My Findings on Body Art and Modification

Most everyone who has gotten a tattoo while in their right mind knows the aftercare drill. Rub on the stuff they tell you

This one kept me out of the pool for 2 weeks in June 08

to rub on until the scabbing is done, keep it clean, don’t itch and no swimming in the ocean or pools for 2 weeks or until healing seems to be done. Meaning, if you enjoy swimming, get your tattoos at a time you won’t be swimming, like fall and winter. I do not know about the rest of you, but I have seen some people go swimming in a chlorine filled pool go swimming barely a week after their tattoo is done. So, what I wonder is what are the exact, negative effects that may happen?

Australian Website TattooWorld.au.com says

During the healing process can I :
go swimming?
No. Swimming can expose your new tattoo to elements that are harmful to the healing process eg: chlorine (this is a bleaching agent and can drastically increase color loss), salt water (dries the skin and can lead to heavy scab formation and loss of color), bacteria (your new tattoo should be treated like a wound, exposure to bacteria can lead to infection).

What does salt water or chlorine have to do with a tattoo that is healing?
Both salt water and chlorine can leach the pigment out of the skin, which will compromise the integrity of the colour. After the procedure has completely healed, the client may go into a pool and into sea without complications.

While it is not guaranteed to wreck your new tattoo it is still a good idea to stay out of pools and oceans probably to be safe. I mean, you just paid something that hopefully turned out really awesome, why risk it. Either way summer is a great time to show off tattoos so get you tattoos a few weeks before big beach trips or pool parties or stay out of the water.

With any modification to one’s body there are risks involved. But besides the physical ones such as infection or rejection there are others which we usually overlook, such as divorce, bra straps, and psychiatric commitment, among others. The BME encyclopedia risks site has information on almost all of them.

For divorce one man talks about losing a custody battle for a few mod related reasons. The judge deemed him unfit for full custody  after hearing about his voluntary castration thinking that his wife had made him do it and that made him weak. Also, his wife had a shrink tell the court he forced her to get body piercings. Just another thing to keep in mind during a divorce.

Some people may think of you as certifiably insane after an extreme body modification. Then they just may have you hauled in for psych evals up the ying  yang. But chances are they won’t find anything and you’ll be free in 72 hours.

In the bra strap category they warn people about bra straps snagging on new tattoos or piercing and suggest going braless or wearing some sort of padding or cushion under the strap until healing is complete. They also advise to be careful of children around any modifications they can pull on or grab at such as stretched ears or transdermal implants.

For more risks click here

Birthdays are awesome days for getting new tattoos. I, like many young people do, celebrated my eighteenth birthday with a tattoo a few years ago. I also celebrated my last day of high school with a second tattoo a few months later, but that isn’t the point.

What is the point? That birthdays are one of the best days to get tattoos. I am hoping to receive enough money for a new tattoo or something cool like that, but tattoos cost money and I do not want to get my hopes up. But I have rounded up some spectacular tattoo, piercing, and body mod pics for you all.

[flagallery gid=2 name="Gallery"]

I recently joined twitter and have found some good accounts to follow for body mods piercings and tattoos.

• BodyMod_
  • I think this is a general piercing/tattoo/extreme mod thing      
• Face_Tattoos
  • Basically good facial tats like the name suggests
• vegantattoos
  • for those wanting a more natural harmless tattoo experience
• TattooGallery
  • Just a bunch of different tattoo stuff but all very good and updated often
• TattooBuzz
  • About the same as tattoo gallery but with other cool stuff posted as well. Also, updated often
• tattoohelp
  • name says it all but not updated to often it seems

(To follow my twitter look up crazy0122003 in people find, click the follow me link on the About Ashley page or click on the twitter widget to the right)

I hear people ask all the time “What is the most painful place to get a tattoo?” Everyone says the on the sides of the ribs. While I have never gotten inked in my ribs but I did recently get inked on my foot. I now think the foot is one of the most painful places to get tattooed. The ribs have more of a chance to have some padding on them unlike the foot. Which is pure bone on the top, the most common foot tattoo spot.

Foot tattoos, while painful, are very fun and easy to show off, especially if you are a girl. Guys, I don’t mean to alienate you but I just don’t see many men with tattooed feet. The only man I remember seeing with one is Ryan Dunn of Jackass and Viva La Bam. Dunn got a math problem tattooed on him for a scavenger hunt in the first season of Viva La Bam.

Foot tattoos are like any other tattoo accept they can take a little extra time to heal. For aftercare I did exactly what I did with my other tattoos. Basically, just follow what your artist says unless you already have an aftercare method of choice. I will soon be posting an aftercare page.

I did use A&D ointment for the first time rather than using ink fix like with my first two tattoos. I think it was slightly irritating to my skin but it still worked even though I did switch to ink fix after I got it back from my friend. Really, it is just a matter of preference.

When going in for a foot tattoo, remember to wear shoes that will not cover the area of the tattoo. Like ballet flats or sandals. And while it’s healing keep the tattoo uncovered. At least for a week or while the major peeling is happening.

Also, like with any tattoo remember to eat shortly before you get it done. They say you will not bleed as much and have less pain. When I got mine done it was still painful and I ate right before I got it done.

With most tattoos the pain eventually subsides a little. The foot is not like most tattoos. It is also not a big place so smaller tattoos are usually what you will get there. This means less time for the tattoo and less pain. Also, make sure to just relax and hold still. My foot kept moving up and down.

Afterwards, there will be swelling up to a few days. The best thing to do is relax and keep your foot up.

When piercings get infected it doesn’t always start as a big gross mess. At first it will be red and painful, not green or yellow.  Some people might not know when their piercing is infected, especially when its new. Or what to do when they get an a infected piercing.

Infected piercings will have redness around the hole, pain, prolonged bleeding during healing, yellow or green pus, and feeling hot to touch.

If your piercing becomes infected and it is still in the early stages of infection don’t take the jewelry out. The holes will heal with the infection still inside. Use sea salt mixed with water (about 1/8 of teaspoon mixed with a cup of water) and soak the area a few times a day. If it doesn’t start to clear up in a few days call your piercer. If that isn’t possible and it just gets worse see a doctor.