Body Art

There’s a huge range of possibilities for how you express yourself with your body: clothes, makeup, piercing, tattooing and — most extreme — surgery. Some of these changes are temporary, others are permanent. It’s important to think about your motivation, options, choices and the consequences of body art. Talk to people and seek out information. Never make decisions quickly!

It’s exciting to exert control over what people see when they look at you, but you can’t always control how people will respond. Some people will have negative responses, and you have to decide if the risks are worth the fun.

Try to imagine yourself ten or 20 years in the future. You might be a free-spirited student now, and a web of vines on your wrist might look lovely. However, what might you do for a living 20 years from now? Could you work in a place in which you’re required to cover up your tattoo with long sleeves every day?

There are health risks, too. Consider these factors when you think about body art.

Choosing a Studio

So you think you’re ready to get that tattoo or piercing — what’s next? Where do you go and who do you get to do it? There are serious health risks if the conditions aren’t clean. Unsterile tattooing and piercing equipment and needles can spread serious infections, such as hepatitis, tetanus and even HIV.

Look for several things in a tattoo or piercing studio:

• Work areas should be kept clean and sanitary and have good lighting.
• The studio should have an autoclave, a machine used to sterilize equipment between customers. A spore test is done to see if the machine is working properly. Ask to see the spore test results. If a studio doesn’t run regular spore tests, don’t have your piercing done there.
• Packaged, sterilized tattoo needles should be used only once and then thrown away in a special biohazard container. Leftover ink should be thrown away after each procedure. Needles should never be inserted into the bottle.
• If the artist uses deodorant to create a darker impression of the transfer copy on your skin, the artist should never use the deodorant stick directly on your skin. Instead, the deodorant should be wiped onto a tissue and the tissue placed on your skin. This prevents other people’s skill cells from being transferred to you.
• The tattoo artist or piercer should wash and dry their hands before starting and wear latex gloves during the procedure.
• Customers should complete a consent form before the procedure starts.

Choosing an Artist

Tattoo artists are not licensed, although in California they’re required to register with the Public Health Department and complete a course about exposure controls for blood-borne pathogens.

There are no FDA-approved pigments, although there are sterile tattoo inks, and many are vegan, nontoxic and organic.

Get answers to the following questions:

• Is the tattooist certified by the Alliance of Professional Tattooists (APT)?
• Has the tattooist completed any training and are certificates available for you to see?
• Is the artist vaccinated for hepatitis B?
• Are there pictures of finished work you can see?

Other Considerations

Pain. The most painful tattoo areas are considered to be the abdomen, spine, chest and feet. The least painful areas are the buttocks, arm, thigh and shoulder. In general, areas near joints will hurt more because there are more nerves located there.

Laws. Some states have laws that prohibit the tattooing of minors. In some states with no regulation, local cities set up their own standards. Find out the laws from your state, county or local health departments.

Allergic reaction. Hypersensitivity to a tattoo pigment may result in an allergic response. Scars can also develop. The iron oxide used in some eyeliner tattoos may cause tissue injury when a person has a special X-ray study called magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Sun exposure can also trigger an allergic reaction to tattoo pigment.

Piercing complications. Tongue piercings initially swell a lot. Nipple piercings may burrow through milk-producing ducts and cause infection or problems with breastfeeding.

If the jewelry is too thin or too heavy, the body may reject the jewelry, or it may cut off the blood supply and cause significant swelling and pain.

Infection. Without proper cleaning and sun protection, the tattoo or piercing site can become infected. Signs of infection include:

• Oozing or bleeding.
• Yellow or green discharge or pus coming from the body art.
• Area feels hot to the touch.
• Red lines starting at body art.

If you notice any signs of infection, contact your healthcare provider immediately.

Body Art References

These references are provided for your general information and education only and should not be relied upon for personal diagnosis or treatment. If you have questions, please contact your healthcare provider.

• Association of Professional Piercers (APP)
• The Body Art Book: A Complete, Illustrated Guide to Tattoos, Piercings, and Other Body Modification by Jean-Chris Miller (2004)
• Ink: The Not-Just-Skin-Deep Guide to Getting a Tattoo by Terisa Green (2005)
• Tattoos, Body Piercings, and Health by Leanne Currie-McGhee (2013)

PAMF does not sponsor or endorse any of these references, nor does PAMF guarantee the accuracy of their information. PAMF has no control over the privacy practices of external websites; be sure to read and understand any website’s privacy policies.

Last reviewed: August 2019