Journal Archives

Tattoo Blogs From March 2005

From Tao of Tattoos Archives

University of Florida Study on Tattoos is Hardly Groundbreaking

March 20 2005

For college students anxious to rebel against their parents sensibilities, getting a tattoo or piercing may be the modern-day equivalent of the 1960s-era fascination with long hair and love beads. As with the hippie look, body art has caught on with both genders. But the motivations fueling a trip to the tattoo and piercing parlor can vary dramatically between men and women, and between individuals.

University of Florida researchers co-authored a study published recently in the journal that examined gender differences and personality traits among college students who had at least one tattoo or non-traditional piercing, defined as located anywhere other than the earlobe. Popular piercing sites include the eyebrows, nose, lips, tongue, chin, nipples, navel and genitals.

"Fifty years ago, generally Americans did not have tattoos or any alternative body modification," said Eric Storch, a UF assistant professor of pediatrics and psychiatry and a study co-author. "Times have really quite quickly changed."

The new study, based on a written survey of about 280 undergraduates, showed that those with multiple piercings were much more likely to have experienced stressful life events such as severe injury or illness, abuse or the death of a loved one. And despite the common perception that people with body art are free spirits, the results suggest at least one gender stereotype - that tattoos are strictly for men - may still hold true.

More than 80 percent of the 160 women surveyed were pierced but less than 20 percent were tattooed. I think what we're seeing is kind of a recycling of that rebellion, just in a different form. Regardless of the meaning behind it, body modification is a way to express your individuality, to explore and to experiment with really being an adult for the first time according to Storch.

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March 16 2005

New Tattoo to Monitor Diabetes

Scientists are developing a smart tattoo that could tell diabetics when their glucose levels are dangerously low. Once perfected, the tattoo will allow glucose levels to be monitored round the clock, and could allow an alarm system that would warn the diabetic if their glucose levels were to fall dangerously.

The tattoo has been designed Gerard Cote, of Texas A&M University, and Michael Pishko, of the chemical engineering department at Penn State University and uses a similar approach to a watch device which is currently available but takes it a step further. The tattoo is still in the early stages of development.

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March 15 2005

Tattoo Inks May Contain Toxic Chemicals

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Dirty needles may be the chief health concern with tattoos, but preliminary research suggests the inks used to make the body art may harbor potentially toxic heavy metals.

In an analysis of 17 tattoo inks from five manufacturers, researchers found evidence of a number of different metals, such as nickel and copper, in the products. It's unclear how much metal may be in the different inks - or whether there is any health risk.

Still, the study authors say the findings highlight the lack of oversight of tattoo ink manufacturing. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which approves the color additives used in foods, cosmetics and drugs, does not regulate the inks used for tattooing, and no color additive has ever been approved for injection into the skin.

Many tattoo enthusiasts may assume that an ink that's injected into the skin has been approved by regulators to meet certain standards. However, it is not even clear what goes into a given tattoo pigment. Because the inks are not sold directly to consumers, manufacturers are not required to list the components on the product label.

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March 08 2005

Gang Members Hide Their Tattoos

(AP) A cottage industry of private clinics has grown up in El Salvador (news - web sites) around tattoo removal. Some charge hundreds of dollars, but a few nonprofit organizations will do it for a token sum. The U.S. Embassy here even gave a local program $85,000 for a laser tattoo-removal machine.

Tattoos have become synonymous with gangs and violence � tombstones and crosses remembering fallen members, skulls that often signify drug use, elaborate drawings of other gang members, necklacelike inscriptions across the collarbone saying "Forgive me, mother, for my crazy life."

Salvadoran police say newer gang leaders are forgoing body art altogether to avoid drawing attention. Those still with tattoos complain of being refused jobs or school admission.

Monterosa, a 26-year-old father of two with another on the way, says he wanted a job as a bus driver, but no one would hire him because MS-18, the name of one of El Salvador's most infamous gangs, is printed on his forearms.

He says he still gets stopped by police suspicious of his tattoos and his activities, even though he now works with an AIDS (news - web sites) prevention group that helps gang members and has chapters in both San Salvador and Los Angeles. It's called Homies Unidos, using the American slang word "homies."

Monterosa has begun to remove the tattoos, paying a nonprofit clinic headed by a Roman Catholic priest a few dollars for each treatment, and undergoing mandatory counseling.

Three treatments have almost removed the green teardrop by his eye that signifies his year in prison on weapons charges. But the MS-18s are a bigger job. Some tattoos take more than a year to remove.

Some clinics use the relatively painless but more expensive laser, which pulverizes the ink and causes the tattoo to slowly fade away. Monterosa's tattoo was removed with infrared light treatments, which require anesthesia and slowly burn off the tattoo with the intensity of a lit cigarette. The procedure leaves some discoloration.

Others choose a very painful abrasion method, which scrubs the affected area and leaves a noticeable scar.

Police use the tattoos to identify gang members � especially in Honduras and El Salvador, which have enacted tough laws against maras, as gang members are known in Spanish.

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