Tattoo Removal Methods

There are several different methods for tattoo removal nowadays. In the late 1980's laser treatments have become the most popular and it is still the best method to remove tattoos without any scars. Before laser treatment was used, one or more of the below explained removal methods had to be used for removal which were often painful and scar including surgeries.
Dermabrasion

This is a method where the skin is being "sanded" with a wire brush or diamond fraise, a type of sanding disc, to remove the surface layer (Epidermis) and also parts of the Dermis, the layer where the tattoo is imbedded. This process may leave scars.
Salabrasion

A salt solution is used to remove the pigment. It is sometimes used in conjunction with dermabrasion, but has become less common.
Cryosurgery

In this method the area the tattoo was placed is frozen prior to it's removal.
Excision

This was the most common method prior to laser surgery. A dermatologist removes the tattoo with a scalpel and closes the wound again with stitches. If larger tattoos had been involved, a skin graft had to be taken from another part of the body to cover up the removed area.
Scarification

Involves removing the tattoo with an acid solution and creating a scar in its place.
Camouflaging

Injections with new pigments either to form a new pattern or cover a tattoo with skin-toned pigments are used to cover the tattoo. Please note that injected pigments tend not to look natural because they lack the skin's natural translucence.

This methods above are still used today in certain cases but laser surgery has become the standard treatment for tattoo removal. Laser treatments offer a bloodless, low risk, effective alternative with minimal side effects.

Origins of Tattoos

Believe it or not but most scientist believe the origins of tattoos date back to about 3300 B.C. They believe that certain marks found on the skin of the "?TZI", a mummified body of an iceman found in the italian alps, were considered tattoos back in his days. If their acceptance is true, these marks on his body represent the earliest known evidence for tattoos in history. All we know for sure up until now is, there are tattoos found on Egyptian and Nubian mummies dating from about 2000 B.C. Classical authors also mention the use of tattoos in ancient societies like the old Greeks, Germans, Britons, Romans and Gauls.

The tattoos we know nowadays were discovered by Europeans while exploring north america and the south seas of the pacific ocean. Their first contact with cultures like the American Indians and Polynesians also were the first contact of so called "civilized" people with tattoos. The word tattoo was first mentioned in James Cook's records from his 1769 journey to the south seas. The natives of Tahiti, this is were Cook's expedition went to, called the marks on their bodies TATTAU which was translated into TATTOO by Cook. Due to their exotic appearance, tattooed Indians and Polynesians where showcased at circuses and fairs during the 18th and 19th century all over Europe and the US.

Risks Of Tattooing

This is a list of the primary complications that could result from tattooing:
Infection

Infectious diseases such as hepatitis could be transmitted when using unsterile tattooing equipment and needles. It is extremely important that all the tattooing equipment is sterilized properly. Proper sterilization will always be the case when choosing a professional tattoo parlor. In addition it also very important that the person who receives the tattoo must take proper care of the tattooed area for the first two weeks to avoid any complications.
Allergic Reactions

Allergic reactions to tattoo ink and tattoo pigments are really rare. If they happen though, it could be particularly troublesome because the pigments can hardly be removed. Even if the person who developed an allergic reaction to the pigments undergoes laser surgery, he or she could have them for months. The reason why this takes so long is the immune system, which "flushes" the rest of the pigments out of the body after the laser surgery, takes several months to finish this process.
Removal Problems

Regardless of the advances in modern laser technology, tattoo removal is still a painstaking process. It usually take several treatments and involves considerable expenses. Still, complete removal is possible without leaving any scars due to the always enhancing laser techniques.
Keloid Formation

In case you don't know, keloids are scars that grow beyond normal boundaries. If you are prone to developing keloids you are at risk of developing keloids when getting a tattoo. Keloids can form anytime you injure or traumatize your skin. According to the Office of Cosmetics and Colors (OCAC), tattooing or micropigmentation is a form of trauma, but in recent studies dermatologists state that keloids occur more frequently as a consequence of tattoo removal.
Granulomas

Granulomas are nodules that form around material that the body perceives as foreign, such as particles of tattoo pigment

Why Do Colors Fade?

One of the biggest problems with permanent pigments is that the best ones are unsafe for use on humans. This leaves the the industry with just a few save alternatives. For the most part, very light fast and permanent colors are used. But this is not always the case. When it comes to yellow, purple, orange or magenta, the fade resistance is still not very high. The most common reason for fading colors is Ultraviolet Light, especially the light from the sun.

This does not mean once you get a tattoo you have to stay out of the sun forever. It's just that excessive amounts of sun will fade tattoos. It fades about the same rate your skin degrades when exposing it to the sunlight too much.

Another factor is the application of the tattoo itself. I have noticed the more experienced an artist is the better he can apply the pigment correctly and the less it fades.

People often say their tattoo looks much older than it really is. All I can say to it is they probably exposed themselves too much to the sun, didn't take care of it properly during the healing process or the artist simply did not apply the pigment correctly.

Your skin ages and with it the tattoo. That's a fact and there is no way around it. If you want the tattoo to look good as long as possible take care of your skin and you will take care of your tattoo at the same time.

The Meaning Of Japanese Tattoos

Hannya Masks Against the wide-spread opinion Hannya Masks do not have anything to do with the devil or Satan. There is a concept of a hell in the Japanese Buddhism, but Hannyas are terrestrial monsters. Confused human feelings like passion, jealousy or hate can transform women into these dreadful monsters. In the classic Nô-Theatre of Japan, where the as drafts often used Hannya masks descended from, stories of such female demons are told, who can only be released of their inhuman shape over the way to Buddha.

Kiyo Hime

The best known story of a Hannya demon is the one from Kiyo Hime. Her father owned a harborage in which a monk stopped each year. Over the years Kiyo Hime developed a deep love to the monk but her feelings could not be returned by him. One night Kiyo Hime confessed her love to him and it came to a controversy between the two of them and in which process Kiyo Hime enraged and the monk had to escape. He found shelter in a close monastery and hid himself under an enormous bell. In the meantime, in the intoxication of its hate love, Kiyo Hime had transformed into a demon with the body of a snake and a Hannya head. It sought out the monks hiding place and melted the bell with its fire breath, thereby causing the object of its longing a painful death.

Kannon

Kannon is a Bodhisattva of the Mahayana Buddhism. The task of the Bodhisattva is it to support humans on their way to illumination. There are Bodhisattva with several different tasks. Kannon is the Bodhisattva of sympathy and pity. In Japan Kannon is represented by a woman, usually riding a dragon. while in India, the country of origin of Buddhism, Kannon is represented by a male.

Fudô Myôô

In the buddhist hierarchy the Môôs stand under the Bodhisattva. They are also protectors of the Buddhism but in the contrary to the gentle Bodhisattva rather martial due to their armament. The most popular Myôô as a tattoo motive is Fudô Myôô, the imperturbable one. He is also considered the guard of hell and a knowledge king and is always displayed with a rope, with which he binds evil, and a sword, with which he fights Buddhism enemies.

Dragons

The best known japanese motive is the dragon, for sure. In Japan it is regarded as a luck bringing animal. This may be justified due to the fact that the japanese dragon is a water symbol. He lives either in the clouds, from where he climbs down during thunderstorms, or also in rivers and lakes. It stands for an element which was of an enormous importance for the rice cultivation rice in Japan. Therefore dragons are highly respected and admired in Japan and weren't fought like in european tales for instance.

Kois

In Japan, a koi jumping or swimming up a waterfall is a symbol of strength, the ability to assert oneself and success. As a phallic symbol it stands for male strength and power.

Tamatori Hime

The legend tells that Tamatori Hime once stole the king of the underwater world who was an enormous dragon his most valuable possession, a precious bead. In order to swim faster on her escape, Tamatori Hime cut herself and hid the bead in her own body. Although she found her way ashore, she died on her injuries becoming a victim of her own greed.

Tigers

Although there were never any tigers living in Japan, this majestic looking motive found its way into the forming arts of Japan really early. Drafts for Japanese pictures of these sovereign and at the same time strength defying animals were probably tigers who were introduced from India. The same as carps and dragons the tiger as a tattoo motive primarily is a symbol of strength and power

The Meaning Of Celtic Tattoos

The Celts, inhabitants of Northern Britain which is called Caledonia, glorified the power of live and it's creators in which the male and the female principles were both equal and in harmony. For the Celts, live itself was the driving power in the universe. The power that reveals the highest wisdom and everything divine in it's varieties. Death just played a subordinated role. It was just a short interruption in the forever ongoing and always changing cycle of life.

Therefore typical celtic tattoos are devoured ornaments, complicated and twisted knots and spiral motives mostly done in black. Those symbols demanded a very high understanding of mathematics and geometry and were used by the irish monks in the early middle ages, from the 4th until about the 10th century after christ, for drawings in books and they were also found on monuments. Monuments made out of stone like the so called celtic crosses.

Faithful to the celtic believe the celtic cross symbolizes the unity of the opposite spheres. Up and down for heaven and earth and left and right for male and female. And the circle, the perfectly closed form and the divine symbol for the forever ongoing cycle, underlining this union.

The Meaning Of Dragon Tattoos

Especially the long and flexible dragon, who descends from japanese tattoo traditions, is one of the most popular tattoo motives. Due to his shape he practically fits on every part of the body. Covering full backs, winding himself around arms or coiling up on the chest of the carrier.

In the western culture the dragon, according to the snake, symbolizes evil and has to be fought therefore. Different the japanese dragon which is called Oni and stands as a symbol of luck. The japanese dragon has its roots in the chinese mythology. He was said to live in the skies and had the ability to bring out the rain which was of big importance for the rice cultivation.

The dragon reached japan as a live spending water symbol due to the close cultural connection between china and japan where he is highly honored and admired. It is important to keep him happy because after all he could easily cause a seaquake if begrudgingly. One of the most famous and most tattooed dragon legends, aside the display of the buddhistic gods of wind and thunder (Fu-jin and Rai-jin) who are riding the dragons, is the Tamatori Hime.

The Meaning Of Tribal Tattoos

The tribal designs widely used and applied nowadays go back to the black, silhouette like and geometric tatau ornaments of the polynesians. It was also tribal tattoos the sailors brought home to Europe, from their first journeys to Tahiti, before the influences of the sailors with maritime designs, the today called traditional tattoos, replaced the native motives.

The release of Tattoo Time, a tattoo magazine founded in 1982 by the american innovator Don Ed Hardy and Leo Zulueta started an amazing tribal tattoo boom. The title of the first issue was "New Tribalism" and it features native tattoos from Samoa and Borneo. From there on the tattoo scene re-discovered tribal designs as a tattoo style. Not only that, the black and gently swinging style of tribal weakened the negative associations made with tattoos in the years before. Only after half a year the black designs were among the most popular motive choices and tribal is still one of the most popular tattoo styles today.

There are a lot of tattoo artists who refuse to tattoo simple tribal because of the widely spread believe a tribal is not very challenging for the artist. This is not true. Tribal patterns should always be applied correctly, along the musculature and single muscle parts of the body and should come across as a grown part of the body. The colouring should also be very even and this is not the easiest to do.

Tattoo Equipments

All tattoo equipment is not the same, not in quality, price or purpose. It is important to make sure you have the right tools before attempting something as permanent as a tattoo.



The parts of a tattoo machine are the frame with attached pieces, the tubes which can be removed for sterilization for each tattoo, and the needles that are inserted into the tubes and stick out the tubes opening at the end. The tubes also have a hand grip on them, which is where the tattoo artist holds the tattoo machine. These tubes are almost always stainless steel, with the hand grips the same, or a hard plastic. These tubes do not actually touch the customers skin, but ink and blood do come in contact with them, which is why they can be released from the rest of the machine and autoclaved. The tubes can come in many different sizes in relation to the tip where the needles are held being very small to extremely large. The tube end that connect to the tattoo machine is always the same size so that they are interchangeable.



There are two types of tattoo machines, a liner and a shader. These are pretty much dedicated to what their names imply, with little variation. There are minor differences in how they are built, with the liner having smaller coils, and a more upright position. The shader is made to be held a little more angled, and has larger coils.



The liner is used to hold only liner needles, which are needle bars with only small amounts of needles attached into a tight group at the end of the needle bar. The needles stick out of the tip of the tubes that attaches to the tattoo machine. The liner, as a machine, brings the needles up and down into the skin which perforates it, and deposits ink into the said perforations. It is used to do linework and small details. Most liners can handle needles as small as one needle, or as many as ten. The shader is used to fill in larger areas of skin, and needs the larger coils with more power to do so.



A power chord attaches to the tattoo machine and into a power source. This power source then plugs into an electric outlet (or in some rare occasions, a battery pack). The power source has a dial on it that allows the tattoo artist to adjust the amount of power that the tattoo machine gets. The power source also makes sure that the tattoo machine gets an even measure of power, so that the tattoo quality is consistent.



A foot pedal that stays on the ground also plugs into the power source. This is stepped on to make the tattoo machine run, and released to have it stop. It is just an on/off mechanism, though, and not pressure sensitive like a car gas pedal.



The needles are dipped into ink caps of the color desired. It is much like a paintbrush being dipped into the paint. When it is time to change colors, the tattoo needles are rinsed in a cup of water, and then re-dipped into the new color.

Tribal Tattoos...

“Tribal” means a lot more today than it did fifteen years ago. The definition hasn’t expanded any, but people are trying to throw more and more design and black work tattoos into the category of tribal, unsuccessfully. A solid black tattoo isn’t necessarily tribal, in fact, a tribal tattoo doesn’t need to be black at all. And any design isn’t tribal. Any lacework design that is tattooed in black isn’t a tribal tattoo.

A tribal tattoo was a tattoo that actually designated what tribe you were in, or your status in that tribe. Sometimes the design was different for men than women, sometimes only men got it at all. It could be different if you were married than single. The thing is, it meant something that you understood if you were apart of the tribe, of that culture. What we think of as tribal probably comes from a poorly imitated Maori or other tribal community’s symbolic social structure. We take designs from African tribes, Pacific Islander tribes, Hawaiian, etc., and we try to duplicate them on ourselves without any understanding of what it means, or the significance behind it. It would be similar to an Asian country putting random letters of our Alphabet on their body just because it looked good to them.

Tribal tattoos were also combined with scarification in many cultures and tribes. This was because there weren’t needles in many areas of the world in order to place the ink nicely into the skin. The person getting the design would have incisions made into the skin, and ash or soot rubbed into the cuts. This healed leaving a stained black or grey scar, having both texture and color.

For face tattoos, one should research the Maori culture. They have a beautiful and delicate symmetry to their facial designs. The tribal designs of this and other cultures had something that we lost when trying to adapt it to meet our own beauty standards. These cultures choose designs that they thought would look best on the body, that spoke to them, and complimented certain body types, and areas on the body. Today, we find some tribal flash and place it wherever we have room to fit it, disregarding contours of the body.

If we are to give respect to these cultures and honor them in our choices of body art, then it would be wise to spend some time researching their lives and art and relating it to our own. We should also not try to call any black tattoo we see a tribal, and water down it’s meaning any further.

There are various ways to remove tattoos, the main 3 being:

* Laser treatment is one of the most common methods. Different wavelengths of light are used for different pigments. The laser beam passes through the skin and is absorbed by the ink. This causes the ink to break down so that it can be removed by the body's lymphatic system.

* If the tattoo is too deep for laser treatment, or is quite small in size, the skin with the pigment can be cut away and the edges sewn together to close the wound.

If the tattoo is too large for the wound to be closed with sutures, it is sometimes possible for a piece of skin from another part of the body to be grafted onto the site. Unfortunately, this causes two scars - at the site of the tattoo and at the site of the 'donated' skin, although it is usually taken from an area of the body that is not normally exposed. The scars should settle and fade over time, and further surgery is sometimes possible to further minimise the scar.

* Dermabrasion literally rubs the tattooed skin away with an abrasive tool, over a series of treatments. If the tattoo is deep, a skin graft may also be necessary to 'level out' the surface of the skin.