Tattoos are designed by marking in the dermis layer of the skin temporarily or permanently with several pictures, patterns or some text. The literal meaning of tattoo is ‘to write’. Tattoo is generally made in the ‘tattoo shops’, ‘tattoo parlors’ by ‘tattoo artists’ or ’tattooists’ or ‘traditional tattoos expert’.
Types Of Tattoo
In broader sense tattoos can be classified into five basic categories. They are as follows.
- Traumatic tattoos: Generally, these occur as a result of some accident. They tend to spread across the numerous skin layers making it difficult to remove later.
- Professional or amateur tattoos: They act as symbolization for religion, rank, status or spiritual dedication. They symbolize the culture of several places.
- Identification: They can be used for identifying a person and was in practice among the Nazi prisoners. It was mostly in the form of numbers.
- Cosmetic: Sometimes, the cosmetic tattoos are used to enhance the beauty of a person. It can be used for enhancing the lips, eyes, eyebrow or moles. Generally, here the natural color of skin is used.
- Functional: Sometimes, it is used in the hospitals for identifying patients. Here the name of the patient is written in the form of tattoos.
Medical: Here information about the medical history of the person is being conveyed in the form of tattoos.
Process of Tattooing
There are broadly two methods that the traditional tattoos expert follows for making tattoos. It is important to hire experts for this process. The processes are as follow.
- Traditional process: Earlier the tradition of tattooing was more famous in the tribal cultures. It was done by cutting the skin into different kinds of designs and then filling the wounds with colorful inks or some kind of agents. The ink is spread in the skin by using any kind of sharpened objects like bones of animal or even needles. Though this practice has been replaced by modern techniques it is still practiced in some corners of the world. Tattooing was then considered to be some form of sacrifice and the design or place was chosen by the tattoo experts rather than the person.
- Modern Tattooing: In the modern method an electrical machine is used. It uses a group of or a single needle for inserting link inside the skin. The needle oscillates making the desired design in the skin. The needles must be sterilized before use.
Choosing The Expert
It is important to choose the best traditional tattoos expert since it involves the skin. Any fault during the process may completely damage the skin or it can cause several diseases. Reusing the needles can lead to deadly diseases like AIDS or hepatitis. Generally, tattoo artists are of 2 kinds, one who knows his job very well and takes all safety measures and the other who is just an artist and barely bothers about the safety precaution. It is important to consider the following factors before choosing the artist.
- Consulting with a person who has got it done is most important before finalizing the artist. Getting to know about the several pros and cons of the artist is vital.
- It is important not to believe in the advertisements blindly. Checking the various facts personally is very important.
- It is better not to go for artists who agree to do in a much cheaper price.
- It is important to pay a visit earlier to the tattoo studio and check all the infection control measures beforehand.
- The needle must be new and opened in front of the customer. The ink and paper towel must be brand new.
- It is recommended to attend a tattoo show and know details about the process.
- The artist must be able to give proper aftercare advice.
