If You Must Express Yourself with Body Art, at Least Follow Safety Precautions Offered by FDA and AMA
Body art (including practices like tattooing and piercing) is a popular form of self-expression. These permanent markings are typically created by professional artists, but the health and safety regulations they must follow vary according to the city, county or state regulations under which they practice. Furthermore, certain aspects of body art, such as tattooing, entail unavoidable health risks, such as exposure to inks and dyes that have never been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use on human skin. Some of those inks have also been known to react badly when exposed to diagnostic magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans.
Nevertheless, for those considering a tattoo, the FDA offers the following tips to help safeguard the health and safety of consumers:
"Ink:
- Remember that the FDA has not approved any tattoo inks for injection into the skin, and many ink pigments used are industrial strength colors suitable for printers' ink or automobile paint.
- The use of henna in temporary tattoos has not been approved by FDA. Henna is approved only for use as a hair dye. Similar to other inks, the use of ultraviolet (UV) ink for glow-in-the-dark tattoos also has not been approved by FDA.
Permanence:
- Consider tattoos permanent. Removal is time-consuming, costly, and doesn't always work. The most common method of tattoo removal is by laser treatment, which delivers short flashes of light at very high intensities to the skin to break down the tattoo ink. FDA allows several types of lasers to be marketed for tattoo removal. Some color inks are harder to remove than others. Many repeat visits every several weeks may be required to remove a tattoo, and it may never be entirely gone.
- Do not buy or order online do-it-yourself tattoo removal products. These acid-based products are not FDA-approved and can cause bad skin reactions.
- Consult your health care provider—not a tattoo parlor—if you want a tattoo removed. The American Society for Laser Medicine and Surgery can help you find a doctor experienced in tattoo removal.
Don't Avoid an MRI:
- If you need to have an MRI done, don't avoid it. Inform the radiologist or technician that you have a tattoo so appropriate precautions can be taken."
As for body piercing, the American Medical Association (AMA) associates the following risks with the practice:
- "Poor healing
- Pain
- Edema (swelling)
- Scar formation
- Allergic reactions to metal
- Dental damage from oral or tongue piercing"
The organization recommends that anyone who is seriously considering a piercing ask the following questions of his or her body artist:
- "What type of training does the piercer have?
- How are the piercing instruments cleaned and sterilized?
- How are problems at the specific piercing institution traced?
- What kind of care needs to be with the piercing?
- What type of metal (gold or silver preferred) is used for the initial piercing?
- How long before the piercing is considered to be healed?
- Whom do you contact if problems arise with the piercing?
- Where do you find more information?"