My 22yr old daughter has colored tattoos. What kind of ink was used to make tattoos years ago?
Thursday, December 24th, 2009 at
6:52 pm
My 84yr old father got tattoos when he signed up to join the army, for WWII. His tattoos now look like it is greenish in appearance, not black ink. So, I’d like to know if someone can give me an answer!
Even when I was a child, his tattoos always looked green! Is it the ink? Or is it because where it was done?
Tagged with: 22yr • colored • daughter • kind • tattoos.... • used • Years
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They all get like that after a decade or two or three. Just don’t tell the young people or the tattoo parlors – keep them stupid – they are happy that way.
sounds like the kind of ink used was the difference
Tattoo ink is much different than it was in WW11. Also, how tattoos are done is different. The tattoo machines do not go as deep.
WW11 tattoos were done all kinds of ways, and there was the belief at that time that if you just stuck some Vaseline on it and wore it out in the sun, and swam etc. that it would be o.k. We know now that that is not the case. Vaseline and petroleum products clog the poress and smoother a healing tattoo. The sun is death to a good tattoo. Antibiotic ointments pull out color. Bath water, pool water, lake, river, ocean water is teaming with bacteria, and can cause a scary infection in a healing tattoo, and can ruin the tattoo image. You should not use lanolin, or anything with scents or dyes on a healing tattoo. These things were not known in WW11 days.
Todays tattoo ink isn’t regulated, and it varies from artist to artist. It is made from a myriad of substances some of them synthetic. Black is carbon based and your body accepts it easily. Some colors are more prone to cause allergic reactions than others, (many reds), but the body usually handles them just fine the 2nd time around when getting a touch up.
If you find an established tattoo shop, and a skilled and experienced tattooist, then they will use high quality inks that they will know how they hold up over time. They will be inspected regularly by the Board of Health, and they will take sanitation very seriously.
If you bargain hunt, and look for a ‘cheap tattoo’ than your chances of having a poorly done tattoo is high. And the cheap tattoo will be done with ‘cheap inks’ and will not be done by a skilled tattooist. These tattoos may not hold up well over time.
Also, how a tattoo is cared for by the person who has the tattoo, during the healing process can make all of the difference in the outcome of the healed tattoo. You can have a beautifully done tattoo, that can be wrecked by poor aftercare.
So, here’s a link to the contents of many tattoo ink:
http://wiki.bmezine.com/index.php/Tattoo_ink
Here’s a site about the history of tattoos around the world and throughout time:
http://www.vanishingtattoo.com/tattoos_history.htm
Here’s a link to an excellent site about current and reliable information on tattoos and body art:
http://tattoo.about.com/
Here’s a site page on why some tattoos age better than others:
http://tattoo.about.com/b/2009/03/22/qow-why-some-tattoos-age-better-than-others.htm
Here’s a link to how to do excellent aftercare and why (I prefer Lubriderm unscented):
http://www.luckyfish.com/pages/articles/tattoocare.htm
So, the tattoo that was black and is now green was not made with quality inks. (many prison tattoos do this, and home/garage tattoos also).
When getting a tattoo, you need to do your homework before hand, you need to think carefully about your image choice:
http://galadarling.com/article/how-to-get-a-great-tattoo-and-never-regret-it
You need to use a reputable shop, and an experienced tattooist.
You need to do excellent aftercare. You need to use sunblock for life after they heal (SPF 50 and above) every time you go out in the sun.
You might need a touch up every now and then throughout your life.
But there is no reason to have a tattoo age badly.
luck~