Tattoos and micropigmentation

The tattoos they are a practice by which a permanent mark or drawing is made on the skin. For this, insoluble pigments are introduced into the skin with very fine needles, making multiple incisions in the area of ​​the body where the tattoo is made.

Micropigmentation is another type of similar practice, but it consists of injecting intradermal coloring products especially for aesthetic purposes (contour of eyebrows, lips, eyelids, etc.).

Another practice is the pseudo-tattoo that consists of the non-permanent application on the skin of certain pigments that impregnate its most superficial layer and that is eliminated after three or four weeks. The basis of the pigments used is henna.

Henna is a pigment of vegetable origin, to which other ingredients are sometimes added such as tea leaves, charcoal, vinegar or other elements that tend to hide conventional dyes in hair coloring. It is from the latter that the risks of pseudo-tattoo derive, fundamentally related to paraphenylenediamine (PPD), the basis of hair dyes, which causes significant allergic reactions.

What to know about tattoos

When making a tattoo, foreign elements are introduced into the body, crossing its protective barriers (skin and mucous membranes), which carries a risk of complications and infections.

Risks

The main risk of these techniques is the contagion of infectious diseases such as and C, AIDS and. To minimize them, both the needles used and the pigments should be replaced. Micropigmentation presents the same risks as tattoos.

Complications

The complications caused by performing these practices can vary, from being merely aesthetic to more serious.

• Some of the more common complications include:
• Aesthetic alterations due to disappearance or fading of the pigment.
• Local inflammatory reactions: pain, swelling and redness.
• Local infections
• Allergic reactions due to the pigments used that can lead to granulomas due to the rejection of the pigment and repeated punctures on the area (more frequent with red and yellow colors). The manifestations of allergic reactions can vary from more to less severe.
• In the pseudo-tattoo with black henna, which, unlike natural henna, incorporates colorants such as p-phenylenediamine or PPD, it can produce allergic reactions of varying intensity. It is recommended to avoid temporary tattoos with black henna.

Preventive measures and recommendations before getting tattoos

• Before doing so, an informed consent must be signed where risks and complications must be specified. If you are a minor, you must have an authorized consent from the parents or guardians. An invoice must be requested for the work carried out.
• Make sure that the place where the practice is to be carried out complies with the relevant hygiene and safety regulations.
• Needles and all instruments that pass through the skin must be sterile and for single use.
• The inks used must be authorized. The containers where they are placed must be sterile and for single use.
• It is recommended not to sunbathe or do UVA rays the previous days or perform treatments that cause skin irritations.
• The day before or the same day, avoid taking drugs such as Aspirin®, alcohol, etc.

After tattooing and until healing

• Once the bandage is removed (the tattoo is bandaged for a few hours) nothing should be put back on top of the tattoo.
• Wash the tattoo with your hand and a liquid antibacterial soap twice a day. A healing cream is usually used after washing the tattoo.
• If a scab comes out, it should not be scratched or removed.
• Do not sunbathe. After healing, use a cream with a protection factor (minimum of 15).
• Until it is completely healed, do not bathe in the pool or in the sea, or use the sauna.
• Wear clothing that does not constrict the area where the tattoo has been made.
• Avoid cosmetics in that area.
• In case of complications, go to the dermatologist. The insurance companies have a large medical team of specialists in dermatology.

Tattoo removal

Before getting a tattoo, you must be aware that it is permanent and that there is no effective method to treat the tattoo in such a way that the area in which it was left goes completely unnoticed. You can choose different methods to remove them but they may not be entirely effective.

Among the existing methods, the following stand out:

• Dermabrasion or chemical peeling: technique by which the layers of epidermis where the tattoo is located are removed.
• Laser: It seems to be the most effective method although the results depend on the type of tattoo, inks used and the area to be treated. It is not possible to completely remove the tattoo without leaving some residue or pigmentation. This is especially true for tattoos with many colors, because many different lasers have to be used to remove them. The classic ones, blue, monochrome, are easier. A whitish color may appear in the treated area.
• Surgical techniques: which include stretching the skin where the tattoo is located, thus cutting the tattoo (a linear scar remains) or drying the skin in the areas where the tattoo is located, leaving many scars.

When you shouldn't get a tattoo

• If you have contact allergies
• If you are taking drugs that can alter blood clotting (such as anticoagulants).
• Patients with alterations of the, chronic diseases, congenital heart diseases or who carry pacemakers.
• If you have various skin diseases (infections, herpes, tendency to large scars, acne, etc).
• Tattoos can contraindicate epidural anesthesia. Although there is no clear evidence in this regard, at a theoretical level it is unknown what are the effects that may appear if part of the tattoo dyes pass into the epidural space when anesthesia is performed.