Dan S

At the risk of feeding trolls...I did find this: Can Skin Reject Tattoo Ink? Mar 31, 2011 By Ryn Gargulinski The beauty of tattoos outweighs the risks for many, as evidenced by the wide range of people with permanent body art. A smart move is to investigate your potential tattoo artist and studio to ensure precautions are in place to protect you from infection, blood-borne pathogens and disease. There is one risk from tattoos, however, over which you may not have much control. In rare cases, skin can reject the tattoo ink. Rejection The body rejects things by creating an allergic reaction to a substance it registers as harmful, even if the substance is not, says Mayo Clinic. Such is the case when skin rejects tattoo ink, usually with an itchy, red rash in the tattooed area. An allergic reaction to tattoo ink is rare, but it can hit even years after you get a tattoo. Sometimes, medications work for treatment, but in other cases, the best bet is to get the tattoo removed. Skin can also react soon after a tattoo by breaking out in itchy, raised bumps known as granulomas or form keloids, which are large, raised areas of scar tissue. Allergic reactions to tattoos come about because of some of the substances used in ink pigments, Mayo Clinic and Dermatology Insights say. Some inks contain cadmium, mercury or other substances and compounds that some people's bodies deem as harmful. Red ink is one of the top culprits for allergic reactions, although neither Mayo Clinic nor Dermatology Insights note any specific components in red ink that differ from other colors and cause the higher rate of rejection. Tattoo inks come in a huge palette of colors, ranging from Bahama blue to banana cream yellow, ruby red to titanium silver. More than 50 different pigments and shades are on the market, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration says, with new ones added regularly. The FDA has approved exactly zero for injection into the skin. This does not mean, however, all unapproved pigments will cause an adverse reaction. It means the FDA has been falling down on the job, which it readily admits on its website. The FDA does approve color additives used in cosmetics, according to its website, and tattoo inks and pigments fall under its regulation under the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act. Even though some tattoo ink pigments are industrial-grade colors of the type found in car paint and printer ink, the FDA says it has instead been focusing on other, more pressing health concerns and, in the past, has not had evidence of any safety concerns with tattoo ink. The FDA plans to investigate tattoo inks in the wake of more than 150 reports of negative reactions to several different colors used for permanent makeup, says an FDA webpage last updated in December 2009. It mentions only permanent makeup complaints and not those from other types of tattoos. As it gathers more information during its investigation, the FDA will decide if it needs to take any action to protect consumers better, although it did not note what that action might be. References American Academy of Dermatology: Dermatology Insights: A Closer Look at Teens and Skin Mayo Clinic: Tattoos and Piercings U.S. Food and Drug Administration: FDA Authority over Cosmetics Mayo Clinic: Allergies Tattoo Superstore: Ink Colors SOURCE: Can Skin Reject Tattoo Ink? | LIVESTRONG.COM

Think of what the poor guy-or girl-at the front desk has to deal with, each and every day! The artists get, usually, a good amount of respect, but the guy at the front desk? That geek that hassles you for money, and makes you fill out forms n shit? Fuck him, right?! I've never had a bad experience with a front-end type. Even tho' I limit my actual tattooing to Chicago Tattooing Co., I visit parlors wherever I travel, and I travel a lot. What I have found is that when I go in, as long as I am up-front about not being there to be tattooed, but just checking it out, I am treated pretty well. Most often, I end up talking with whoever the artist running the shop is and so forth. I guess it's the same old same old, you get the respect you give.

That would be the front wall looking south onto Belmont. That whole are was stone barrio at the time. Mostly P.R. right there, just north and just east were Whites, lotsa hillbillies, and there wasn't a lotta love to spread around that 'hood. Latin Kings had an open-air dope market in there, just west of the el tracks, and it was real easy to get your head split right down to the pink-meat. The inside of the studio was actually pretty nice looking, and Cliff had things in there you just didn't see anywhere else, like autoclaves and such. You walked in, and there was an open area, maybe ten feet deep, and then a counter, not quite chest high, but enough to stop someone from doing something ignorant. The whole place was pretty tiny, and if a float was in at Great Mistakes, it would be a line of Squids out the door and down the block. Funny, but the remembry plays trix, so I may remember it as bigger, smaller, shinier, whatever, than it actually was...it was a year or two ago.

Definitely looks better there than on either elbow or arse! Next step is to visit Mario in Chicago and have a companion piece done there!

Did somebody say seventies?!?!?!?! So, these aren't strictly tattoo pix, wasn't posing to show off the work, just pix from back in the day that happen to show tattoos. In two of them, you can see an original first-edition Chicago Tattooing Company tee-shirt. In the first pic, the guy doing the restraining is wearing ink he got in Milwaukee in the early 60's. Can't see it, but he had a tat we called the "jumping green jesus" on his chest that he got when he was 15, probably the single worst piece I've ever seen come out of a "professsional" shop. The other two pix have work by Dale Grande from CTC in them.

I drink maybe 4 or 5 beers a year. Used to drink a fifth of Scotch in an evening, but the doctor told me there wasn't enough blood in my alcohol stream, so I quit, what, about ten years ago. It ain't too bad, but it's like Dean Martin said, "if you don't drink, you get up in the morning, and shit, that's as good as it's gonna get!"

And here's the same corner today...only thing that's the same is the head shop/sex shop/whatever shop across the alley, and The Alley. The pic posted above was taken on Belmont looking west from the south side of the street, and this pic was taken on Belmont looking east from the south side of the street. Note that where CTC was is a yuppie restaurant. Desecration.

Sweet.

M.C. Escher did a ton of work using variants of cubes and other mathematical figures...necker cubes and penrose triangles, tessellations, or "tiled" cubes such as the pic you posted. He also used polyhedra and distorted geometric figures. Not my cup of meat, but hey, to a mathematician, I guess they're pretty hot!

Honest, getting both knees done at once is not fun. I had to fly from Chi to Seattle 2 days after I had mine done. They took one look at the way I was walking and put me in th eelderly and infirm line for boarding!

Sweet. That was a rough-ass 'hood back then, bigtime. Great place, tho', Cliff, Buddy, and Dale always had some craziness going on. You went east a bit on Belmont, you were at "Chickenhawk Corner" of Clark and Belmont, you went west a half-block, and you could see the look-outs on the rooftops and in the alleys with their walkie-talkies, ready to tip the dealers to the cops. It was always fun.

Look at the top of this page, there is a gray bar, find the "forum actions" tab and click on that. From the menu you get, select "edit profile". When you get there, look at the lefthand side if the page, and select "your gallery". To delete an image from your gallery, check the box on the righthand side of the image, scroll down, and hit delete.

It does work-I've known a fe ex-bangers that did the same thing. Ouch.

I've got am old Easyrider that has an article about tattoo removal, but they talk about the salt-paste and washrag method. I'll have to double-check my old stock and see if I missed one!

So, why does this moke need to use vinyl gloves? Is he that freaking toxic he's afraid to catch something from himself???

Tim, when Nick did my knees, it wasn't even really pain, it was just like electricity was jolting straight into what was left of my brain. By the time he was done, maybe three and a half hours later, I was done, too. Best of luck on your next knee!

Mario does killer work, and that's no exception! Gotta agree with you about the kneecap...when I had mine done by Nick Colella it had to be, not the most painful, but the most intense tattooing experience I have ever had.

Sure. My oldest got one not too long ago, and I watched another guy getting one while I was being worked on the other week...hard to beat the old reliables!

I suppose if you want to read them that way, but what I wrote was that a tattooist can make it, but not really get over, i.e.; can't really break into the bux by doing $100 pieces of flash. As to the second quote, it has nothing to do with importance, it has to do with finance. The 19 y.o. girl getting the z.o.a.s. is probably never going to come back, probably never going to get another tattoo. That is just reality, and doesn't imply any less importance to them as a person. And if the back and forth shit is tiring, then don't deal in it. You called me out, I answered you, now you say drop it. Okay, fine. Walk it off.

ah, so desu ka! Well, buddy, I'm all eased, not to worry, but let me just point out that what makes you cringe may not make others cringe. That term is fairly common in this area. Truthfully, it isn't one I use much, but whatever, in honor of your feelings, I think I'm gonna head over to that $20 shop and get a "31" put on. As for the second part of your post, about the $100 flash, I don't recall ever posting anything derogatory about it, or the people who get it. If you're going to get in my face, at least get in my face about something I wrote.

I wasn't so much comparing them as offering a "can you believe this shit" about the second shop. I would never patronize a shop that didn't have love of the craft at it's core. And while I'm not a "collector", just a person who happens to have tattoos, I would think the livelihoods of tattooists everywhere depends not on who opens a jive-ass wannabe shop, but on the customers. I don't think too many people who are truly into being tattooed are taken in by the glitz of the "television shops", and seek out real, honest, reputable parlors, no matter who owns them. As an afterthought, on my way home from Chicago Tattooing the other day, I spotted a small parlor on the Nort Side of the city, and they had a big banner out front proclaiming it to be the "HOME OF THE $20 TATTOO!!!". I resisted the temptaion to stop and get one. Now, if I'm wrong to be speaking here on this, the admin can pull my posts. Wouldn't want to offend anyone, but I don't see a huge divide betwixt tattooists and the people who are getting tattooed. I don't mean the ones walking in and getting a zit-on-a-stick, I mean the people who invest huge amounts of time, thought, love, and yes, money, into decorating themselves with the finest work they can get. My tattooist tells me, "I'll tell you anything you want to know about the craft, show you whatever you want to know, just ask". But I'm not going to ask him to break out his trade secrets, show me how to tattoo, I respect his skills and his level of artistry. While I might ask a question about how he uses a certain technique, it's not to copy it, but to understand how it will affect the art he is blessing me with.

I know of one shop near me that is owned by a guy who has never tattooed, and it seems to do alright. I've looked at their work-there are usually two tattooists working there at any given time, and it doesn't seem bad, but the tattooists are definitely not putting their hearts and soul into it. Guess I can't blame them since it isn't their shop. The owner, at least the times I've been in there, seems to be trying to make sure everyone gets what they want, how they want. There is another shop near me, I shit you not, I couldn't make this up. Guy was working in the gas station his daddy ran as a wrench, decides to go to "tattoo school". This is maybe 15 years ago, don't know which school he went to, or if he took a correspondence course as some have said. Anyhow, he opens a shop in a nearby city, and pretty soon, dad sells the gas station and goes to work for him...as a tattooist. Now, it's been maybe 15 years, but this "shop" is still open. The guy that owns it, the son, has been in and out of the joint 3 or 4 times, and in rehab as often. The work I've seen come out of there, well, I've done better with hand-needles and India ink. But it's still there. Unreal. Which shop is better, the one run by the non-tattooist, or the one run by the tattooist???

Oh, man, did I violate some uber-hip protocol by saying "inked"? Hey-I'm SO sorry to use what is a common slang term in my area to denote the Art Of Tattooing. And no, I'm definitely not a tattooist, but I've been around enough blocks enough times to have a pretty good idea of what's what.

Kool pic, but you might want to think about another spot for it. It's a l;ot of bull to put on your wrist! Try making a copy of it, and cutting it out along the lines, and puttting it where you think you want it. IF it fits, and looks okay, then you're good. If it looks funky, well, go to Plan B! Any color in the rainbow is out there for you, as long as you can work with your artist to mix-up the one you want. As for artists, post up whatever city you're near, and I'm sure you'll get a whole raft of suggestions on good artists in the area. Above all else, MAKE SURE!!!!!!! Damn, boy, your first tattoo...make sure it's what you want, make sure it's where you want, and make sure you'll be proud of it for a long, long time. Welcome to LST, and welcome to your new addiction!

I'm not a tattooist. I have done many, many hand-tattoos, back in the day, everything from simple lettering to some pretty intricate stuff, and most of it wasn't too bad for the equipment-sometimes sharpened shoenails-that we had. But I have never used a "professional" machine. I am, I guess, what some would call "heavily tattoed". I don't think I am, but let's just say when people ask how many tattoos I have, I say "one". Shop owner, shop manager, tattooist. One can be all, all can be one, or each can do their own thing, as long as they know how. I know artists who couldn't manage a goldfish bowl, and managers who couldn't tattoo, so... As long as someone who owns a shop respects the art, the artists and the customers, doesn't rip anyone off, and is straight on taking care of business, they should be all good. On the other hand, if someone buys a shop, or inherits a shop, or whatever, and is in is strictly for the money, I don't think they'll last long. You know, I have ultimate respect for a good tattooist. I've watched and/or been worked on by the best, and to me, it is endlessly fascinating. I've also seen the scratchers, and warned people away from them. That said, an important part of the equation of who owns a shop, and how/why is it successful, is the customer. Location isn't always everything. Chicago Tattooing Co. is in what is now a fairly trendy neighborhood. You can still get your skull split right down to the pink-meat there, you just have to work at it a little harder. Back in the day, that same area was stone, hardcore ghetto. You took your life in your hands whenever you walked through, if you weren't a native. Just goes to show, it don't have to be in a great location, you just have to have great artists...and great customers who are willing to make the trip. A tattooist can make it with $100 pieces of flash, especially if he is near a Naval Base, or a school, but to really get over, I would think you have to get past that and into the real art. That's where the good customers come in. You know, the ones that will sit still for 4, 5, 6 hours getting inked, often at multiple sittings, and not complain, not flinch, and not worry about the money. Art for art's sake...but Art is usually a customer. .02