Think before you Ink

Growing Tattoo craze in Himachal Pradesh

A small Om on men’s hands/arms or three dots on ladies’ chins are common marks seen on the skin of our elderly grand parents. These marks called “tattoos” are now gaining skyrocket popularity among the people, especially youth. Just to add some oomph to their lifestyle, masses get themselves etched ignorant about the place and person who is inking them.

Aman Devrani a professional tattooist from Manali, said, “In Himachal we see numerous folks getting themselves tattooed by tattoo-hawkers present in the melas. I remember once I had been to a nearby mela where I asked a tattoo-hawker sitting on the side for a tattoo, he told me a very cheap price and said that he’ll be using fresh needles as a safety measure. When I saw him working on a guy, I found that he did change the needles but ink, gloves, etc. were same. There was no proper sterilisation of the equipments and even the ink used was not of a good quality. This scene of severe health risk sent a chill down my spine!”

It’s sad to know that people are deliberately inviting hazardous infectious diseases to attack them from unsafe methods of tattooing. Many folks are unaware that they can be infected by surface infections of the skin, herpes simplex virus, fungal infections, hepatitis-c, staphylococcus aureus (infected tattoo), and HIV/ AIDS via the use of unseterilized equipments. This is not the end, use of FDA unapproved ink can also result to worst nightmare of allergy.

“Make sure the Inks are branded like Starbrite, Kurosumi and Intenze to name a few and not some cheap quality. See the place yourself and make sure it’s clean and hygienic. Do a lot of research before you tattoo anywhere,” says Lokesh Verma owner of Devil’s Tattooz, New Delhi.

Though, in recent years tattoo industry is gaining great popularity in India. However, the history of tattoos began over 5000 years ago and is as diverse as the people who wear them. It is believed that the word tattoo is derived from two Polynesian words – ‘ta’ meaning striking something and ‘tatau’ which means to mark something.

No wonder tattoos are a new way of expressing oneself and the best expression can be made with good designs and nice colours deep soaked into your skin. For all those playboys temporary tattoo like that of Saif Ali Khan’s ‘Kareena’ can be an option to show their mock-eternal love. Anyways, this is a kind of tattoo to satisfy your desire for a tattoo without permanence. A latest and hottest trend of tattoo art is “Black Light Tattoos” that are almost invisible in daylight but show in great detail in darkness. Though, black light tattoos are more expensive and take longer to ink.

Finally, click here to find some helpful tips to save your precious tattoos from fading.