Damnit Deb

 Many of us have tattoos we regret. I’m no different. I have several regret tattoos ranging from tattoos I got for exes, to stuff my younger self thought was funny and now in my 40’s is just cringe. I dislike a lot of my tattoos but, being honest the pain of laser scares me more. Many people choose laser to make things go away but now I’m gradually working to cover up pieces I hate instead. If you want your mistake tattoos gone sometimes a cover up just isn’t possible, so how do you decide which one is better?   Black on Black Cover ups take a lot of skill, but even the most skilled can’t cover up something dark with light. Tattoo ink is transparent and simply packing color over it will temporarily lighten it but eventually once it fades down the black will show through. If you have a particularly dark tattoo you may have no options but a black out or a dark design. The popularity of blackouts and blastovers is definitely on the rise, and while it is possible to power col...

 Healing a tattoo for most people is easy. But different skin types, tones, body locations all have their unique challenges. For me personally, my challenge is that my sensory issues mean I tend to pick at anything not “normal” on my skin. I have literally scraped a tattoo off my skin before and, while the plastic provides a good layer to prevent it, I’ve legitimately scratched through the plastic to get to my skin and created holes in my tattoos where the ink is missing. On top of that I’ve had tattoos where you can barely see certain colors because my skin tone works against the color and neutralizes it.   Diversity of skin really affects your tattoo. And it’s not just about the color.  Fitzpatrick For cosmetic purposes we use something called the Fitzpatrick scale. Now, like many things this as developed a while ago and is somewhat outdated. Currently it ranges from 1-6, however there are proposals for a 7-9 to be added to include the diversity of darker skin tones - “...

If you’re like me then you’ve never heard of an influencer named Godoi. In fact, the only thing that really may have given him his 2 minutes of fame was his recent death. Getting tattooed with numbing agents and even under anaesthesia has been a topic for a while. Most of us can’t afford to hire a surgical team and anaesthnetist to make our tattoos pain free, and frankly I’d like to credit my clientele with also understanding how stupid of an idea that is.  Asides from the obvious, tattoo pain isn’t that bad. It’s also not life or death like an operation to need to risk anaesthesia. Before getting surgery you’ll have a whole team look at the risks, give other options etc. Approximately 1.1 per million die each year due to complications of anaesthesia. And while that number seems low, this guy is literally the only reason that there’s 1 attributed to tattooing with anaesthesia.  Why is Anaesthesia Dangerous? Before we go on, I want it clear that I am not a healthcare profession...

 You may have seen these images floating around recently; you may even have heard the rumors. Tattoos cause cancer. Well, according to California everything causes cancer but is there any truth to it? Trigger warning : These pictures are a little scary. And as a disclaimer the “information” in the post on X is not verified and only found on this one post so take it with a grain of salt. A recent  study  showed that YES chemicals in tattoo ink can cause cancer, but it’s not that simple. Drinking water can cause drowning, but that doesn’t mean we stop drinking it. Back in the 90’s I remember a TV presenter getting a ridiculous amount of Londoners to agree to ban water because he called it Dihydrogen Monoxide and gave scary facts like “it is found in acid rain and cancer tumors”.  Cancer is a huge buzzword. And the knee jerk reaction when we hear it means most people by my saying that yes ink can cause cancer are seriously debating if they should get tattooed again. Tha...

Have you seen the videos where people are getting their labret studs and tongue rings caught in their braces? OUCH. That has to hurt. Honestly, the simple saying here is don’t play with your piercings. We tell you not to even without braces but this is what can happen. I know, I know. I’m guilty of it too. The urge to fiddle with them constantly is real.  Around 4 million Americans wear braces and even more than that if you count those with retainers and bridges. These are an important tool to improve dental health, self esteem, and for many they can be life changing. I remember going to school with a girl whose teeth stuck out of her mouth at about 45 degrees. It was actually scary. I refused to have braces as a teen and I’ve paid the price - I can’t actually bite down properly because my teeth don’t close. Moral of the story is get the braces. But what’s that got to do with piercings? The average time wearing braces is 1-2 years. It’s not horrifically long, so should you wait bef...