Already 25% of 18 – 30 year-olds have a tattoo. In the next few years, this number is expected to grow to nearly 40%.

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.
Continue reading Types Of Tattoos, Safety And Removal

This method is performed by a doctor who literally cuts around the outline of the tattoo and removes it using a scalpel. After the tattoo is removed the remaining skin is stitched back together with sutures leaving a scar behind. This tattoo removal option is best suited to smaller tattoos. Larger ones treated with this method often require skin grafts from another part of the body in order to close the area where the tattoo once was.

Using this method you are really trading a tattoo for a scar. However, the results are immediate with smaller tattoos often removed in a single session. Compared to laser tattoo removal or IPL the treatment is relatively inexpensive.

It is considered a routine procedure with a short recovery phase, if no infections or other complications arise. It is normally performed using local anesthetic to numb the tattooed area.