Tattoo Essay: Analyzing the Negative Effects on Health and Society

This essay discusses the negative impacts of tattoos, emphasizing health risks like allergies and infections, potential for social rejection due to stereotypes, and the significant financial costs involved in both getting and removing tattoos. It highlights that tattoos can lead to skin sensitivities, difficulties in medical procedures, and limitations in certain professions. The essay concludes by stressing the importance of teenagers making informed decisions about tattoos after understanding these potential drawbacks. Desklib provides access to this and many other student-contributed assignments.

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Tattoo essay
Tattoos refer to body modifications that are made through applying ink, colors or dyes
mostly through the use of needles. Research has proven that about 38 percent of American aged
between 18 and 29 years have at least one tattoo on their body Meredith, (2). Tattoos have
various devastating effects on the individual and their lives. Some of the pros of tattoos include
social rejection, health risks and possible regrets in the future. It is therefore important for
teenagers to think carefully before getting tattoos on their bodies so as to avoid these negative
consequences. This paper focuses on the negative effects of tattoos.
Tattooing is expensive argues Gale, (3). The initial cost of having a tattoo is expensive. In
addition, tattoos requires aftercare activities such as retouch. Tattooing may also cause
devastating effects on skin that requires so much money to treat. Tattooing is done using needles
and therefore are potentially harmful to the body and skin if not done by experts. This requires
additional expenses as treatment is offered by health facilities under a highly skilled
dermatologist. In circumstances that may force one to get rid of the tattoo, laser removal is quite
expensive and it doesn’t guarantee one that he or she is going to get rid of it completely without
developing various complications. With a staggering economy, it is more economical to save on
costs for other necessities or investments other than spend the money on body art or treatments
of self-imposed conditions.

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. Tattoos has various negative effects on the health of the individual. According to Mohr,
(1), one may develop allergies, bacterial infections, skin rashes and skin diseases,
photosensitivity and incapability to donate blood. Some of the colors and dyes used to make
tattoos on the body are capable of causing irritability when exposed to the sun. This makes
someone who has a tattoo to be sensitive to the sun’s rays and they may not be capable of staying
in the sun for too long. Infected needles may also be a primary route of infection with diseases
such as HIV/AIDS and hepatitis. Tattoos also cause allergies on the skin. This happens
especially with people who have very sensitive skin. Immediate effects often present in form of
swelling, reddening of the skin and accompanied with pain. Complications may result into
staphylococcal infections explains Gale, (2). In some states, there are certain legislations that
prevent people who have tattooed their bodies from donating blood. Tattooing may cause
difficulty when performing some medical operations such as surgical operations or administering
injections. In some instances tattoos on the skin may also make it hard to identify diseases such
as skin cancer in its early stages.
According to Mohr, (2), another adverse effect of tattoos and body art is social rejection.
In many societies, tattoos usually attract certain stereotypes among users. Many people often
tend to label tattoos with criminal connotations, poverty or gang activities. This makes people to
create a bad impression about someone that questions someone’s character even before they get
to interact. This may always necessitate that people with tattoos will have to cover their bodies
especially when they go out in public. In some cases, people with tattoos in some societies
especially teenagers and youths are seen as delinquent, outlaws and rebels. This makes these
people to be accommodated into the society. These negative perceptions may prevent someone
from being hired in a job where they are well qualified due to suspicion that is built around their

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character. In some professions, they strictly don’t accommodate people with tattoos, various
types of body art and piercings. Various fields such as hospitality, marketing, health finance and
media as well as church owned corporations are most likely to reject people with tattoos on their
bodies argues Gale, (3). Tattoos therefore provide quite a big setback for people who have them
on their skin and seeking to get employment.
In conclusion, it is necessary to point out that it is important for teenagers to understand
the various effects of having tattoos on their bodies, the opportunities they lose and the
impressions the create for themselves. After having an understanding, it is only then that they
can be able to understand and assess the advantages and disadvantages of having one and make
informed choices on whether to have a tattoo or not to have one.

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Work Cited
Gale. Opposing viewpoints in context, “body piercing and tattooing, “Opposing viewpoints
online collection, 2018.
Meredith, Newman. “More young people have tattoos than ever.” USA Today Network.
September 20, 2017.
Mohr, Lynn. “The conversation to have with teens who want tattoos.” Washingtonpost.com, 2
Feb. 2018. Opposing viewpoints in context.