In this series of articles, well-known experts answer questions that are usually awkward to ask: it seems that everyone already knows about it, and the questioner will look stupid. We have collected what you really wanted to know about, but were embarrassed to ask.
Today we’ll talk about tattoos. We asked a dermatologist whether the paint under the skin can harm health and complicate diagnosis, whether it will be possible to completely remove the tattoo, and whether there are diseases for which such decoration is contraindicated.
1. What is tattoo ink made of and why is it stored under the skin?
In the past, almost anything was used as tattoo ink. Some natural dyes such as ocher, coal, ash, gunpowder.
In modern paints as pigments use carbon black, titanium dioxide, iron oxide, phthalocyanines and other substances that are used in the textile, cosmetic and food industries. What exactly the composition will be depends on the color.
The tattoo remains on the body for a long time due to the fact that the ink lies deep under the skin. The surface layer, the epidermis, is renewed within about a month, so the tattoo artist injects paint under the basement membrane, which separates the epidermis from the deeper layers.
As a result, the pigment lies in the dermis, and only guard cells of the immune system – macrophages – can remove it from there.
They eat the pigment, and when they die, they disintegrate and release it back into the tissue. Then all this is eaten by young macrophages, and the pigment still remains in place. If the protective cells do not have time to eat what is left of the dead comrades, part of the pigment is sent to the lymph nodes and settles there.
2. Can a tattoo harm your health?
Of course, if you inject some kind of rubbish containing lead or mercury under the skin, this will certainly lead to poisoning. If tattoos are made using modern inks that are manufactured industrially, this will not harm your health.
All tattoo inks undergo laboratory control and undergo the same tests as cosmetics that are applied to the skin. The pigment must be durable, non-toxic and hypoallergenic, and should not cause irritation.
Yes, the tests are not as stringent as for drugs, and they do not always take into account the long-term effects of substances on the body, so there are still certain risks. But so far there is no reliable evidence that some components of paints can have a toxic effect on the body or cause cancer.
In rare cases, an allergic reaction to some pigment may occur, for example red – it is the most allergenic.
If you are prone to local reactions and are concerned about your health, you can do a test before the session. First, apply the paint to the skin of your forearm and wait half an hour. If there is no reaction, you can inject the pigment under the skin in some inconspicuous place, wait for complete healing and then come for a full session.
Some people are wary of getting tattoos near moles because it can complicate the diagnosis of skin growths. Actually this is not true. When using digital dermatoscopy, the pigment will not interfere with detecting suspicious changes.
The fact is that when assessing moles, it is not so much their original appearance that is important, but rather the dynamics of their condition, that is, how they change over a certain time. If the doctor notices something wrong, the mole will need to be removed.
3. What happens to a tattoo as a person ages or changes weight?
Everything is very simple here. Skin with a tattoo is essentially no different from skin without it. The paint does not affect either the rejuvenation or aging of the skin.
If a person gains weight, the tattoo will expand and increase in size; if a person loses a lot of weight, it will sag along with the surrounding skin. There is nothing surprising here.
As a person ages, the skin loses its elasticity and becomes wrinkled, and the same will happen with a tattoo.
4. Is it possible to remove a tattoo completely?
First you need to figure out how the removal occurs.
At the moment, the most effective method is laser. But it does not burn the pigment and does not affect it at all. The laser destroys macrophages filled with pigment, which is then transported to the lymph nodes and remains there for the rest of life.
True, new macrophages immediately crawl into the removal zone and again devour the pigment that did not have time to penetrate the lymphatic system. Therefore, it is completely impossible to get rid of a tattoo. Only if you cut off a piece of skin, but then it will heal through the scar. This will simply be replacing the tattoo with scar tissue.
Therefore, no master will promise you that there will be no trace left of the tattoo. As a rule, they are simply lightened, and then replaced with something more suitable for the worldview at the moment.
5. Can everyone get tattoos?
There is a Koebner phenomenon, in which rashes can occur in places where the skin is damaged. This often happens with psoriasis and lichen planus.
Even if the patient had only one plaque or papule, anywhere, he is not immune from the appearance of new rashes on a fresh tattoo. Roughly speaking, the tattoo will end up on a new plaque, which will be accompanied by itching, peeling and other unpleasant symptoms of the underlying disease.
Of course, some people still get tattoos and then come to me for treatment. Sometimes it is even possible to relieve dermatitis in this area and get a regular tattoo, but not always. Still, it is better for people with such skin diseases not to get tattoos.
6. Why do tattoos fade and blur?
Even if you do not use a laser on tattoos, over time some of the pigment will go to the lymph nodes. This process is inevitable.
Theoretically, the fading of a tattoo may slow down in immunodeficiency states, when the body’s protective cells do not work as well as they should. It depends on the characteristics of a particular person.
In addition, tattoos fade faster when exposed to ultraviolet light. Firstly, photoaging occurs. The skin, both with and without a tattoo, becomes more flabby and dry. Secondly, ultraviolet light can somewhat discolor the tattoo itself, affecting the pigment.
7. Why do some people barely endure a session, while others can fall asleep?
It depends on the person’s personal pain threshold and the state of his body. General nervous tension, hunger, periods of infectious diseases, hangover – all this can reduce the pain threshold and increase discomfort.
In addition, the location of the tattoo is also important. The thinner the skin and the less subcutaneous fat and muscle underneath it, the more painful it will be during the session. That is, the most painless places for tattoos are the shoulders, forearms, thighs, and calves.
The most sensitive places are the skin above the ribs and on the head. There it is in almost direct contact with the bones and there is no soft substrate in the form of fat and muscle.
8. Is it possible to become infected with anything through needles?
Of course you can. The only way to avoid this is to make sure that the master opens the needles with which he will work. This is a necessary and sufficient condition for not getting infected.
Using one clipper attachment on multiple clients is simply unthinkable. I don’t know what kind of people are capable of this. No normal tattoo parlor will do this.
If the master uses disposable attachments, there is no risk of becoming infected with anything from another person.
Naturally, if the skin is treated poorly at the application site, you can pick up some kind of infection. But not something scary like HIV or hepatitis. Bacteria that live on the skin can penetrate the wound, and after that you will have to be treated with antibiotics. But if you treat your skin with an antiseptic during the session, this is unlikely.
9. Are there temporary tattoos?
Temporary tattoos are usually called henna designs. And in fact, they can be dangerous.
In rare cases, henna can drive to severe contact dermatitis with redness, swelling and blistering. As a result, in place of a temporary tattoo Maybe leave a permanent scar.
Moreover, an allergy to henna may not appear immediately, but, for example, a week after application or even the next time.
There is such a condition as delayed-type hypersensitivity. The first henna design does not give any negative consequences. After a month it goes away, but the body becomes sensitized – the person will develop hypersensitivity to this allergen. And the next henna tattoo will end in the development of allergies and dermatitis.
Of course, this does not happen to everyone, but some people who are predisposed to henna allergies may experience all the negative consequences. To prevent this from happening, when reapplying henna, it is better to first test it on a very small area of the skin.
As for temporary transfer tattoos from other plant extracts, an individual reaction is probably possible to them, as with everything in general. But I have not encountered such cases.
10. How to properly care for a tattoo from the moment it appears?
When I started doing tattoos myself, I walked around all the time in these stupid diapers, wrapped in cling film and bandages, washed and smeared with something. But then they created polyurethane films.
Now almost all normal masters use them. Why wrap some kind of diaper when you can just stick a polyurethane one on your tattoo and forget about it for five days? And all this time, calmly take water treatments, swim in the pool, wear any clothes and not be afraid that some kind of infection will get inside. And then peel off and enjoy the finished, healed tattoo.
After removing the film, it is enough to apply a moisturizer until the peeling goes away. And if you want to keep your tattoo in its original form for longer, you should apply sunscreen to it when going out into direct sunlight.
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