Here is an overview of the types of tattoos:

Amateur Tattoos. These are made by individuals or their friends often by simply jabbing ink, charcoal or ashes under the skin’s surface using a pin or needle. Additionally, because such tattoo are done under unsanitary conditions with unusual pigments, they pose a much higher risk of infection.

Professional Tattoos. These are applied by registered artists using a tattoo machine. This is a term many tattoo artists prefer to the term ‘tattoo gun’.
Cosmetic tattoos. These may be used as permanent make-up, such as eye and lip liner, lipstick, blush, eyebrows or hair imitation. The process may be repeated over time when the colors begin to fade.

Medical. These are not for decorative purposes, but are applied for medical reasons. Patients with medical conditions or chronic disease, such as asthma or diabetes, may use one to alert health care workers in the case or an emergency. After breast reduction surgery, a tattoo may be applied to simulate the nipple for example. These are similar to traumatic tattoos which may be applied after injury such as when dirt or other materials get embedded in the skin.

Safety Tips:
Check to see, first of all if the clinic is clean.
Check the bathroom, if it’s dirty – get out of there.
Confirm that the parlour’s business license is up to date.
Check out the tattoo area and look for a separate area for tattooing with a clean, hard surface with no contaminated items present.

Steps that you can take to increase your chances of getting a good tattoo:
Avoid alcohol or taking any drugs the day before and the day of getting a tattoo.
Avoid getting a tattoo when you are sick.
make sure all needles are removed from sterile containers.
Make sure the studio has sterilization equipment to clean instruments after each use.
Make sure that the artist cleans his or her hands and puts on clean, sterile gloves.
Get a list of the specific types of pigments that the clinic uses, including color, manufacturer and lot number.
Make sure to follow carefully the healing instructions that the tattoo artists provides to you.

Some people may develop allergic reactions to various kinds of pigments that are used within the inks – especially red. Remember that tattoos can be removed, sometimes, most easily is the tattoo was done entirely in black.

There are various ways to remove tattoos and each has its own unique costs and benefits. The most common options are excision, dermabrasion, laser tattoo removal, tattoo removal creams and and Intense Pulsed Light.

Although lasers are the most common approach, they are designed to break down the tattoo pigments which are absorbed by your body’s immune system. This can lead to the possibility of an allergic reaction.

Remember To Think Before You Ink!

Before lasers became popular for tattoo removal in the 1990s they were often removed using one or more sanding methods.

Dermabrasion was the more common method and involved manual abrasion (sanding of the skin) to remove the layers of skin on the tattooed area (epidermis) as well as the middle layers of skin. As you can imagine, this can be a painful process, especially with larger tattoos. Usually the majority of a tattoo could be removed using this method, but with some tattoos dermabrasion is not successful. This method has been known to cause scars.

The procedure makes use of either a fine-grit surgical sandpaper, caustic acids, a dremel-like sanding machine or an acrylic nail sander. The procedure is often performed under local anesthetic (such as lidocaine) or local & oral/IV sedation. Ice packs are often applied to the skin up to 30 minutes prior to the procedure.

Freezing spray is sometimes applied to harden the skin surface for deeper abrasions if the ice pack does not adequately firm the skin.

Once the procedure is complete the skin is treated with an ointment and various dressings. Following the procedure the skin is often red and swollen. The swelling normally subsides within 2 to 3 weeks. Patients usually experience some burning, aching or itching after the procedure as the new skin begins to grow. A crust usually forms over the treated area as the new tissue begins to heal. However, applying ointment to the area immediately following the procedure should help minimize crust formation. As your healing progresses, the crust will fall off revealing a new layer of tender pink skin. If the area remains itchy, red and swollen after the healing has begun this may indicate that abnormal scars are forming.

The skin’s pinkness often takes about 3 months to fade.

Main Problems with Dermabrasion

• Scarring – A raised or thickened scar may appear 3–6 months after removal.
• Pain – Usually significantly more painful than getting the tattoo.
• Skin discoloration- Because of damage at the site of the removal.
• Infection – Which can delay healing and increase your risk of scarring.

Salabrasion: This is now considered a very outdated method of manual abrasion where the target area is sanded with salt. It is considered one of the original resurfacing techniques. It is most often performed under local anesthetic. A local anesthetic is often injected around the edges of the design then the skin is rubbed aggressively with raw salt or a salt sanding block.

Complete removal of the tattoo cannot be guaranteed and the process can leave the patient with raw, red, or burned skin. Scarring can also occur using this method.

Please make sure to research your tattoo removal options before deciding on the best choice for your needs. There are many options to choose from including: tattoo removal cream, salabrasion, laser tattoo removal, chemical peel, among various others.In recent years the variety of methods to remove unwanted body art has increased dramatically and as such consumers need to evaluate tattoo removal cost to suite their goals and budget.