And if you're thinking about getting a tattoo, get a dermatologist's opinion.
Tattooing has become very popular worldwide. Today 20% of people in Germany and 29% in the United States of America have tattoos. For thousands of years people have tattooed their skin for various reasons (religious, social, racial, emotional). Unlike some cultures such as Polynesian tribes, the concept of tattoos in the Western world was mainly associated with low social status.
Tattoo inks are suspensions that can contain up to 100 different chemical compounds. The pigment is mixed with solvents, preservatives and various other substances. Although injected into the human body, tattoo inks usually do not have to meet specific safety requirements unlike drugs or implants. The main substances of concern detected in analyzed samples are: polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) (43 %), primary aromatic amines (PAA) (14 %), heavy metals (9 %) and preservatives (6%).
1. Did you come back from vacation with a new tattoo? Good to know that…
New tattoos are essentially open wounds. Therefore, they are very sensitive to external elements such as UV radiation, friction and any kind of irritation. With the exception of infection, too much sunlight is the worst thing that can happen to a new tattoo. Once the tattoo is done, some of the pigment seeps through the wounded skin. Another fraction of the injected ink is removed from the skin passively through lymph nodes or blood vessels or migrating cells. Tattoo pigments are detected in local lymph nodes but are also likely to be carried to other organs such as the liver, lungs or kidneys. Experiments with electron microscopy mice demonstrated the presence of pigment particles in the liver (within the Kupffer cells). The rest of the pigment remains in the dermis (the thick part of the skin) and absorbs light in a specific spectral range causing the color of the tattoo.
Adverse effects include delayed wound healing, infections, toxic or even mutagenic processes, as well as granulomatous and allergic reactions.
2. You have old tattoos with complications: allergic reactions to the ink...
This is where the difficulties begin. A tattoo may never cause a problem, but if dermatitis occurs on the tattoo or an allergic reaction, then it is good to know that Q-switch / pico-LASER laser treatment is not indicated. The reason is that the LASER tattoo removal treatment itself can initiate or worsen hypersensitivity reactions. So before you decide to erase a tattoo, it's a good idea to consult your dermatologist.
3. Everything went great on vacation with your tattoos, but what about your skin?
In summer, the skin becomes tanned, dehydrated, rougher. It is natural for tattoos to be affected if you have not treated them with sunscreen, moisturizing creams, avoiding irritations. Especially large and colorful tattoos need control. It is often difficult to monitor the changes in your skin and especially in your olives (nevus) that are inside a tattoo. The dermatologist with special methods (dermatoscopy, polarized and infrared light) can recognize early if your olives show changes and need monitoring or removal.
4. Are you thinking of getting a tattoo? The dermatologist's opinion is:
- Choose a timeless design that will not capture the mood of the moment. No one knows what will be in fashion in a few years.
- Avoid names and phrases that may not be part of your life in a short or long time.
- Stay in black. The many colors are difficult to treat in case of unwanted allergic reactions, while they are more difficult to remove with LASER.
- Tattoos never go away, they simply fade or more correctly fade from Q-switch or pico LASER.
- Choose small tattoos in places that are covered by clothes in everyday life, so that they do not fade when exposed to light.
- Avoid tattooing on your face and hands.
- Tattoos are an investment that can cost ten to a hundred times more than the money spent to create them in the artist's chair.
- Long-lasting sun protection is key to keeping your tattoo shape smooth and defined.
We thank dr. Efi Markou, Dermatologist - Venereologist, ex-curator Karlstad & Karolinska Hospital Sweden, dermatologia.com.gr, dermodiagnostiki.com
Read the article at www.shape.gr, by clicking here.