Tattoos and piercing are increasingly becoming part of modern culture. Because they’re very stylish, quite a few young people are having their bodies adorned with all kinds of fancy drawings today. Of course, if you’re a student struggling with a dilemma of whether to get ink done or buy homework online, you should definitely go with the second option. After all, a tattoo can wait but your college instructor can’t.
When we get an urge to have a tat done, we do not always think about the consequences. So, if you’ve already made up your mind to get one, you should know all the pitfalls of this risky procedure.
Statistically, some 30% of Earth inhabitants have tattoos. Some of them choose to have tattoos in inconspicuous places, whereas others don’t mind getting half of their body, including armpits, neck, and head, covered with elaborate drawings.
Human skin is a very sensitive organ. Its complex biochemical and receptor mechanisms instantly respond to any minor damage to it, not to mention such a massively injurious procedure as a tattoo.
1. Skin Reaction
Getting a tattoo done usually results in pinpoint hemorrhages, as well as harm to the epidermis, connective tissue fibers, epithelium cells, and blood vessels. Aseptic inflammation that forms in the affected region is “completed” by dilation of the capillaries and their overflow with blood. Simultaneously, the capillary walls become thinner and previous, letting the plasma and blood cells (leukocytes and red blood cells) penetrate the neighboring tissues.
Outwardly, this process manifests itself by the appearance of edema, redness of the damaged area, and temperature increase.
The body’s immune system tries to fight inflammation by sending multiple macrophage cells to the damaged area.
Their task is to destroy everything that hinders the processes of tissue recovery. However, it should be noted that macrophages are also perceived as alien bodies, and the protection cells might try to eliminate them as well.
2. Regeneration Process
- Fibroblast cells begin to produce collagen and elastin fibers in large quantities, thus trying to repair the damaged tissue;
- Epidermal cells begin to intensively divide, causing the damaged area to “close up.” This process takes place under the crust that forms immediately after the injury and serves as a kind of protection against foreign microorganisms.
After the inflammation dies down and damaged tissues repair themselves, the dye particles remain in the skin for quite some time. However, the color intensity, clarity, contrast, and stability of the tattoo depend on many factors.
3. The Danger of Infection and Skin Diseases
A tattoo is basically an open wound, and as such, it requires thorough care and disinfection. The needles used during the procedure are in constant contact with the circulatory system, which is why they must be sterile and disposable. If they aren’t, you risk getting infected with hepatitis or even AIDS. It is a scientifically proven fact that tattoos can trigger skin cancer. After some time, toxins accumulating under the skin cause uncontrolled cell division. The unpleasant symptoms resulting from it can be felt only in a few days, or even weeks. In some cases, they might last a lifetime.
Failure to comply with prescribed sanitary standards during the procedure (e.g., sterility of devices and materials, use of disposable needles, etc.,) can trigger dangerous blood-borne diseases or cause staphylococcus and fungal pathogens to enter the body.
Even having the most responsible tattooist do your ink cannot protect you from the unpleasant consequences of the procedure. One of them is an allergy, a very common reaction to skin damage and introduction of dye (particularly black henna) in the epidermis.
Paraphenylenediamine, a pigment that is responsible for the color, persistence, and quick drying up of the tattoo, is also a potent allergen that can cause serious skin diseases.
You can reduce the risk of complications by choosing only professional tattoo shops and asking the tattooist to do probes for allergies (introduction of a small amount of dye under the skin for the purpose of identifying possible allergies).
4. Toxic Substances
Sutherland MacDonald, a famous tattoo artist who lived in England in the 19th century, was the first to add six more colors to the traditional Chinese ink. Multicolor tattoos soon became extremely popular, and even some members of European royalty had them done.
In 1894, a new profession emerged — a tattooist. Back then, natural dyes used for tattoos had one serious flaw — they were short-lived and quickly faded. Therefore, they were soon replaced by chemical pigments that were bright, persistent, and … toxic.
Among hundreds of modern dyes used in tattoo inks, there are at least 126 chemical compounds that were never intended for use on the human skin. They were created for dyeing fabrics and plastics, painting cars and making paint for printers. Unsurprisingly, they contain a large number of potentially dangerous substances, such as titanium, chromium, lead, nickel, cadmium, and mercury, that can cause a number of horrible diseases.
5. Benefits of Tattoos
A recent study conducted by a team of scientists from the University of Alabama has found that tattoos can actually improve immunity. In simple terms, that means that tattooed people cope with infections much better than untattooed ones.
The scientists drew such a conclusion based on the results of a survey of tattoo shop visitors. Each of the respondents was asked two questions: “How many tattoos do you have?” and “How long did it take you to get them done?” The researchers also took saliva samples of the participants in order to measure the concentration of cortisol and immunoglobulin A, the two substances present in the epithelial lining of the respiratory and intestinal tracts. The latter is absolutely vital for combating various infections, such as the common cold. It turned out that after the first tattoo, cortisol levels increased, while the concentration of immunoglobulin A fell quite significantly. The second and subsequent tattoos didn’t result in any serious decrease of immunoglobulin A. Based on that data, the scientists concluded that getting a tattoo done has a beneficial impact on the immune system.