Tattoos 

 

 

Since the 1970s, tattoos have become a mainstream part of western fashion, common among both sexes, to all economic classes, and to age groups from the later teen years to middle age. The tattoo has undergone DRAMATIC REDEFIITION and has shifted from a form of deviance to anacceptable form of expression.

 

The cosmetic surgery industry continues to see a trend of  increased popularity for both surgical 

and nonivasive procedures. When used as a form of costmetics, tattooing includes permanent make up and hiding or neutralizing skin discolorations.

 

A variety of pigments and inks are used in modern tattoo, ranging from traditional black to a wide range of colors. 

 

 

PROCEDURE : Tattooing involves the placement of pigment into the skin's dermis, the layer of dermal tissue underlying the epidermis. After initial injection, pigment is dispersed through out a homogenized damaged layer down through the epidermis and upper dermis, in both of which the presence of foreign material activates the immune system's phagocytes to engulf the pigment particles. As healing proceeds, the damaged epidermis flakes away (eliminating surface pigment) while deeper in the skin granulation tissue forms, which is later converted to connective tissue by collagen growth. This mends the upper dermis, where pigment remains trapped within fibroblasts, ultimately concentrating in a layer just below the dermis/epidermis boundary. Its presence there is stable, but in the long term, the pigment tends to migrate deeper into the dermis, accounting to the degraded detail of old tattoos. 

 

 

The most common method of tattooing in modern times is the electric tattoo machine, which inserts ink into the skin via a single needle or a group of needles that are soldered onto a bar, which is attached to an oscillating unit. The unit rapidly and repeatedly drives the needles in and out of the skin, usually 80 to 150 times a second. The needles are single-use needles that come packaged individually. 

 

Health Risks : Because it requires breaking the skin barrier, tattoing carries health risks including infection and allergic reactions. Modern tattooists reduce risks by following universal precautions like working with single-use items and sterilizing their equipments after each use. 

 

Tattoo Removal : While tattoos are considered permanent, it is sometimes possible to remove them fully or partially with laser treatments. Typically, black and some colored inks can be removed more completely than inks of other colors.