I was discussing the pros and cons of getting a tattoo with a friend the other night, and I started to wonder what exactly goes into getting a tattoo. A quick internet search told me some of the basic ideas behind tattooing, which I thought I would share! Turns out, many of the vibrant colors found in tattoo ink are actually derived from heavy metals, something I never even thought of. Green from copper, red from iron, blue from cobalt…it’s pretty amazing (and a little alarming). It seems the heavy metal pigments are pretty stable and are therefore considered safe for use in the body, but our recent lectures on membranes have me wondering if any serious scientific studies have been performed on this topic. After all, our skin is an organ, so it’s pretty interesting wondering what the effect of forcing heavy metals into the skin has on the membrane chemistry.
Would you ever get a tattoo?
this reminds me of the times when i was younger and my parents would be like don’t write on your hands with ink or don’t rub the lead of your pencil on your skin….is it or is it not a myth that the ink or the lead remnants can get into our body and can be harmful?
back to your question: i don’t think i will get a tattoo but a lot of my friends have gotten them as a symbol to represent something important to them (I’ve even seen one where a student actually got one of the traditional Wellelsey lamppost!)
Well, I had trouble finding reputable sources talking about the health problems that come from writing on your hand. The best I can tell is that this used to be a bigger problem, but toxic components were removes from most writing implements so that people couldn’t inadvertently poison themselves. The main problem seems to be Xylene which is found in some permanent inks (although a lot of companies have started removing this as well).
It’s so funny–I actually heard about the presence of heavy metals in tattoo ink from House! I didn’t think it was true because they (as usual) exaggerated it and went so far as to show that the patient couldn’t get an MRI because of the magnetic force. I’m guessing that people with tattoos still get MRIs. Even so, this only decreases my chances of getting a tattoo.