Monthly Archives: February 2022
Body Art Tattoo – What is the Good and the Bad
Almost everything on our planet has good and bad sides, and the tattoo is no exception to it. Millions of people across the world love getting them inked with one or more favorite tattoo designs. While the mass considers tattoo to boast self-expression, individuality, or to draw the attention of people, many choose for spiritual or cultural traditions. Therefore, if you’re considering getting tattooed, knowing its good and bad sides is important for you. Let’s focus on it.
The Good
Boosts Confidence and Self-esteem
A study establishes a correlation between tattoos and self-confidence. Similar to having revamped hairstyle or cosmetic dentistry that increases one’s confidence level, having one or more tattoo help boost your self-confidence level. Having a unique tattoo also make you express your personality, taste, and outlook. It can make you a focal point in the mass.
Improve Immune Systems
Don’t get surprised to know that having multiple tattoos boost your immune system. A study organized by the American Journal of Human Biology reveals that multiple tattoos can help strengthen the immune system and its response. The scientific reasons are 1) it can support keeping the balance steady of immunoglobulin-A, deficiency of which weaken your immunity. 2) Having tattoos helps by stimulating your immune response. In fact, Immunoglobulin A is a powerful antibody that aids our immune system, respiratory system, and gastrointestinal system. As it strengthens your immune response, once the system identifies a foreign invader like any virus in your body, it instructs the antibodies to attack and kill them.
Helps Lessen Stress
The above study also shows that having multiple tattoos helps reduce the cortisol level which is a stress hormone. While the increasing rate of cortisol leads to various psychological detriments like migraines, weight gain, disrupted memory, and learning or raise blood pressure, tattoos make the cortisol hormone less active even when that increases.
The Bad
Tattoo Regret
The foremost bad thing about tattoos can be understood from the statistics showing that 3 out of 4 people with tattoos experience tattoo regret at different times in their life and for varied reasons. This is the cause that almost all tattoo studies offer tattoo removal services today. Some of the reasons that lead to tattoo regret include
• Change of outlook with adulthood.
• Change of personality while that tattoo loved once doesn’t match one’s current lifestyle.
• For professional needs as most employers dislike hiring candidates with tattoos.
• Due to its unprofessional look.
• Having a tattoo of someone’s name or symbol is no more in his/her life.
• It’s also worth noting that the cost of tattoo removal is likely to be 10 times more than having a tattoo.
Risk and Side effects of Tattoo
While considering a tattoo, you need to understand how it can affect your skin as well as your wellbeing. The side effects are experienced relative – varying between individuals. A person may experience tattoo-related skin problems like Granuloma. The likelihood of skin infection is always there as pigments of tattoo are placed beneath 1.5 – 2 mm by breaking the skin surface. The possibility increases especially when poor quality inks or contaminated inks or tools are used. Issues may include
Skin infection – if bacteria like Staphylococcus, Streptococcus enter your bloodstream it may lead to varieties of skin infections.
Allergic reactions – Tattoo colors- particularly red, green, blue, and yellow may result in allergic skin reactions, like prickly rash or swelling in the tattoo area.
Other skin problems – although rarely reported by inflammation of the area or granuloma can form. Tattooing can also lead to keloids – scar tissues.
Blood-borne diseases – if the tools like needles or ink used for tattooing are contaminated, you can suffer from blood-borne diseases like hepatitis/C, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), HIV, etc.
Conclusion:
As per the last survey, around 40% of Americans aged 18-69 have a minimum of one tattoo. Also, 1 in 4 of those are having multiple tattoos. Another study shows that the rate of skin infection experienced by people stands between 0.5–6 %. Noteworthy, one of the leading reasons that make people suffer from such health hazards is the use of inferior grade inks, contaminated tools, inks apart from negligence to maintain absolute hygiene practices in poor class settings. It is said that -good tattoos are not cheap and cheap tattoos are not good. So, before having a tattoo, make sure to go for a reputed tattoo parlor that maintains safety precautions as per standard.
What are the Tattoo Body Art Design Ideas
Tattoos are the most popular form of body art that come with limitless ideas and concepts. And, most of those ideas are designed by great tattooists by adapting them from various historically popular tattoo styles. No denying, they are the foundation stone of modern tattoo arts. So, if you are desirous to boast your individuality and style with a perfect tattoo idea, keep reading the article that explains the most popular tattoo design ideas.
Classic Americana
The American traditional tattoo is defined for its bold appearance and is possibly one of the oldest forms of body inking. The style involves heavy black outlines with a limited number of colors like red, green, blue, yellow, and imaginary. Each tattoo has a considerably distinct look and is stimulated by several themes, such as nautical, animal designs, violent predatory animals, etc. for example, to beautify your body with a female tattoo form, you can consider a pin-up female model or a diving girl. It may also combine general themes like hearts, flowers like roses or draggers, etc. The tattoo style also offers a great way to show your patriotism.
Japanese
When it comes to Japanese tattoos, the nation has a great history of its unique approach to tattooing and is recognized globally. The most common form of Japanese tattoo style is known as Irezumi which means -insert ink. Its tattoo ideas are inspired by Japanese folklore, holiness, and mysticism. Among the most applauded forms of Japanese tattoos include Koi Fish, Dragons, Samurai, Oni. It’s another genre that is especially known for bigger images covering the arms, back, and legs.
Black and Grey
In fact, black and grey tattoos are noted as the base of tattoo body art and have gone through lots of evolvements over the centuries. Equally, it is the most demanding tattoo art nowadays because of its stunning appearance. Compared to colored tattoos (red, green, yellow, and blue) it’s less likely to cause skin infection provided quality colors are used. What makes black and grey tattoos unique is that it’s designed only in black and white colors. The artwork involves diluting black ink with water in combination with white that gets the desired kind of grey tones that the image demands. To get ideas of amazing black and grey tattoos, you can explore tattoo artworks of Tokyo, Phuket, and London.
Portraiture
Portrait tattoos have been highly popular because it offers an incredible opportunity to ink your body with a personalized tattoo. If you are one of those who have lost someone of dearly loved, like your parents, best friend, sister, or pet, you can get your body tattooed with a life-like image of your loved one by an expert tattooist. So, it can be used as a great memorial – you can also consider a portrait tattoo as a fan of a great celebrity, famous personality, and just anything.
Geometric
These days, geometric tattoos have been most cherished and can be truly timeless if done expertly. In fact, almost all tattoo designs have a close bonding with geometric tattooing ideas that bring a sense of regularity, balance, or even mystery. Geometric tattoos may combine one or more fine lines, squares, triangles, squares, and all shots of geometric figures. Once they are merged together, they form awesome tattoos of complex patterns that beautify millions of tattoo lovers worldwide. It can be drawn both abstracts of natural images like animals.
Apart from the above, there are Blackwork, Biomechanical, Realistic Trash Polka, Realism, and Surrealism tattoo ideas.
A-Z on Body Arts: Tools, Materials, Techniques, Health Hazards and Prevention
Albite the concept of body art is embedded with human culture for centuries, its popularity has taken it into the mainstream. The most popular form of revamping the body include body painting, tattooing, body marking, body piercing, hair micropigmentation among others. While most people consider body art for aesthetic purpose or individuality, many consider it for therapeutic, spiritual, acting/entertainment, or symbolic reasons.
Tools and Materials
A variety of tools are used for body art or its beautification. These include painting tools like brushes, dabbing tools like dabbers, tattooing tools like tattoo guns, scalp micropigmentation tools like pigmenting pen, body piercing tools like needles, etc.
Materials that are used for body arts mainly include tattoo inks, dyes, drawing inks, low-grade classes of inks, and a variety of cleaning agents. The extracts of Henna, a natural plant, are chiefly used for temporary beautification of hands and legs. Apart from plant extracts, ochre, the pigments used for tattooing may include antimony, cobalt-nickel, beryllium, lead, arsenic, etc. Among the additives used for painting include binding agents, surfactants, fillers, perfume, preservatives, and more.
Techniques
When it comes to the techniques used for body art that varies based on the type of body art. For body painting, body marking and tattooing, the artist uses the skin surface as the canvas and accordingly sketches the outline or layout of the design. Then dyes or pigments are applied by using varieties of brushes for body painting or marking, however, tattoo inks are deposited by means of tattoo guns and needles.
Given that tattoo art is for permanent purposes, a tattoo gun is used to introduce the pigments in the lower surface of the skin also known as the dermis layer. Similarly, dabbing is done using foam or a sponge for transferring a design onto the skin surface. Sometimes computerized design papers with permissible ink are transferred onto the body surface. The hair micropigmentation technique involves applying micro-pigments with SMP pens for replicating natural hair follicles onto the areas of the scalp that experiences thinning hair. Also, by the interlocking of natural-looking hair strands (synthetic fiber), a variety of hairstyling is done aka braiding.
Health Hazard
It is, however, intimidating that often body art results in various health hazards. Unfortunately, this happens due to sheer carelessness to practice health and hygiene which leads to contamination of the blood. Use of poor quality pigments, improper sterilization of tools/ instruments, and lack of best practices affect millions of body art enthusiasts’ from varied skin infections.
While the use of tattoo inks especially red, yellow, green, and blue dyes can pose severe skin allergies, the use of impure or contaminated inks and instruments can lead to skin infections like granulomatous reactions, eczematous hypersensitivity reactions, inflammatory reactions, photo-aggravated reactions apart from skin scar. Similarly, contamination of blood may cause blood-borne diseases like hepatitis B, HIV/Aids, hepatitis C, or even HIV/AIDS.
Prevention
The tattoo and piercing studios need to follow industry-standard health and hygiene practices to ensure the prevention of such health hazards. Some of these practices are listed below:
• Body art practitioners or tattooists should be well-versed in skin penetration procedures and must be license holders from local councils.
• The floor surface of the setting should be cleaned with disinfecting compounds and alcohol.
• Proper ventilation and sufficient lighting is a must.
• Basins for handwashing should supply clean, warm, sterilized water.
• Chairs, benches, tables used in the procedure room should be washed with non-toxic detergent and warm water and should be mopped with clean single-use clothes.
• All artists must wear disposal globes and those must be discarded after a single-use.
• The setting should have an automatic hand dryer and towels should be single-use.
• All instruments and tools used for tattooing or piercing must be sterilized by an autoclave machine.
• Only high-quality and industry-standard pigments should be used.
• Inks that are taken out of the container for inking purposes, the remaining part (if any) must not be poured back.
• The use of masks for artists should be compulsory.
• The use of waste disposal bins is also a must.
Nose Piercings – History, Types, Care
If you are thinking of getting your nose pierced, searching online for “nose piercings near me” can point you toward a center in your location. Since a nose piercing is a permanent body modification, it is advisable that you think carefully before going ahead with it and find out as much as possible about what is involved in piercing your nose. You should also only get the procedure done by a professional, experienced nose piercer.
History of nose piercing
Nose piercing is a body modification commonly seen in women in many traditional societies and has gained popularity with both women and men in some modern communities. This type of body modification has been around for at least 6000 years. There were various reasons for piercing one or both nostrils in women, such as an emblem of status and wealth, a wedding gift from a husband to a wife to signify protection, and a procedure to ease future childbirth.
Types of nose piercings
When you research “nose piercings near me,” you may come across information about the following three types of nose piercings:
Nostril piercing
Nostril piercing is the type of nose piercing that is most prevalent in traditional societies in Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. While people may pierce one or both nostrils, the preference in India is for piercing the left nostril in women. There is a cultural belief that the left nostril is associated with the reproductive organs, and so a woman who gets her left nostril pierced will have an easier time during childbirth. It is common for many young girls to get a nose piercing in their early teens.
The piercing is also for the sake of beauty adornment. The woman might wear a ring, a stud, or a pin in different styles and sizes in the pierced nostril and, at weddings or festive occasions, might even connect a nose ring with a decorative chain to the left earring. Gold and silver nose ornaments are the most popular ones and some come studded with pearls and precious gems.
Nasal septum piercing
In nasal septum piercing, the practitioner will pierce the thin skin close to the septum separating the two nostrils. This type of nose piercing is frequent in traditional and some modern societies. In traditional communities, women mostly have a nasal septum piercing and generally wear gold and silver septum rings. Modern fashionistas may wear circular barbells and bead rings.
Bridge piercing
Bridge piercing is a modern invention and not a very common nose piercing choice. As the name indicates, it involves making a piercing in the bridge of the nose and wearing a barbell in it. This type of nose piercing can be risky as you are piercing close to your eyes, and you could get a scar or an infection in the area. It is also likely to be a painful procedure and may take longer to heal. Do not undertake it until you understand all the risks and only get it done by a professional experienced in bridge piercing.
How to care for a nose piercing
Whichever piercing you decide to get after researching “nose piercings near me,” it will be necessary to care for it for at least two months until it heals. The following tips may be helpful:
• While the piercing is healing, avoid getting it wet or touching it frequently with your hand.
• Wash your hands beforehand when you do need to touch the piercing.
• Keep the piercing clean by wiping it with a saline solution at least twice a day.
• Use an ice compress to soothe the piercing if it is swollen and painful.
• Try not to use a towel to wipe the piercing until it has healed.
• Do not blow your nose energetically while the piercing is healing.
• Do not adjust or remove the nose ring while the piercing is healing.
• Avoid smoking, taking drugs, or wearing make-up while the nose piercing is healing.
• If the piercing does not seem to heal fast and remains painful, consult your doctor and check if the area has become infected.
After the nose piercing heals, you can wear the nose jewelry of your choice in gold, silver, or other materials.