Five Types of Tattoos

Tattoos are nothing but the insertion of permanent ink under the skin to change its pigmentation. They have been used by people for several centuries now and their reasons or need for these tattoos are quite different – decorative or religious purposes on humans and identification or branding purposes on animals.

According to the American Academy of Dermatology, tattoos are essentially of five different types namely: Traumatic tattoos also known as natural tattoos, Medical tattoos, Cosmetic tattoos, Amateur tattoos and Professional tattoos.

Traumatic tattoos or natural tattoos occur as a result of injuries. For instance injuries with pencil lead or asphalt from tar roads. George Orwell, an English author and journalist of the nineteen hundreds speaks of some very unique tattoos that coal miners could develop due to coal dust getting into open wounds. This is similar to the kind of tattoos that develop when asphalt is rubbed into a wound by way of an accident. Other similar tattoos result when a pencil or pen is stabbed into the flesh leaving graphite or ink beneath the skin.

Medical tattoos are tattoos used in the medical field for several reasons. For example tattoos are used by radiotherapists to mark the number of points on the body where the beams are aimed. These beams may cause damage to the surrounding tissue when used for treatment and these tattoos help radiotherapists keep the damage as minimal as possible by marking needed the spots on the body. It is also used to replace the areola (the colored skin surrounding the nipple) on patients who have undergone mastectomy (cancer treatment by removing the breast) or breast reduction surgeries.

Cosmetic tattoos also known as permanent makeup, as the name suggests, uses tattoos to replicate designs that resemble makeup. It is used for artificial eye brows, lip liner and lipstick, and eye liner.

Amateur tattoos and Professional tattoos are those that are made by traditional methods or by means of modern tattoo machines. Some of the differences between them are that amateur tattoos are often made up of just one color (India ink) while professional tattoos contain several colors. The other major difference is in the level of penetration. Professional tattoos are applied evenly under the skin while amateur tattoos are done at irregular depths. And of course the most obvious difference is that anyone can make amateur tattoos with a needle and a bottle of ink but professional tattoos can only be done by trained professionals in a tattoo studio!