Black Light Tattoos

                     Photo Credit: Amanda Burns

     No, this picture is not an x-ray, it's a black light tattoo. It's a new advancement in the tattoo world and it's pretty cool. Black light tattoos uses special UV reactive ink that allows it to glow under UV/black lights. They are not to be confused with glow-in-the-dark tattoos which do not currently exist. They have to be under black light to be seen. They are really cool and impressive, but also fairly new, and common among new things, have some downsides.

     First off, it's not so easy to find a tattoo artist who's willing to do a black light tattoos because not everyone think they are safe, which leads to not all tattoo artists having the supplies. Black light tattoos require UV reactive inks and some include Everglow, a paint not safe for humans, or phosporous and carcinogens, chemicals that are also not safe to humans. At the moment, the safest black light tattoo ink in the market is Chameleon black light tattoo ink.

     Second, there have been a few complications reported with black light tattoos. Because there are more chemicals in it, there is a higher risk of your body rejecting it and it can cause itchiness and rashes. Though it is meant to be invisible under normal light, there might be visible scarring depending on the artist who does the tattoo. There are also others who report that their black light tattoo has turned a brownish color over time.

     I think that black light tattoos are really cool but there's no denying that it's not completely safe. If you're interested and determined on getting one, do your research, and go to an experienced tattoo artist. Also inquire about the inks they use and make sure it doesn't contain any harmful chemicals. Better yet, wait a few years. New things emerge all the time, I'm sure they'll figure out a way to make it safer in a few years' time.

If you want to see more photos, check out this blog I found:

http://blacklighttattoos.blogspot.com/

Torim. "Black Light Tattoos." LoveToKnow. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Feb. 2013.

"Black Light Ink Tattoo Pictures, Health, & Designs." HubPages. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Feb. 2013.
    

The Art of Gauging

     Lke tattoos, gauging (also know as ear stretching), could be dated back to Otzi, an Iceman who died around 3300 B.C, and whose body was found in 1991 with tattoos and gauges. Ear stretching is also something that has been long practiced in some ancient tribes in Africa and other parts of the world. In the Mursi Tribe in Ethiopia, having stretched ears and lips meant that a female has reached a certain point of maturity. In some Asian tribes, it was seen as a way for women to enhance their beauty.

     There are several ways to stretch the ears and achieve the desired size. In the past, one way was to use weights. Large weighted earings were used to stretch the lobes. This is not something that is commonly used in modern day practice. The most common way today is by tapering, pushing a rod that is bigger on one end through the earlobe to stretch it. There is also dead stretching, where a big piece of jewelry is simply forced through the piercing, but can lead to tearing of the flesh. Another way is to use a scalpel to cut around the existing piercing so that its diameter could be expanded. Others also opt for silicone plugs, soft plugs that can be folded and inserted into the piercing and once inside, they expand and stretch the ear lobe.

     Just like with tattoos and piercings, gauging has become more common in this day and age and though there are not many statistics, "there is extensive anecdotal evidence that ear stretching is on the rise" (McClatchey). There are many popular artists wearing them such as rapper Travie Mccoy and singer Adam Lambert. As teens see their favorite artists with stretched ears, they become intrigued and some follow suit. DIY kits have become more widely available and there's a great variety of jewelry to choose from.

     Gauges has been seen on catwalks and on celebrities. It's not just for hippies, punks or for the rock crowd. It can suit anyone from a girly girl to a grown man. It has become more mainstream in the past decade and though there are those who might find it scary or even disgusting, for those who have it, it is "a thing of beauty"(McClatchey).



McClatchey, Caroline. "Ear Stretching: Why Is Lobe 'gauging' Growing in Popularity?" BBC News. BBC, 21 Nov. 2011. Web. 20 Feb. 2013.

"The History, Method, and Warnings of Ear Gauging." HubPages. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Feb. 2013.

Mohan, Rohini. Buzzle.com. Buzzle.com, 30 May 2011. Web. 20 Feb. 2013.

My body is a journal in a way. It's like what sailors used to do, where every tattoo meant something, a specific time in your life when you make a mark on yourself, whether you do it yourself with a knife or with a professional tattoo artist.
                                                                                         ~Johnny Depp




"Quotations about Tattoos." Welcome to the Quote Garden. N.p., 14 Oct. 2012. Web. 06 Feb. 2013. <http://www.quotegarden.com/tattoo.html>.

A Little History

          Body modification is the deliberate alteration of one’s body and it is done for several of reasons. Body modification is generally associated with tattoos and piercings but it could also include other things like scarring, implants, etc. These procedures have been around for a long time but they originated at different times, and in different parts of the world.

          Tattoos are believed to have started somewhere around 10,000 years ago. Otzi, an Iceman who died in 3300 B.C. and whose body was found in 1991, has the oldest documented tattoo. Tattoos of animals and other mythical creatures were also found on mummified bodies of ancient Egyptian people. Tattoos were also done forcibly to identify certain people. The Ancient Romans used tattoos to distinguish their slaves and criminals and the Nazis tattooed numbers on the Jews’ arms during the Holocaust. It became popular sometime in the eighteenth century when tattooing became common with British sailors and seamen.

          Piercings on the other hand, started somewhere around 4,000 years ago in the Middle East, where nose piercings were first recorded. It carried on to India, where it became more popular around the sixteenth century and is still widely practiced today. Nose piercings were also mentioned in the Bible (Genesis 24:22 and Isaiah 3.21). Tongue piercings originated with the Aztecs as a form of ritual to draw blood for sacrifices to the Gods. The Aztecs also had lip piercings reserved for men of higher status. Lip piercings also existed in Africa and is said to have some religious significance. Some tribes were known to pierce their ears due to superstitions. They believe that demons and bad spirits could enter their bodies through the ears, but that they are repelled by metal, and so they pierced their ears. In Borneo, piercings used to be part of a ritual that parents would do to their children. The mother and the father would each pierce an ear of the child to represent the dependency of the child to the parents.

          Though tattoos and piercings have been around for a long time, they have become even more popular in this modern day and age. It has evolved from just being a part of a ritual or done due to a superstition to a way of expressing individuality and telling personal stories through body art. Both tattoos and piercings are ever improving due to new techniques and technology. Piercings are now taken to a new lever and piercers are able to perform microdermal anchoring by inserting surgical implants beneath the skin. So just imagine the possibilities of what future technologies can bring.

         

Understanding Today’s Teens

         Think of the places you go to on a regular basis- class, work, grocery store, the mall, even the movie theaters. Think of the people you encounter, chances are, some of those people will have piercings or tattoos. Body modifications have become a prominent part of our society and many teens turn to body modifications to express their individuality.

         This semester, my blog would mostly be about teen body modifications. I want people, teens and older people alike, to understand why some teens feel the need to modify their body by getting tattoos and piercing or would want to change the color of their hair. This is a very interesting topic for me because it’ll be interesting to find out if its psychological thing or more of a social thing that resulted from the influence teens get from their environment. I can do research on body modifications around the world, in other cultures and also interview people I know to understand the motivation behind their body modifications. It’ll also be fascinating to learn through research and observation if there are consequences to body modifications in our society and in others as well.