Tattoos
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Introduction
How is it done?
What are the risks?
Tattoo care
Common Problem: Dissatisfaction
Temporary Tattoos
Removing Tattoos
The health risks of piercings and tattoos include
- Allergic reactions
- Keloids, a type of scar that forms during healing
- Infections, such as hepatitis
During the procedure, a needle that's connected to a small machine with tubes containing dye pierces the skin repeatedly - an action that resembles that of a sewing machine. With every puncture, the needle inserts tiny ink droplets. The process, which may last up to several hours for a large tattoo, causes a small amount of bleeding and minor to potentially significant pain.
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What are the risks?
Tattooed artwork involves breaching one of your body's main protective barriers - the skin. This means you can be more susceptible to skin infections and other skin reactions. Specific risks include:
- Blood-borne diseases. If the equipment used to create your tattoo is contaminated with the blood of an infected person, you can contract a number of serious blood-borne diseases. These include hepatitis C, hepatitis B, tetanus, tuberculosis and HIV - the virus that causes AIDS.
- Skin disorders. Your body may form bumps called granulomas around tattoo ink, especially if your tattoo includes red ink. Tattooing can also cause areas of raised, excessive scarring (keloids), if you're prone to them.
- Skin infections. Tattoos can lead to local bacterial infections. Typical signs and symptoms of an infection include redness, warmth, swelling and a pus-like drainage. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has linked clusters of potentially serious antibiotic-resistant skin infections to unlicensed tattoo artists who don't follow proper infection-control procedures. Some antibiotic-resistant skin infections can lead to pneumonia, bloodstream infections and a painful, flesh-destroying condition called necrotizing fasciitis.
- Allergic reactions. Tattoo dyes, particularly red dye, can cause allergic skin reactions, resulting in an itchy rash at the tattoo site. This may occur even years after you get the tattoo.
- MRI complications. Rarely, tattoos or permanent makeup may cause swelling or burning in the affected areas during magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) exams. In some cases - such as when a person with permanent eyeliner has an MRI of the eye - tattoo pigments may interfere with the quality of the image.
Tattoo care
How you care for your new artwork depends on the type and extent of work done. Your tattoo artist should provide you with detailed instructions about how to care for the tattoo - such as cleaning the tattoo with soap and water, applying moisturizer regularly and avoiding sun exposure for at least the first few weeks.
Tattoos may take up to several days to heal. Don't pick at scabs, which increases the risk of infection and can damage the design and cause scarring.
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Common Problem: Dissatisfaction
A common problem that may develop with tattoos is the desire to remove them. Removing tattoos and permanent makeup can be very difficult.
Although tattoos may be satisfactory at first, they sometimes fade. Also, if the tattooist injects the pigments too deeply into the skin, the pigments may migrate beyond the original sites, resulting in a blurred appearance.
Another cause of dissatisfaction is that the human body changes over time, and styles change with the season. The permanent makeup that may have looked flattering when first injected may later clash with changing skin tones and facial or body contours. People who plan to have facial cosmetic surgery are advised that the appearance of their permanent makeup may become distorted. The tattoo that seemed stylish at first may become dated and embarrassing. And changing tattoos or permanent makeup is not as easy as changing your mind.
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Temporary Tattoos
Temporary tattoos, such as those applied to the skin with a moistened wad of cotton, fade several days after application. Most contain color additives approved for cosmetic use on the skin. However, the agency has issued an import alert for certain foreign-made temporary tattoos.
The temporary tattoos subject to the import alert are not allowed into the United States because they don't carry the FDA-mandated ingredient labels or they contain colors not permitted by FDA for use in cosmetics applied to the skin. FDA has received reports of allergic reactions to temporary tattoos.
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Removing Tattoos
Homemade tattoos are often applied with an uneven hand and their removal may be more difficult. Deeper blue and black ink colors are particularly difficult to remove. Professional tattoos made with some of the newer inks and pastel colors may also be difficult to remove entirely.
Tattoos can be removed by a dermatologic surgeon on an outpatient basis with local anesthesia. The most common techniques used are:
Laser Surgery
The surgeon removes the tattoo by selectively treating the pigment colors with a high-intensity laser beam. Lasers have become the standard treatment because they offer a "bloodless," low risk, highly effective approach with minimal side effects. The type of laser used generally depends upon the pigment colors. In many cases, multiple treatments may be required.
Dermabrasion
The surgeon "sands" the skin, removing the surface and middle layers of the tattoo. The combination of surgical and dressing techniques helps to raise and absorb the tattoo inks. View the Dermabrasion fact sheet for more information.
Surgical Excision
The surgeon removes the tattoo with a scalpel and closes the wound with stitches. This technique proves highly effective in removing some tattoos and allows the surgeon to excise inked areas with great control.
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