Tattoos: Aesthetics and Health

BODY DECORATION IMPLIES TODAY A NEW CONCEPT OF TATTOOS, WIDELY SPREAD AMONG WORLD POPULATION

The term tattoo refers to the accidental or voluntary skin pigmentation by injecting insoluble ink, or other substance on the skin. Generally, this action is carried out by a professional tattooist who inserts the pigment by using disposable, metal needles.

There are different types of tattoos; namely, traumatic, cosmetic, and decorative. In turn, they could be permanent, if the pigment is inserted into the dermis, or temporary, if it remains at a more superficial level, at the epidermal-dermal junction.

Cosmetic tattoos are usually temporary and are used as permanent makeup to outline eyes, lips, or eyebrows. In addition to this, they have been used therapeutically to mark areas for radiotherapy, correct skin conditions such as alopecia areata (spot baldness), or certain vascular malformations.

Complications after tattooing depends highly on the tattooist's experience, hygienic conditions, and aftercare. However, some of these complications are unpredictable and depend on intrinsic factors of the patient. The most common ailments are usually bacterial and viral infections (herpes and warts), scars, and keloids, general allergic inflammatory reactions (rash, urticaria, and anaphylaxis) or local (excessive hyperkeratosis, ulceration, and cross-sensitivity reaction) associated with the toxicity of some of the pigments (red, green, blue, violet, pink, yellow, and orange) being the red color the one prone to serious inflammation.

In the event of tattooing the lumbar area, the application of epidural anesthesia is not possible in the future and tattooing is not recommended for people allergic to nickel, who suffer from vitiligo and psoriasis, women with pathologies that delay the healing process such as hemophilia, diabetes, or dermatitis.

Dermatological conditions are a very frequent in travelers, especially in tropical or subtropical destinations. Tattoos should be avoided in the days close to the trip, use a screen and / or sunscreen, prevent insect bites, and eventual skin injuries.

In addition, you must take into account the environmental conditions of the site to which you are going to, since there are external factors such as solar radiation, humidity, and temperature, among others, capable of modifying the tattoo and even lead to complications.

Reactions by external factors are mainly caused by the sun's ultraviolet radiation and may trigger itching and pain. Tanning works like a color film and depending on the depth reached in the skin layers and their tone, the tattoos will change, losing brightness and vitality in the colors. This may be attributed to the fact that such injury to the skin triggers the body's immune response capable of degrading the ink particles, an effect similar to laser tattoo removal. The yellow inks are the most photosensitive as they mostly contain cadmium sulfide, which when reacting with radiation causes photodermatitis. However, white inks often turn into yellow or orange, and the latter turn brown.

Excessive humidity and high temperatures favor infectious diseases, since bacteria have their optimal growth temperatures at 50-60 ºC if they are thermophilic. The seawater, the lake, the river, the spa bath, or the pool are all enemies of the tattoo during healing due to the use of chemical agents and the contamination in natural environments of water.

The prime concern to know is how to care for tattoos during a trip and how to protect them. You should never expose tattoos to the sun without using a sunscreen lotion and, if you get tattooed in the place of visit or travel with one recently made, you must follow all the aftercare regime, protect it from dust, dirt, rain, and wind, as well as maintaining proper hygiene and hydration.