P_wizard

I think for this post it may be important to address an issue that is becoming more and more prevalent in fields that deal with modifying skin in any sort of way. Tattooing and piercing is what this blog is about so that is what will be addressed in reference to the material. In a day and age where we supplement our diet with many additional chemicals like vitamins, omega 3 and 6 fatty acids (fish oil), creatine etc. whether its for weight training or dietary supplementation it is important that we take consideration what we are putting in our bodies prior to being tattooed. I would even go as far as to say that pharmaceuticals to any degree could generate changes in the skin. I have not really heard too many people address this issue but this subject matter falls into my background and hopefully this information can help individuals get the best quality tattoo possible. Given, everyone’s body chemistry is unique, and this may not be applicable to everyone so keep that in mind. I would love to hear your results or if anyone has had any experience with the topics I will address in this post please feel free to drop some knowledge as this can help someone out. It is undeniable that in America we consume the most supplements and pharmaceuticals in the world. Those statistics are readily available if you want to go looking for them you will not need to go far. Most of these products hold some benefit to our health or appearance and can be quite important. However, we do not always get to see the biochemical reactions that are taking place in our bodies during the time the products in question are circulating through our system. Sometimes we can experience the reactions and health benefits immediately while others may take some time to acclimate into our systems. The difficult part of this problem to assess is how are these supplements going to affect my tattoo? I can give two examples first hand of supplements that can influence how the tattoo sits under the skin during the healing process. First, fish oil is a great supplement it helps with the appearance and overall health of skin and hair among other aspects of our biology. However, fish oil is a non-water-soluble oil and absorbs into our skin differently and can influence the pigments and inks to migrate rather than staying put. For those of you that have not researched solubility or some of its basic principles in chemistry we say like dissolves like. I will make some sense of this because I know it sounds irrelevant. When we are thinking about using a solvent in the lab for a substance we have to determine if its overall charge is polar or nonpolar. Polar compounds are substances like water, table salt, glucose, Epsom salts, etc, hopefully you get the idea, basically these substances carry a charge and will disassociate when being dissolved in water or acetic acid (vinegar) or any other polar solvents. Nonpolar compounds do not carry a charge and can be organic molecules but the easiest ones to identify with are hydrocarbons or oils and things like that. Everyone has heard the reference about mixing oil and water, those compounds do NOT mix, on the other hand if we put table salt in water the granules of salt will disappear. Water is a polar compound and oil is a non-polar compound they are not miscible with each other, but water and salt are both polar compounds and water will dissolve the salt. Now that we have a basic understanding of this let’s think about what we discussed last week in regard to pigments and inks which are usually organic, and carbon based. Many times, carbon-based compounds are non-polar, however, there are many exceptions to this rule when it comes to biochemistry but not so much when we are dealing with basic carbon compounds like the components to inks. Since there are so many variants of ink and pigment on the market with different base components it is hard to determine how they will react with someone’s specific biochemistry until the product is introduced to the body. So, we can kind of put the pieces of the puzzle together when it comes to supplements and how the polarity will influence the skin during the tattoo and healing process. If the supplement can partially dissolve or react with the pigment it could cause it to migrate through the dermal layer appearing as a blowout during the healing process. This could also have an influence on the immune system’s ability to break down the ink/ pigment because the particles have now disassociated and are smaller and easier for the white blood cells to attack. As you can see, when we introduce supplements and medicine to the mix this can add many variables that were never involved in the original equation. Hopefully, clients are honest with tattoo artists when it comes to medicine and supplements, so the artist can be prepared for these variables. I believe another good example of this would be an older client that is on blood thinners or a medication with a side effect that may thin the blood. Older people generally have a different skin texture which can be determined by the artist using observation, however, the medication could cause the client to bleed significantly more than normal and extra care would be necessary on the artists end. If someone is bleeding quite a bit during the tattoo the blood can actually help push and dilute some of the ink out of the dermis which can cause greater scabbing and I understand that reputable shops usually screen their clients for health issues and medication, so it is the client’s responsibility to present any additional circumstances so that they can get a quality tattoo and minimize the variables. Medicine has been apart of our way of life for centuries and I think tattooing has been just fine. I think a more prominent issue that will emerge are dietary supplements, these are relatively new in the grand scheme of things and although very good for you can cause issues with tattoos. In the medical field, patients are screened for all supplements and medications before a procedure, so the doctor can utilize necessary methods to be successful. Pharmacists must do the same thing when calculating dosages for patients and cross checking to see if any medications will react adversely to a current prescription etc. I have been exposed to quite a few tattoo artists that are discovering it is necessary to ask clients about their dietary supplements before they embark on a project because it can limit issues with blowouts and ink migration etc. I believe the supplements are largely beneficial to our lives, they help us maintain good immune health and help our skin and hair look great. I think we should help our tattoo artists out and let them know anything outside of a “normal” diet so they can be prepared for anything. As always thank you for reading my blog post and I hope this had some educational value as well as presenting new ideas that have not been studied extensively. I think there should be more research on tattooing especially since people are getting tattooed more than ever. Then again I am a scientist and I love learning about and researching new material. We are living in an era where the transmission of information is second to none and we should use what we have to our advantage. Finally, and as always please enjoy some awesome tats by Zenon for your enjoyment.

Do you take any supplements like fish oil etc? We have noticed that some pigments migrate due to supplements etc. One of my next couple of posts is going to be discussing this topic.

Thank you so much for reading my post Jennifer. I really appreciate you sharing you and your shops input. I hope you guys all have a great day and remember physics is your friend.

I figured I would deliver on my blog promise and discuss some mechanisms of tattooing and the science behind them. I'm sure many of the experienced tattooers and tattooies have at least heard many of these topics but I think this will establish a good break down into to the sweet science of tattooing from a new perspective. Just to preface my background a bit I have been getting tattooed by Zenon Pawelski for 7 years now and I have been privileged to be his friend enough that he would let me tag along to all the hot tattoo conventions like Villain Arts in Philadelphia, the National Tattoo convention in Orlando, Fl, just to name the most recent adventures. By osmosis I got the opportunity to meet some really awesome skin wizards and hear some of the best stories you wish you've heard. I recently started blogging for Tabernacle Tattoo in Tampa, Fl and really enjoyed discussing tattoo studies and drawings but I wanted a platform I could discuss some other aspects of tattooing that correspond with my interests and professional background. I studied political science and chemistry at the University of South Florida and I am a candidate for a PharmD degree at USF College of Pharmacy, hopefully through this platform I will get to learn and educate alike. Thank you all for reading Tattrick HQ!!! LET’S DO THIS!!!! From the time I started hanging around tattoo shops I was fascinated with the machine mechanics. Watching the mini piston and listening to the buzz of the machines feels therapeutic to a degree. As I gained interest I inquired about the machines and what makes them tick, I found out that there were just a few basic parts involved to make the machine do its thing. The basics are somewhat easy almost anyone can make the basic motor (not advised or condoning it) apparatus with household parts. However, it takes a real technician to master the intricacies of the machine and to make it function at its optimal ability. Many of the artists I have been exposed to can just hear or touch a machine and know exactly how its going to perform. I admit I am a little jealous of their ability to understand something with such a simple interaction but I do understand it takes years to acquire these abilities, with that being said lets get back on track: So a tattoo machine is essentially a little electromagnet, not much to it you can make one using a nail, some copper wire and a battery, if wrapped correctly this is called a solenoid. The tattoo machine utilizes the electromagnet the solenoid generates as a motor which pulls the pin down until it connects, driving the needle down into the skin. Once connection is made the pin fires back up and this rotational process of the magnetic field connecting-disconnecting-reconnecting happens rapidly to the tune of the harmonic buzz of the tattoo machine we are all so familiar with. Hopefully that paints a nice picture of the general mechanic of the machine, so lets talk about the cool stuff, the biochemistry behind the process. As the needle plunges into the skin many times a minute it injects ink or pigment into the skin, this is done by the needles breaking the skin and injecting the ink into the dermis layer which is just under the top layer (epidermis). So here we are, we've made the punctures onto the skin injected ink into the dermis layer and now this ink or pigment is just sitting there. Keep in mind the human immune system has been triggered during the action and now there is a response gathering in the areas of ink injection. The natural immunoresponse of irritation, swelling and redness are typical for trauma to the skin these are signs that the white blood cells or soldiers of the immune system are on the scene. The white blood cells are actually trying to fight your tattoo and remove the foreign substance from your body. Normally, a foreign invader entering the body in a similar fashion would be introduced to a quick demise and circulated through the lymphatic system and ultimately out of the body. How are tattoos permanent? Essentially, the ink molecule is just too large for some of the white blood cells to consume. Some other WBC can ingest the ink but cannot process the molecule, so it can stay in the dermis. You can think of this as just a microscopic game of Pac-man the white blood cells are Pac-man and the ink molecules are the orbs he likes to eat. However, Pac-man can’t eat these orbs because they are too big and bulky for him to get his mouth around, so the orbs settle in and Pac-man doesn’t get to eat. After the WBC are unable to target the foreign invader the body will begin to heal the “wound” formed on the layers of skin. The image of the tattoo will go through additional healing process which includes the scabbing and crusting most of us have seen and finally we have the finished healed product. It’s pretty cool how many issues with the skin will be corrected over time, cuts, scars and burns may not completely disappear but do fade, but a proper tattoo that’s built to last can be forever. Thank you for reading my first blog article. Let me know what you think. Have a great day! Ive included some tough tattoos from the tattoo shop sites I work on listed above for your viewing pleasure. Resources: https://inchemistry.acs.org/content/inchemistry/en/atomic-news/tattoo-ink.html