports have been widely circulated, concerning burns in tattooed areas-dark black tattoos in particular-during MRI scans. It's unknown how often the problem occurs but, the magnetic field and radio waves that MRI uses to created detailed cross-sectional images of your body may have been the cause.

Researchers suspect that the burns are related to the potentially magnetic iron oxide component in some black tattoo inks, which conducts electricity and heated during an MRI.

If you need to go under an MRI, tell your doctor about your tattoo. More likely your doctor may recommend placing ice packs or cool compresses over your tattoos during MRI. 

Back tattoos have been a mainstay on the tattoo business as personal favorites of a lot of customers since way back. So here are some of back tattoo pictures I found over the web

Fine art tattooist and legend  Don Ed Hardy filed a lawsuit against designer Christian Audigier for over $100 million in damages for various cases, including trademark infringement, breach of contract, unfair competition and cybersquatting.

Hardy claimed that Audigier did not pay  the promised amounts in the licensing agreement, moreover Audigier  also violated sub-licensing clauses by making deals against the terms of their contract. Hardy terminated the contract last August 2008 but Audigier continued to distribute the brand in violation of Hardy's trademark.


source: www.needled.com/blog/

For those who love playing cards  and wish to express their undying love for the game, card suits are always a hit for them. This simple red and black tattoo design I found over the web recently shows the four card symbols on the knuckles.

Here's a video of Kat Von D working on Virgin Mary, design a religious icon. Kat used to be a mainstay crew at the Miami Ink reality show for two seasons until she went of on her solo career after getting into issues with her former boss Ami James. She went back to Los Angeles and landed her own Miami Ink spin-off entitled LA Ink a month later. Skin Candy was the official sponsoring ink of Miami Ink.

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Tattooing is a very serious business. Not anyone can just sit down and start injecting ink into your skin. But as the tattoo business booms, the prevalence of "backyard" or home tattoo parlors also increases. A lot of professional artists report cases of customers appearing on their shops to cover up tattoos done on unlicensed backyard studios. For many reasons, getting a tattoo in your backyard is a very bad idea. Professional tattoo artists are trained on how far in the skin they are supposed to penetrate when tattooing. Go too shallow and you end up with uneven lines and designs that have portions disappear overtime, go too deep and you have a chance to cause infections and more serious problems. But its not the quality of the tattoo design that's the biggest concern, it's the cross-contamination and passing on of blood-borne diseases such as hepatitis B and C, and HIV. More likely than not, backyard studios don't have the proper cleaning equipment, such as an autoclave to sterilize their tattoo machines, and other sterilizers and disinfectants. Not to mention that tattoos worked on by inexperienced backyarders tend to get a lot of scarring due to overworking and chewing of the skin. In some cases skin reactions occur due to improper mixing of pigments and carriers as opposed to purchasing professionally trusted tattoo inks.

A lot of people who have backyard tattoos are under 18 since many places impose a law prohibiting underage tattooing. The reason is that because their bodies are still growing and their skin is still stretching, they might end up with a distorted tattoo. Also children under 18 are not capable of making wise decisions regarding which tattoo designs they're going to live with for the rest of their lives.

Bottom-line is it's safer to bet on professional artist who have an established business and has undergone all necessary requirements and precautions to make your tattoo experience a safe and worth the money you're paying.