Tattoo News: April 2009 Archives

Tattoos featuring Chinese or Japanese characters have been popular long enough in America to become nearly as trite as the tramp stamp.  Some recent news articles have been reporting that a similar trend is emerging in China, where English language tattoos are enjoying a new surge in popularity.

While tattoos have been a part of Chinese culture for millenia, tattoo parlors have been mostly taboo under the Communist regime. Nevertheless, tattoo parlors have been popping up in China in recent years, and although their legality may be questionable they are slowly finding their place in modern China. Even though tattoos still bear the stigma of criminal association, more and more younger people are becoming interested in tattoos because many of their favorite Western sports and celebrity figures are tattooed.

What is most surprising of all is the latest trend that Chinese tattoo artists are reporting.  Tattoo parlors are seeing more and more clients seeking tattoos in the English language.  Not surprisingly, it is the younger crowd that seeks the English language and Western-influenced tattoos, while older clients prefer to stick to traditional themes like tigers and dragons.

The attraction to English language tattoos is easy to understand.  In the Western world, a good Kanji tattoo has an air of the exotic.  To the Eastern world, an English language tattoo can present the same mystique.

Below: From McClatchyDC.com: "Ting Ting shows off the tattoo on the back of her cousin, Zhang Hui, who used English lettering to spell out the name of an ex-girlfriend."

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Fresno, Calif.  (KMPH News) - It's a case that's gone to the top of the Fresno Police Department Child Abuse Unit.  Investigators are looking for a man they describe as a Bulldog gang member and who they say forcibly tattooed a gang symbol on his 7-year old son's stomach.

Fresno Police Department spokesman Jeff Cardinale says the second grader was spending Spring Break with his father, 26-year-old Enrique Gonzalez, when he took the boy to a friend's house to get his son tattooed.

"The boy did not want to have the tattoo put on, but the father forcibly restrained the boy, pinning him to the ground while his friend who is a 20-year-old validated bulldog gang member put a Bulldog paw print on the young boy," said Cardinale.

Travis Gorman was taken into police custody on Tuesday at a home in Central Fresno.  Tattoo paraphernalia was also found and confiscated.

"The tattoo artist was positively identified by the young child as being the one who put the tattoo on him," said Cardinale.

The child was placed in his mother's custody after she filed a police report on Monday, April 20th against Gonzalez for having their son tattooed.  Police say Gonzalez also goes by the name Henry Gonzalez.

James Conway, a Tattoo Artist at 30/30 Tattoo in Fresno says not only is it illegal to tattoo a minor, there are also other dangers that come with what he calls 'backyard tattooing.'

"Most of them will use the same needles and there's cross contamination.  You can spread the Hepatitis virus, AIDS, HIV all that kind of stuff so it's very dangerous to go get tattoos in basically somebody's backyard," said Conway.

The Fresno Police Department is offering to remove the Bulldog dog paw at no cost using a tattoo removal machine issued by the Mayor's Gang Prevention Initiative.

"But, keep in mind, anybody who's had a tattoo removed will tell you, it's very painful to have a tattoo put on and then to have a tattoo removed is even more painful.  So, this young man has had to endure a lot of mental scaring and quite honestly some physical scaring as well because of this despicable act by his father and his father's friend," said Cardinale.

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Joker Tattoo has just acquired a new warehouse, and to celebrate, they're giving away discounts and huge savings! Take advantage of their limited offers for every purchase of 21 Color and 36 color sets. Hurry! This is for a limited time only.

LAS CRUCES, N.M. -- A Las Cruces tattoo shop feels the fallout from last week's Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms sting announced last week.The owner said business has fallen sharply after several agencies announced that 34 guns and drugs were confiscated in a storefront operation under the guise of a tattoo shop.It's only been days since the detention of 30 people accused of selling guns or drugs to the ATF in a nine-month sting."There are just a lot of questions about whether we're selling guns or not. When that question comes to effect they also ask about drugs. We don't do that. We have nothing to do with any of those," said Duke Ludwig, owner of The Tattoo Company.Customers of The Tattoo Company are voicing concerns that they are nervous about the kind of activity that goes on behind tattoo shop doors."We dropped probably about 30 percent. We took a pretty good hit," Ludwig said.The ATF unveiled part of its collection of firearms last Thursday to show what some customers were willing to get off their hands. Ludwig said it makes the whole industry look bad."What they're saying is tattoo shops in general are an industry that is full of criminals. It doesn't bother them to do that to people who are actually legitimate people," Ludwig said.He said innocent people felt they were in harm's way. A school was near the fake business and he said kids attending that school could have gotten hurt."Those parents would have liked to have known. It could have been a really bad thing. Things could have gotten out of hand and people could have gotten hurt or killed." said Ludwig.The ATF said they did have rapid response teams if something were to have gotten out of control.

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• Remove bandage after 2 hours (do not rebandage)

• Wash tattoo with your hand (make sure hand is clean) using warm, soapy water. Rinse with cold water. Don't over soak your tattoo. Keep out of the direct spray of the shower. Pat dry, DO NOT rub with towel.

• For 3 to 5 days or until tattoo is healed, apply Vitamin A&D Ointment or Bacitracin or Zinc Oxide Ointment 3 to 4 times daily after washing tattoo. Keep tattoo moist. If allergic to these ointments, use a water based lotion such as Curel.

• Tattoo will flake. DO NOT pick at the flakes or you may pull the color out. Try not to let clothing rub on your tattoo while it is healing.

• NO swimming or suntanning until healed. Apply a high SPF sunblock to tattoo after healed to prevent fading.

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It is every tattoo aficionado's nightmare. That first ever, poorly designed and executed, tattoo can become an embarrassment once the glory of new and expertly done tats adorn your body - or what happens when Billy Joe is out and Brad is in? Well, you have your tat painfully lasered off and because that does not completely remove the old tat, you have a new tattoo made over it.  That's if your name is Angelina Jolie, of course.
I've been thinking about this after all the horror stories I have heard of abrasive and invasive methods used to remove old and unwanted tattoos. While, it is possible to work a new tat over an old one and thus efface its message, this is not always a perfect match and if that is not possible then it leaves you with the choice of skin peeling or laser work, neither of which particularly appeals. The tattoo doesn't always come away completely, which is a problem also and therefore calls for the new tattoo as a solution. Not quite the way I want to be designing my body art.

Now however, there is a new tat saviour in the works. It is a method called Tattoo Erase and there are clinics popping up all over the place offering this new and innovative method of tattoo removal. This unique method from Germany apparently uses a natural substance injected into the tattoo which causes the inks to eject from the body over a number of sessions until the tat has disappeared completely. I haven't managed to find out what the substance is but it promises that skin damage is minimal and I presume it is non-toxic.  It appears that the tattoo inks hide from your immune system by lurking just under the skin surface. What this new method of tattoo removal does is call the ink's bluff by merging with it and calling the immune system to come deal with it. By allowing your body to recognise the foreign material, your body is given the opportunity to expel the tat pigments and return your skin to its original state.

Obviously this is not instantaneous nor it is cheap as it can take several sessions to completely fade a tattoo and the treatment is pay per session. The treatments also need to be well spaced out, perhaps 8 weeks between sessions. But as therapists promise that the tattoo will be erased over a number of sessions and that the treatment is only as painful as  having the tattoo done in the first place, both costs (time and money) seem well worth the trouble and definitely worth looking into a little more!.

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HOUSTON -- Police say armed robbers shot and killed the owner of the Black Widow Tattoo Parlor in northwest Houston Wednesday morning. Investigators believe the owner was protecting his customers from the suspects when he was killed.

Now friends and family are remembering the man who sacrificed his life to defend others.

"I'm wearing him on the insides of both arms," said victim's friend Bart Stewart, while showing his tattoos. "His dream was to always open the shop and he was relentless in getting this shop open."

But early Wednesday morning, the shop turned into a crime scene.

Investigators say three men, dressed in dark clothes and wearing bandanas to cover their faces, tried to rob customers at the Black Widow Tattoo Parlor. Friends say Steve Robbins got in the middle of the robbery and paid for his actions with his life. He was shot several times.

"It didn't shock me at all that he put himself at risk to protect his customers. He did not have a fearful bone in his body," Stewart said.

Friends say that Robbins wasn't only brave, but also generous.

"If they would have came to Steve and asked him for whatever, he would have gladly, and all of us agree, taken his shirt off his back," one friend said.

Friends say by no means was Robbins a perfect angel, but he didn't deserve to die like this.

Police are looking for three suspects who left in a white four door Cadillac with dark tinted windows and chrome wheels.

If you have any information on this incident, contact police. 

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IDAHO FALLS - In a rough economy, many businesses are suffering, but others are doing just fine. 

Despite the sometimes negative public perception, tattoo shops are doing well right now both nationwide and locally.

"One of the main things is that it's something you can have forever," said Christian Buckingham, Owner of Synergy Body Art in Downtown Idaho Falls.

With many looking to save money any way possible, shelling out thousands on a tattoo may seem like an investment many would not be willing to make.  Buckingham says that's not the case at his shop.

"It's more of a lifestyle choice than a budget choice," said Buckingham.

Some may call tattoo art a desecration, but others call it art.  Those who see tattoos as a form of fine art say they will find a way to fit their bodily masterpiece into any size budget.

"I just like the feeling, and it's just a big piece of art that I can carry around with me," said Ashley McCormick of Idaho Falls. 

Dedicated customers like McCormick and others believe getting a tattoo is about more than just spending money on it, or even the lasting effects it may have.

"It's a good escape, and it's something that's with you forever," said McCormick.

Others like the opportunity tattoos offer for self expression.

"It's just a way to express myself.  I love the fact that I can show a little piece of me," said Andrew McClure of Idaho Falls.

As the economy continues to work itself back from the depths of despair, Buckingham believes more people will look to find an escape through ink, a pen, and an eye for what they believe to be fine art.

"Tattoos make people feel better about themselves.  They make them feel more in control of their lives.  For the people that come in here on a regular basis, everything about tattooing is positive," said Buckingham.

According to Buckingham, he is booked with appointments for much of the month of April.

He says he has had clients come from as far as California and Missouri for his services.

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Your face, hands, and feet are the three places on your body that a tattoo artist may try to talk you out of tattooing. You may actually have a difficult time finding an artist who will give you a tattoo there. Why is this? Because often times people are impulsive about getting tattoos and the artist knows this.

Getting a tattoo is something that should be given a lot of thought because a tattoo is a permanent piece of art As you consider getting a tattoo, you need to see the big picture of your life. An example of this is your face area. Your face is obviously a highly visible area of your body. You may not care today about your employment possibilities, but a visible tattoo could cause you problems in getting a job, especially a tattoo on your face. A tattoo in an area like your face has the potential of ruining your life.

Good tattoo artists understand the significance of wearing permanent art and they truly want their clients to be happy, not just as they leave the studio, but for the rest of their lives with their choices in tattoos. According to the professional tattoo artists I have talked to, they all say they will not tattoo someone in several areas, including the face.

Tattoos on the hands and feet also have the potential of being of poor quality because your hands and feet get the most physical abuse from everyday life. It is very difficult to maintain a good quality tattoo once you leave the studio when it is on these parts of your body. The constant friction of socks and shoes on your feet can wear away a healed tattoo as well. Healing of these areas is also very difficult and can take up to 3 months. Your hands and feet can also require more touch-ups from the tattoo artist. An artist who will do one of these tattoos may not want to include the touch-ups for free, as they usually do with tattoos on other parts of your body.

As I said before, it could be difficult to find a tattoo artist who will do one of these tattoos. Just make sure that you do not sacrifice a safe, quality tattoo experience and get an inferior artist just to get the tattoo. You should be prepared to have to take extra special care of these types of tattoos as well.