Tattoo Toxicity
More than just the colors
When I started to do the research for this article, I was jaw-dropped at the amount of available information that has been published about tattoos, including history, equipment, ingredients, contaminants, regulations, cosmetic vs medical applications. There are specific applications for various body parts including eyelids, lips, nipples and for medical conditions such as vitiligo, burns, and stretch marks. There is an entire industry built around tattoo removal using YAG lasers, alexandrite lasers, and high-frequency focused ultrasound machines.
I even found an entire textbook, called Cosmetic and Medical Tattoos: Technique and Application. Published in 2023, it has 30 chapters and costs $233!
A Little History
The art of tattooing goes back to ancient Egypt, at least 3000 BC. Other ancient cultures wore body figures as a symbol dedicating one to a certain god. It apparently was used as a ‘brand’ or symbol of servitude. Some tattoos represented a profession (such as a prostitute) or were used to encourage fertility or protection.
Mummies of Egyptian royalty were tattooed, indicating a cosmetic practice. Based on mummy tattoos, the artists used dark pigments, usually black, blue, or green, with little variation. Egyptians tinted their eyelids black with kohl (powdered antimony) or green with copper salts. The lips and cheeks were tinted red. Henna gave a golden red hue to the nails and the soles of the feet. The same apothecaries who prepared medicines for physicians prepared substances and treatments to be used in perfumes and cosmetics.
According to WorldHistory.com,
No written work on the subject of tattoos survives from ancient Egypt, so interpretation is always speculative. But it seems likely these tattoos were not simply adornments to make a woman more attractive to a man but served a higher purpose.
Why tattoos?
Again, a lot has been written about why people choose to get – or not get – tattoos. Although they have been around for more than 5,000 years, body art has exploded in both popularity and acceptance over the last 25 years. Tattoos are becoming more popular, with more than 50% of Americans under the age of 40 sporting tattoos.
A 2019 study done in South Africa and then reported in Psychology Today has a lot of interesting perspectives. Here’s an excerpt:
Among those who harbored negative views, they stated that tattoos were (in their own words), ugly, trashy, messy, cheap, and filthy. Similarly, they saw tattooed individuals as evil, satanic, dangerous, rebellious, ungodly, stupid, reckless, unprofessional, weird, not-Christian, associated with criminality, cruel, showoffs, outcasts, anti-social, bereft of morals, and defiant of society. A respondent expressed, “They want to feel a sense of belonging, attention, and want to be feared.”
Among those with positive views about tattoos, they saw them as attractive, and those who sport them as cool, trendy, fashionable, interesting, spontaneous, creative, artistic, free-spirited, more open/accepting, liberal, adventurous, brave, strong, courageous, and unafraid of commitment and pain. As one participant put it, “People with tattoos are the realest people [you] ever will meet.”
In my opinion, the older you are, the less chance you'll be forgiving and/or accepting of tattoos, especially large, overly-consuming, or grotesque designs.
Health Risks
Infections
Tattooing involves puncturing the skin about 100 times per second with needles and depositing ink 1.5 to 2 millimeters below the surface of the skin. It generally causes bleeding because the needles pierce the blood vessels. Contaminated tattoo ink can cause infections and serious injuries.
Reported problems with tattoo ink have ranged from superficial conditions (allergic reactions, inflammation, impetigo, or erysipelas – usually caused by strep or staph bacteria), to deeper, widespread complications (limb edema, swollen lymph nodes, cellulitis) and even life-threatening systemic complications (endocarditis, septic shock, and multi-organ failure). According to a national German survey of 3,411 tattooed individuals, 67.5% complained of health problems after tattooing; 10% were described as “moderate” and 1.8% described their side effects as “intense” to “very intense.”
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