3 Things You Didnt Know About Tattooing

3 Things You Didnt Know About Tattooing In the last couple decades, tattooing has gone mainstream.  What used to be found on the forearms of either veterans or bikers is now even common on . . . oh, yes . . . your Mom and Dad!   Some pretty mild, and some are crazy wild.  But all that is only a part of the world of tattooing.  Its not all just for adornment.    Heres some historical info on tats, as theyre sometimes called, that you probably didnt know. Badges of Honor Today some tattoos are worn by groups or gangs to show affiliation with the group.  That didnt start with the Hells Angels.  Early sailors were adorned with tattoos that represented such things as rank, battles of engagement, or where they had journeyed or served. Butterfly Art Barbie If you were among the most of us who had Barbies as a kid, you might be able to gauge how liberal or conservative your parents were on this one.  Was Butterfly Art Barbie among your collection?  It was only on the shelf for a short time before being pulled by the manufacturer, and of course there was a Butterfly Art Ken, too. Early Tattooing Collectibles When you go in to get a tattoo today, youll (hopefully!) see the the latest technology in tattooing equipment.  Like everything else, its a far cry from the early days of the tattoo artists tools  But those early tools are very sought after collectibles.  Some of the classic tattoo guns can have values of several thousand dollars or even more. Tattooing Present Day Coming back to the present day, there are some things going on in the world of tattoos you may not be aware of.  Of course, youve heard about cosmetic tattoo work.  Thats been around for a while, and lets you get semi-permanent makeup, including eye liner, brows, and even lip liner and color.  But theres also another even more technical area of tattooing. If youve had surgery and have scars from it, there are tattoo specialists who work in restorative tattoo art that is nothing short of masterful.  With the ability to make scars disappear and even simulate nipples for post-mastectomy patients, they offer a new hope to clients who in the past had few or no options. Insights From A Master I recently had the opportunity to toss a few questions to Jay Blondel, or Gentle Jay as hes popularly known.  Heres a few of his responses: 1.   How did you get the name Gentle Jay?  I got the name Gentle Jay when I was tattooing an older guy who  had himself been tattooing for over 20 years. He made fun of me for being so light  with the needle and said my work wouldnt stay because I wasnt going deep enough. He started calling me names like feather fingers and then  Gentle Jay popped out of his mouth and everybody laughed and that was it.  Needless to say his tattoo stayed fine and has never needed to be recolored. 2.   What do you see as the biggest changes in the tattoo business over the last 15 years?   How has that been good for the customers? There are more tattoo artists now, not tattooers. Huge difference.  Tattooers just follow outlines and shade and color what has already been  drawn by someone else. Much like a copy machine. Whereas a tattoo artist  creates his own images and has the ability to do it without even a stencil  sometimes. This makes for more artistic and personal tattoos for customers. This is great for clients since theyre less likely to  inadvertently  get the same tattoo as someone else.   3. Where do you see the future of tattoos going?   With seemingly everything evolving with technology, whats out there in the coming years? The limits are constantly being pushed. I think well see the quality  of the art and subject matter continue to develop.Things that havent  been done before will be suddenly possible similar to what weve seen with realism developing into hyper-realism. Artists will constantly achieve  greater and greater levels of detail in their work. 4.   The millennial generation is probably the most tattooed of any.   How much do you think that will affect the tattoo removal business in years to come?   Or will we just see a lot of interesting, fading tats in the old folks homes?  I dont think either is the case.  Many people who get tattoos work closely with the artist to choose an image that means something to them.  More likely, they will live happily ever after with their decision to permanently put something beautiful on their bodies. 5. The niche tattoo area Im thinking coverups, paramedical tattooing, and cosmetic tattooing.  How much have you ventured into those areas and how much growth do you see in them in the years ahead? Ive done tattooing for breast cancer survivors and worked on surgical  scars. I wont do cosmetic tattoos because makeup its not my thing. I  think there will be a huge amount of growth in those areas as people see  what is possible with the right tattoo artist. Image credit: Main