I have been trying to convince my mom to let me get a tattoo. It’s not that she thinks tattoos are bad, she just thinks I’m too young. Plus she says my arms are too skinny so once I get bigger arms it’ll stretch out and look weird. So there are a multitude of reasons why my mom doesn’t want me to get a tattoo. I feel that if I educate myself more on tattoos and the science behind them, I can provide a valid argument to her and hopefully convince her to let me get one. So this can be like practice for my real presentation to my mom.
http://66.media.tumblr.com/a0e520681d57e8855ea374cd8aa2d4ac/tumblr_mxn91yCy3D1t0yj8wo1_1280.jpg
My knowledge of tattoos before I did research was minimal. I knew that the needle penetrated your skin really fast with ink and then you would have a tattoo. That’s it. There is also a lot more that goes into tattoos than you would think. According to this article that I read, your body is actually constantly fighting infection to keep the tattoo there. The needle penetrates the skin through the epidermis and past the dermis and ink is released. This causes your body to send immune system cells to fight off the injury. The article states specifically that the cells that are set are called macrophages. They go to get rid of the infection. Fibroblasts absorb the rest of the dye. You are able to see the ink though your skin because of the ink in the fibroblasts and macrophages. So you see, my plan is to first hit her with the science behind tattoos. If she sees how invested I am in the subject, maybe she’ll understand how bad I actually want it. Now, time to tell her more about the healing process and any risk factors.
The healing process, from what I read, can be annoying. Depending on the tattoo, it can take up to two months for it to heal according to an article that I read. It also stated that there are three stages to the healing process. The first stage is where the tattooed area is swelling and oozing liquids. The second stage is when the tattoo starts to itch and the scabs start to come off. The last stage is when the tattoo seems to be healed but deeper layers still need to heal. This can be the longer stage out of the three. The outer layer of skin heals relatively quickly because it is the most important to heal because it is exposed. Overall, the healing process does not seem too bad. Annoying, yes, but other than that it’s all good.
With any time of injury endured, there is a chance of infection. This is true for people who choose to get tattoos as well. A study was done on 4,227 students, ages 14 to 22, to see how conscious they are about infections you can get from tattoos. The boys studied, for the most part, were unaware of the possible infections they could get from tattoos. They were did not even know what steps to take to fix the issue or what warning signs they should be looking for. This tells me that not enough young people are educated on the possible risks of getting tattoos. According to a report I read put out by the FDA, possible risks include: infection, allergies, scarring, granulomas, and MRI complications. The first three risks are straight forward but granulomas are little bumps or knots that can form around the tattoo changing the pigment. As far as MRI complications, the tattoo may react poorly with the radioactive waves during the scan. These risks are preventable if you take proper care of your tattoo and give it the correct time to heal without much stress on the tattooed area.
Overall, I think my argument is pretty solid. My mom would be comforted in knowing that proper care of my tattoo can help prevent any possible risk. Also that the healing time isn’t too long and wouldn’t effect me for a long period of time if, again, I take care of it. Hopefully my mom buys into what I have to say, but if not at least I know cool things about tattoos now.
http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2014/07/the-real-reason-tattoos-are-permanent/374825/
https://authoritytattoo.com/tattoo-healing-process/
http://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1471-2458-10-73
http://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm048919.htm
Interesting post, I enjoyed reading it. My roommate has several tattoos, with the most recent one being the largest and most colorful. While they have never been a problem before, maintaining this tattoo was a constant struggle for him. Like you and me, he was somewhat unaware of the larger commitment that comes with larger tattoos. He was a bit lazy when it came to cleaning it and it got infected. From there he had to pay super close attention to it, as well as having special creams that he had to use. It was pretty brutal to see someone paying for permanent art on their body and then struggling to maintain it. I would just say to anyone looking to get a tattoo: don’t forget that a) it’s forever and b) it comes with a great deal of work when done right!
I have also been trying to convince my mom to let me get a tattoo for a little while, and I learned more from this post than I had known before! I found this article that explains that tattoos could actually be beneficial to your health! It could be bettering your immune system if you end up getting multiple tattoos, similar to the ways that vaccinations work on your body. Maybe that’s some more information you should tell your mom in order to increase your chances of her letting you get a tattoo!
I actually got a tattoo without telling my mom or dad because I knew they would make a big deal about it if I asked them. So, I went and they could not do anything about it but accept it after I got it. I learned a lot from this post that I didn’t know before about getting tattoos. I did not know that your body was constantly fighting infection after the tattoo, I wish I researched a little more before I got mine.
Interesting blog. I don’t have any tattoos myself, but I was still very much aware of the risks of infection. I was surprised to see that there are large amounts of people who don’t know the possible complications. I wonder if the lack of knowledge is the result of people not caring or something else entirely, because the information appears to be readily available from many sources. Something I had not heard about was the length of healing time. Overall, your post was very informative and I hope your mom will let you get a tattoo!
I like this post a lot. Considering getting a tattoo myself has lead me to do my own research. I have been finding information similar to what you posted about, in order to consider my parents, and even myself to go through with the decision. Some stuff I found was info regarding areas of pain. I knew going into this that some areas would hurt more than others but I never realized why besides common reasons. What i found was, that even though certain locations on the body may hurt more, it will vary from person to person due to the individuals nervous structure and how that person feels pain. Also, skin structure and body fat play a role. All in all, i benefitted from your blog and appreciate the post!
Personally, I don’t really like tattoos, and definitely don’t want my kids to get one. But, I think that this post is super informative and I really hope that your mom takes a second look at it because you present a really convincing argument about the safety surrounding it! I hope you can get a cool tattoo and no infections! 🙂