Tattoos!

[Balzac]

You can get tattoos now that last either a few months or a few years. Also, I;ve never heard of tattoos giving health problems during pregnancy, that;s a new one.

[Avarice-ness]

You can get tattoos now that last either a few months or a few years. Also, I;ve never heard of tattoos giving health problems during pregnancy, that;s a new one.

The main concern with getting a tattoo during pregnancy is the risk of contracting an infection, such as Hepatitis B and HIV. Although the risk is small, it is recommended that you wait to get a tattoo until after your baby is born.

You will be very interested to know that little information is available about the safety of skin dyes used for tattooing during pregnancy. It is possible that the chemicals in the dye may affect the development of the baby during the first 12 weeks, but the risks are unknown, as are any effects on the baby during the remainder of the pregnancy.

Some women may have also heard that if they have a tattoo on their back, then they will be unable to get an epidural. Very few studies have been done on the risks that could exist for women who have back tattoos and receive an epidural. So far none of these studies have conclusively found any data that shows that there are risks, so most anesthesiologists have no problem giving an epidural to a woman with a back tattoo. If you want an epidural and have a tattoo on your back, it still would be best to contact the hospital and find out the policy in regard to tattoos and epidurals.

The risk of contracting an infection is small, but you could pass the infection to your baby if you are breastfeeding. Ultimately it's your decision, but you may want to wait until you are not breastfeeding to get a new tattoo.

It is very unlikely that you will find a tattooist who will be willing to perform a tattoo for you if you are pregnant. I contacted a number of tattooists while researching this subject, and all of them said they would not perform a tattoo if the client was pregnant. They gave a variety of reasons for this.

It is not unusual for people having a tattoo to faint or pass out. The tattooists felt that they were not prepared to take the risk of a pregnant woman fainting.

Several tattooists commented that they believed the action of having a tattoo may prove so shocking that it may lead the woman to go into labour! There is some evidence that stressful events in pregnancy may result in premature labour but having a tattoo has not been identified as one of these significantly stressful life events in any literature available to midwives. Interestingly there were comments about the ink that was used during the tattooing process. The tattooists felt that there wasn't enough known about any possible effects the ink, which may be partly absorbed into the body, may possibly have on the baby.

It therefore seems sensible to err on the side of caution and wait to have a tattoo until after the baby is born, rather than take any unnecessary risks during pregnancy.

During pregnancy, the way a woman feels about her body and her body image is altered. Something you may feel you would like to have during pregnancy may be something you regret after the baby is born. This may be another good reason for waiting until after the birth.

If you have a tattoo during pregnancy on skin that has been stretched, or you have put on a considerable amount of weight, bear in mind that the appearance of the tattoo may change after the baby is born. This is another reason for waiting.

If you are determined to have a tattoo in pregnancy despite the advice above, make sure that you choose a practitioner who uses disposable needles and whose equipment is scrupulously clean and has been sterilised properly. If unclean equipment is used, there is a real possibility of catching a serious infection, including Hepatitis B, which could have significant effects on you and your baby.

With both my tattoo's before I even signed the consent papers or what ever, the first thing they asked me was if I was pregnant. Obviously at the time I wasn't, but really the pregnancy thing is completely reasonable. Personally, I've yet to meet a tattoo artist who didn't ask about pregnancy.

Also, most people argue that the ink only stays on the top layers of skin and what not. BUT THAT IS NOT ALWAYS GAURENTEE'D. There are nicely qualified tattoo artists that have tattoo'd too deep before, all you need is a jerked movement for the needle to go too far. When I got my first Tattoo there was -one very tiny area- that was too deep and I was HORRIBLY sick for about 3 days. I went to the doctor and they said it was prolly from the tattoo because even a small amount of ink might have gotten into my blood stream.

Also, apparently SOME doctors won't give you an epidural if you have a lower back tattoo. What's funny is that when looking at all the people online it's really something that the doctor chooses because there are some M.D.'s who say they will and some who say they won't. Basically they don't want to risk knocking the pigments (even if the tattoo is older) into the blood stream would could cause complications for infections caught during labor and before labor.

[Peegee]

I want to get a canadian flag somewhere on my body. It has to be a place that's simultaneously visible when I wear my regular street clothes AND something I can cover when I have to go into the office.

Suggestions?

[Avarice-ness]

I want to get a canadian flag somewhere on my body. It has to be a place that's simultaneously visible when I wear my regular street clothes AND something I can cover when I have to go into the office.

Suggestions?

The backs the best place to have for "street" and for "profressional" ESPECIALLY with guys.

Now, you would also do good on the top part of your arm near your shoulder, but it could be visible if you had one of those "casual/professional" days where you you could wear a nice shirt (a polo shirt) and khaki's.
It really would depend what your "professional" dress is.

Either way though, anywhere on the back is safe for professional life of a guy.

For girls, there's always the chance that you could end up wearing a tank top or something of the sort, so arm and back aren't always as safe because.. saddly no a days womens professional clothes don't cover as much as they do for men.
Usually the hip is the safest place for a girl in the work place since most world places don't want to see any skin lower than your breasts and higher than your crotch.
A tiny wrist one can be pulled off to by a watch or a bracelet.

[Peegee]

Anything on my back won't be visible unless I took off my shirt. I might end up putting the tattoo on my chest or something, like I planned from the start (actually I wanted it on my neck before I thought of the ramifications)

[Avarice-ness]

Anything on my back won't be visible unless I took off my shirt. I might end up putting the tattoo on my chest or something, like I planned from the start (actually I wanted it on my neck before I thought of the ramifications)

You never know. xD Depends on what kind of shirt you consider casual. I know alot of guys who wear tanks and wifebeater type tanks so.. yeah you can see it on the back.

[Peegee]

Anything on my back won't be visible unless I took off my shirt. I might end up putting the tattoo on my chest or something, like I planned from the start (actually I wanted it on my neck before I thought of the ramifications)

You never know. xD Depends on what kind of shirt you consider casual. I know alot of guys who wear tanks and wifebeater type tanks so.. yeah you can see it on the back.

I don't. I wear convoluted fashion like short sleeveless hoodies or golf shirts with t-shirts beneath them.

I should just find out what IBM's standard is for tattoos. Maybe I can get one in a less-than-obvious place like my forearm (underside) or on my neck, where the collar shirt might cover.

It's all an academic exercise in the end since I work from home (but you never know. Working from home is not as permanent as a tattoo).

[Tasura]

I so want a tattoo, but getting one is impossible until my father dies, since he'd disown me otherwise =/. when I get one, I don't know what it'll be, I'll probably do something stupid and get one on the back of my hand.

I got the one on my shoulder like about 3 years ago. And -omg- when I moved in with my dad he was like devasted. I got lectured about tattoo's and how they're evil because they taint the "holy vessel" and he wouldn't let me wear tank tops in the summer because you could see the Tattoo if I wore tank tops.

After like.. accepting that I had already got the tattoo and it wasn't going anywhere, he lightened up about it. He did tell me that I would -never- get another tattoo while being under his roof. Luckly now that I'm married I'm not under his roof because my dad believes that marriage is the most rational and mature of desicions so if I believe that a tattoo is rational while married, that's up to me.
So yeah, I would have been disowned, but since I'm married now I'm old enough to make desicions like tattoos'.. even though I'm 22. xD

It's not that he'd just disown me, but he'd kick me out of the house, which isn't a good thing when you have no where else to go. The house kickage out of doesn't stop there either, piercings and died hair also = getting kicked out, essentially anything unnatural = kicked out.

[Blue Harvest]

I think it's really awesome when people get tatoo sleeves- where their entire arm is tattooed. It just looks really cool.

I suddenly have a desire to get my entire left arm tattooed

[duckie]

I think it's really awesome when people get tatoo sleeves- where their entire arm is tattooed. It just looks really cool.

I suddenly have a desire to get my entire left arm tattooed

LOL
Blue Harvest- Biker Dude
FTW

[Jess]

You can get tattoos now that last either a few months or a few years.

No. I looked into this before I got my tattoo. It's basically a hoax. Everything I've heard about these 'semi-permanent' tattoos hasn't been good.

The fact is, when you insert tattoo ink under the skin, it's there to stay. It may fade over time, but it won't just disappear. There is no magical ink that fades completely away after a predetermined length of time.

Some of them will say that they tattoo the ink so lightly that it doesn't become permanent - that somehow it's only embedded in a temporary layer of skin that will wash it away. This is also impossible. There are 3 main layers of epidermis - most tattoos go into the second layer. But if you only go into the first layer (which would require surgical if not magical precision) the ink may very well fade - but not evenly and not completely. What you'd be left with is a really crappy half-tattoo with splotches of ink here and there.

Klicks Tattoo quotes an article from The Times where Dr. Arthur Morris, a plastic surgeon, says, "A tattoo only lasts if it goes into the dermis [the layer of cells below the epidermis]. In other words, there is no possible middle ground." In the same article, Lal Hardy, a secretery for the A.P.T., is quoted as saying, "Professional tattoo studios won't go near these so-called temporary tattoos. It is hairdressers and market stalls who are doing them. The people doing it may even believe the tattoos are temporary, but those getting them are guinea pigs."

So, basically, this is nothing but a scam. Stick-on tattoos are temporary (3-7 days) and henna art is temporary (2-4 weeks) and tattoos are permanent. Those are the only real choices you have. If you are not prepared to keep your tattoo for the rest of your life, you'd be best off not to get one at all.

[Peegee]

When making the decision for tattoos consider whether you can live with that piece of art stuck on your body for (naturally) ever and ever. Consider things like aging and possible extreme body changes (I'm not putting any tattoos where if I were to lose a lot of weight or gain a lot of weight it'd mess things up) as factors that may mess things up. As stated above, consider whether your job function will be hampered, real life limitations, etc

[duckie]

My friend got a bunch of tattoos, and when he went to work he had to cover them all up. It was a real pain.

[Araciel]

Anything on my back won't be visible unless I took off my shirt. I might end up putting the tattoo on my chest or something, like I planned from the start

Like a superhero?!

[Avarice-ness]

My friend got a bunch of tattoos, and when he went to work he had to cover them all up. It was a real pain.

Yeah my cousin has like.. .. a lot tattoo's I think. Two covering her wrists, a half sleeve on her left arm, a tattoo covering the top portion of her feet on each foot, two on her back, one on her neck, one on her calf.

Basically she did almost all of these the second she turned 18 and then decided she wanted to go to school for fashion design to design clothes for people like ambercrombie and american eagle. Those hopes dwindled once she realized that when in the fashion industry you must dress as if you are in the fashion industry. She basically was told, even by teachers, she would have a better chance working for a designer who did punk clothes and such.

So after that, she decided she wanted to be a teacher. She's still going to school to be a teacher and has now accepted that she will be wearing long pants and long sleeves dress shirts for her entire teaching career because most schools don't let elementary teachers have half their body covered in tattoo's.