Growing Up With Your Tattoo

Throughout history tattoos have been used to demonstrate individualism and affiliations to various groups. Tattoos show personal preferences, and a paerson's creative outlook on life. Tattoos are growing in popularity and these days both men and women enjoy having and showing off their tattoos. Some research has shown that about 1 in every 4 people have at least one tattoo on their body and it is considered far more acceptable by the general public than it ever was in the past.

The definition of a tattoo is a permanent marking on the skin. The ink is injected by a needle to ink just under the skin, creating the desired image of the tattoo. The needle moves very fast, puncturing the skin and depositing the ink into the epidermis. As the ink is deposited into the epidermis, the skin captures the color of the ink. The artist will continue to clean the tattoo as he works on it, wiping it off with antiseptic and disinfecting the wound.

Over a period of time your tattoos will change with the skin due to the wind, the sun, growth of new skin, water, and other things. The way a tattoo looks and how clear the design remains must also change with the skin as it shrinks, stretches, and ages. The pigment that makes up the tattoo must remain the way it is over time, although tanning and wrinkles can affect the color and clarity of the tattoo.

The overall length of time that a tattoo stays healthy and vibrant in color generally depends on how well it was taken care of after it was first completed and how the skin is taken care of. Infection has always been a concern with tattoos but you must also promote healing in the sense of retaining as much ink as you possibly can. Most tattoos will heal completely within a few short weeks, although they must be kept moist to prevent scabbing. If allowed to scab, the scab that forms may well remove some of the color from the tattoo.

The number one enemy of tattoos is the sun. Just like other colors that are exposed to sunlight, the pigments found in tattoos will fade. Yellow and red are the hardest colors to maintain over time, blue and black are the easiest and most stable to maintain. Tattoos are considered to be part of the organism of your living skin and need to be maintained to keep the color alive and fresh. If you are going to be out in the sun, you should always cover your tattoos and wear a quality sunscreen as well, just to be on the safe side.

Tattoos that have been properly applied, properly healed, and protected from the rays of the sun can retain their good looks for years and years. Although the colors will remain vibrant as well, time and the sun are definite enemies for tattoos. No matter how well you take care of your tattoos and protect them, there really is no escape from changes that come as a result of time itself but the more care you take of them the longer they will maintain their fresh appearance.