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TEEN SOUL POWER
TATTOOS: READ THIS LINK BEFORE YOU INK !
He wanted a tattoo that reflected his personality. But he wanted one that was the "biggest and baddest." Fine, except for only three little problems.
First, people change their minds. America had several decades where home owners designed their homes with wallpaper. Wallpaper was very good for showing patterns and designs that regular painting just could not offer. The problem was that people often became tired - and even sick - of one particular wallpaper pattern after three or four years and wanted to change it. By the way, changing wallpaper is not as easy as it sounds. It takes a lot of work, and then additional work to prep the walls for any future painting as well. The main point here is that similar to wallpaper, people often get sick of a tattoo after a few years. In fact, one study showed that 85% of people regretted getting their tattoo after only a few years. And remember, tattoos are forever.
Second, tattoos fade over time. Of course people will say, "No, this one will stay crisp and sharp with the vibrant colors", but the truth is that as we age our skin ages as well. Tattoos become faded, and as our skin ages they become distorted, and for so many - unappealing. One former serviceman had numerous tattoos and while they may at one time have been impressive, they now were quite unattractive to most of his clients and business associates - and even his friends.
Third, one can be stuck with a "jacked tattoo." Many, many times someone sees a tattoo on paper and it looks like an inspiring piece of art, only to find that the tattoo artist is less than proficient and you are left with crooked lines, misspelled words, distorted sketches, or just an ugly blob of ink.
Overall with tattoos, there could be allergic reactions, skin infections or other health complications - including cancer (*). They are expensive. They often are reflective of a fad or idea that fast becomes out of date... or even of a person that is no longer significant in your life. They can be embarrassing for you and your parents, and, yes, be disdainful for bosses and co-workers. They can be painful and even leave you with scarred skin. They can negatively affect your reputation. Tattooing can become addictive. And most of all, tattoos are permanent. Said again, most of all, tattoos are permanent.
While people always come up with a "reason" why they want a tattoo, not all reasons are good.... in fact most are questionable. People may be in an emotional stage, in grief, or are in a somewhat rebellious stage. They may be having an identity crisis. They may have lost loved one. Or perhaps they are celebrating an accomplishment, or otherwise looking for fulfillment through indulgence. And of course many get tattoos either when intoxicated, on a dare, or when otherwise emotionally or cognitively impaired.
But if anything, research shows repeatedly that it is not a good idea to make any major life decisions during extraordinary times in our lives. In fact, if considering getting a tattoo, experts will always caution that one should wait at least a year. Many say that one should wait until at least age 24 when one has fully developed their cognitive instincts and decision making skills.
Getting a tattoo is a serious decision, and definitely a decision which should not be taken lightly. Wait one year, the tattoo parlor will still be there and you may just be glad you did. Oh, and did you know that getting a tattoo is permanent?
(*) Inks and ink colorings (pigments) used for tattoos are technically subject to regulation by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as cosmetics and color additives. However, the Agency states that because of other public health priorities and a "previous lack of evidence of safety concerns," they have not traditionally regulated such products. As such, many dyes used in tattooing are actually produced for industrial uses such as car paint or printers' ink, for instance. They have found that nanoparticles in Tattoo Ink May Be Carcinogenic. Nanoparticles are ultramicroscopic in size, making them able to readily penetrate your skin and travel to underlying blood vessels and your bloodstream. Evidence suggests that some nanoparticles may induce toxic effects in your brain and cause nerve damage, and some may also be carcinogenic. Researchers noted that "the vast majority of the tested tattoo inks contained significant amounts" of nanoparticles. "The black pigments were almost pure NPs [nanoparticles], i.e. particles with at least one dimension <100 nm," they said, and black-ink tattoos may be the riskiest… the black ink is the color most often linked to potential adverse health effects, although all tattoo inks have toxic potential.
