Tattoos and MRI
Of course you can get an MRI if you have a tattoo. MRI stands for Magnetic Resonance Imaging. It's a big magnet. Occasionally, especially with Jewelry, or implants, the magnetic waves from the MRI will bounce off of metal objects. You should always remove jewelry before getting an MRI. When the waves bounce off of certain metals, especially Ferrous (containing →
White Tattoos
Q: I am thinking of getting a white tattoo, but I have heard that white tats can sometimes turn out to be a cream color or even light brown. Shannon of BME fame says that one of his is even a bluish shade! Is this because of the transfer color, the speedstick (used in transferring the design -ed.), inferior quality →
Tattoos and Medications
Q: I am getting a tattoo soon but I have to have my wisdom teeth removed by an oral surgeon. I've heard the antibiotics from that can have a negative affect on a new tattoo. Does anyone know how long I should wait after getting the tattoo to have my teeth removed? Sleopard81 A: The antibiotics would more likely be beneficial to →
Tattoos and Stretch Marks
Q: I have a question, Say you get a tattoo on your chest, above the nipple about 5x5" and you lift weights and gain mass quickly. Will it distort the tattoo? A: You may get stretch marks toward the armpit where the pectoral muscle meets the deltoid. While I have not seen a tattoo get ripped, I have had to design →
Tattoos and Pregnancy
Tattooing pregnant women is not a good idea. While tattoos and other consumer products are probably safe to pregnant women, there have not been enough studies to prove it, therefore a policy of "better safe than sorry" is a wise one. Case in point, at an Alliance of Professional Tattooists meeting years ago, an artist told us a friend of →
Tattooing Hands, Feet and Faces
Q: I have a friend who wants to get a tattoo on her toe. I am trying to talk her out of this as I think it is a bad idea. My understanding is that since the skin in that area is very thin and there is friction from shoes, the tattoo will fade or turn into a blob. Am →
Tattoos and Dark Skin
I Have Dark Skin, Can I Get a Color Tattoo? Yes, you can get a color tattoo, but the darker you are, the duller the color will be. It is very unlikely that yellow, white or orange will look good on most African-Americans. Blue and purple are usually dull, and green and red look almost as good as black in some →
Colors Fading
Do Colors Fade and Why? Yes, colors fade, but so do people. The whole problem with permanent pigments is that many of the best ones are unsafe for use in humans. That leaves the tattoo industry and the tattooists to find safe alternatives. For the most part, we are using very permanent, or lightfast, colors. In the past, this was not →
Soreness, Redness, Inflammation
Typical Antibiotic Reaction Q: Oh can someone give me some advice please? I got my first tattoo (on the side of my leg, all black ink) on June 2. Everything was going great until it started to get small red bumps all over it. Now, as of this morning, its got infected bumps, plus blister looking things on it. The tattoo artist →
Problems with Red
Very typical cases of red reaction. Quite common, especially before the 90's. This is probably caused by Cinnabar, or Mercuric Oxide. Hi, I was recommended to look at your site because I'm currently having a problem with the reds in my backpiece, I would like to hear your opinion. The tattoo is a reproduction of a painting by Kandinsky, and contains several →
Problems with Black
Q: My tattoos are acting funny. Well, two of them, anyway. the black ink in my tribal dragons and my wings is currently raised and itching. the black in my welsh dragon ring, however, is fine. my welsh dragons were put on by a different artist at a different studio than the other two, which were the same artist at the →
Infections
Infections are generally marked with redness in the early stages. Usually the red area will produce more heat than the surrounding areas. Later stages include swelling, discharge, and/or necrosis. Infections do not always occur from any unclean practices. Sometimes your body's defenses are let down when using the wrong lotion/ointment for your skin, or chafing and irritation due to contact with →
Tattoos and Toxicity
Tattoos and Toxicity: How safe is your pigment? In the age of the tattoo boom, popularity and interest in the art form has spawned more artists and supply companies than the industry ever could imagine. Like any other grass-roots industry, mass production has diluted more traditional forms of learning the craft, such as an oral tradition passed down through generations of →
Pricing and Tipping
Tattoos and Pricing I will only discuss this in terms of US currency as, I don't know customs and exchange rates overseas. Most tattooists charge on a piece-by-piece basis, usually ending up at about $100-$175 an hour. Lesser pricing meaning your tattooist is broke, or unskilled, likes you a lot, or is horny. Higher pricing because the artist is world class or →
Autoclave Test Results
I use a Pelton and Crane Validator Plus Autoclave, tested quarterly by Global Autoclave Compliance.