What is in tattoo ink?!?!

whats in tattoo ink?!?!

Manufacturers of inks and pigments are not required to reveal the contents. A professional who mixes his or her own inks from dry pigments will be most likely to know the composition of the inks. However, the information is proprietary (trade secrets), so you may or may not get answers to questions.
Most tattoo inks technically aren't inks. They are composed of pigments that are suspended in a carrier solution. Contrary to popular belief, pigments usually are not vegetable dyes. Today's pigments primarily are metal salts. However, some pigments are plastics and there are probably some vegetable dyes too. The pigment provides the color of the tattoo. The purpose of the carrier is to disinfect the pigment suspension, keep it evenly mixed, and provide for ease of application. I have recently discovered some tattoo ink manufactures are putting their MSDS ingredient sheets up on their sites! Intenze has theirs online and I found a few from Alla Prima too.

Black

Iron Oxide (Fe3O4) Iron Oxide (FeO) Carbon Logwood

Natural black pigment is made from magnetite crystals, powdered jet, wustite, bone black,and amorphous carbon from combustion (soot). Black pigment is commonly made into India ink. Logwood is a heartwood extract from Haematoxylon campechisnum, found in Central America and the West Indies.

Brown	Ochre	Ochre is composed of iron (ferric) oxides mixed with clay. Raw ochre is yellowish. When dehydrated through heating, ochre changes to a reddish color.
Red	Cinnabar (HgS) Cadmium Red (CdSe) Iron Oxide (Fe2O3) Napthol-AS pigment	Iron oxide is also known as common rust. Cinnabar and cadmium pigments are highly toxic. Napthol reds are synthesized from Naptha. Fewer reactions have been reported with naphthol red than the other pigments, but all reds carry risks of allergic or other reactions.
Orange	disazodiarylide and/or disazopyrazolone cadmium seleno-sulfide	The organics are formed from the condensation of 2 monoazo pigment molecules. They are large molecules with good thermal stability and colorfastness.
Flesh	Ochres (iron oxides mixed with clay)
Yellow	Cadmium Yellow (CdS, CdZnS) Ochres Curcuma Yellow Chrome Yellow (PbCrO4, often mixed with PbS) disazodiarylide	Curcuma is derived from plants of the ginger family; aka tumeric or curcurmin. Reactions are commonly associated with yellow pigments, in part because more pigment is needed to achieve a bright color.
Green	Chromium Oxide (Cr2O3), called Casalis Green or Anadomis Green Malachite [Cu2(CO3)(OH)2] Ferrocyanides and Ferricyanides Lead chromate Monoazo pigment Cu/Al phthalocyanine Cu phthalocyanine	The greens often include admixtures, such as potassium ferrocyanide (yellow or red) and ferric ferrocyanide (Prussian Blue)
Blue	Azure Blue Cobalt Blue Cu-phthalocyanine	Blue pigments from minerals include copper (II) carbonate (azurite), sodium aluminum silicate (lapis lazuli), calcium copper silicate (Egyptian Blue), other cobalt aluminum oxides and chromium oxides. The safest blues and greens are copper salts, such as copper pthalocyanine. Copper pthalocyanine pigments have FDA approval for use in infant furniture and toys and contact lenses. The copper-based pigments are considerably safer or more stable than cobalt or ultramarine pigments.
Violet	Manganese Violet (manganese ammonium pyrophosphate) Various aluminum salts Quinacridone Dioxazine/carbazole	Some of the purples, especially the bright magentas, are photoreactive and lose their color after prolonged exposure to light. Dioxazine and carbazole result in the most stable purple pigments.
White	Lead White (Lead Carbonate) Titanium dioxide (TiO2) Barium Sulfate (BaSO4) Zinc Oxide	Some white pigments are derived from anatase or rutile. White pigment may be used alone or to dilute the intensity of other pigments. Titanium oxides are one of the least reactive white pigments.

Tattoos and Piercings

Whats new at the the arthouse inc in Calgary, AB?!?! Well here are some pics to show you!

 14G Industrial by Sondra Musa @ the arthouse inc. Calgary, AB

 Dermal Anchor project by Laura Barrett @ the arthouse inc. Calgary, Ab

 Forearm tattoo by Shannon Edwards @ the arthouse inc. Calgary, AB

 In-progress tattoo by Katina Scheffler @ the arthouse inc. Calgary, AB

 Ear Project by Laura Barrett @ the arthouse inc.Calgary, AB

 Cover-up by Shannon Edwards @ the arthouse inc.Calgary, AB

 2 year old dermal anchor project by Laura Barrett @ the arthouse inc.Calgary, AB

 Strawberry tattoo by Katina Scheffler @ the arthouse inc.Calgary, AB

 Feather tattoo by Shannon Edwards @ the arthouse inc.Calgary, AB

 In-progress forearm tattoo by Jay Labrecque @ the arthouse inc.Calgary, AB

 Rosary tattoo by Jay Labrecque @ the arthouse inc.Calgary, AB

 Floral tattoo by Shannon Edwards @ the arthouse inc.Calgary, AB

Mermaid tattoo by Katina Scheffler @ the arthouse inc.Calgary, AB

If you want to see more of our work check out our web page or find us on facebook

I want to get a piercing

So I want to get a piercing, what do I need to know?
Well as with any respectable, licensed and inspected piercing studios there are age limits.
Here's ours:
For ear, nostril, navel, or lip piercings you must be 16 years of age with government issue photo I.D. with proof of your age.
For any other piercings, you must be 18 years of age or older govenment issue photo I.D.

If you are under 18 years of age, you must have your Parent or Legal Guardian attend with supporting documented proof of Guardianship/Custody as well as Photo I.D.

• Written notes of authorization and/or phone calls from parents/guardians do not work.

We are very clear about this point - No I.D. No Piercing.

Now you have I.D. and you are old enough or have your parents, now what do you do?
Shop around, visit the shops you have interest in and talk to the piercers, look at the studios ask some smart questions. Don't price shop, use your head, we are talking about your body and putting a hole in it somewhere. Do your research on the piercing you want then ask the piercer about the piercing and the aftercare for the piercing. Use common sense and gut instinct. If you don't feel comfortable at the shop you are in or you feel rushed by the piercer, leave and come back later or find another shop.

Key things to remember when finding a piercing studio

1.  Reputation and referrals from friends and other people with piercings.
2.  Experience of the piercer you are talking to - how long have they been piercing?
3.  Environment of the shop - is it clean, comfortable, Licensed and Inspected?
4.  Materials used for the piercing - what type of metal is used for the jewellery?
5.  Aftercare routine - is it simple and do you get it in writing?
6.  Customer support - if you have trouble will they help you out?

Well here's some things that you should consider before getting a piercing.

• Be sure you have your Photo I.D. and secondary proof of age. No I.D. No Piercing
• Parents or Guardians be sure you have I.D. and documented proof of custody and/or relationship.
• Ask about payment, not all studios accept credit cards or debit cards and generally no one accepts personal cheques.
• Be sure you are fresh and clean, truthfully most piercers hate working on someone who smells of garlic, or last nights booze etc. Have a shower and be happy.
• It's a good idea to be sure you have eaten at least two hours before you get your piercing done, it keeps energy levels up and prevents fainting.
• Scared? Ask about bringing a friend along to keep you company but don't bring 6 friends along they just get in the way and will distract you and the piercer.
• Make sure you don't have a cold or any other medical condition that will cause a problem with your piercing.
• Booze or Drugs for a little help? NO! No respectable piercing facility will render piercing services to you if you are on dope or alcohol, we aren't dumb we can tell.
• Relax, You will be in the care of a Professional Experienced Piercer who will guide your through your piercing experience with confidence and skill.

the arthouse inc: Stretching your lobes

the arthouse inc: Stretching your lobes: The number one thing to remember about enlarging piercings is to listen to your body! Your body knows when something isn't working, and lear...

Stretching your lobes

The number one thing to remember about enlarging piercings is to listen to your body! Your body knows when something isn't working, and learning to hear what it's telling you is important.
Stretching piercings takes time and patience. Scar tissue can build up and create ugly, problematic piercings that can be difficult to stretch. A good general rule is to wait three times as long as it took to heal before the first stretch. This allows the new skin some time to thicken and toughen up before it gets traumatized by the enlarging process.
Each new size becomes larger exponentially (14-12, 12-10, 10-8 etc). 10ga to 8ga doesn't seem like much, but 1/2" to 9/16" is a major jump even though it is the very next size. The larger your hole, the more time you should allow between stretchings. Usually you can start out with a month or two between stretchings and, as you get larger, begin extending that time frame in some cases 6 months to a year. Stretching piercings can be traumatic and sometimes painful, but it doesn't always have to be. Knowing how and when will help.
Since lobes are the most commonly stretched piercings, special attention must be paid to them. Lobes get plenty of circulation so they tend to heal quickly and grow new cells easily. But it's also easy to injure the soft tissues of the lobe. To avoid injury, soak the tissue in hot water prior to stretching to increase circulation and soften and relax the tissue. Massage is also a good way to help the tissue relax.

insertion tapers

Using insertion tapers is the best way to stretch a piercing. A taper is a long, needle-like tool that gradually thickens to the size you desire.

When you're ready to begin stretching, it's come see on of our piercers. The stretching procedure should be completed following the same aseptic techniques used during a piercing procedure. Even though a piercing is healed, the skin can become so thin that it can become susceptible to infection or even rip (this is why it is so important to wait the appropriate amount of time inbetween stretches)

After stretching

Allowing lobes to relax:
There are many benefits to allowing your lobes to relax for a few hours each day. While wearing jewelry, no matter what type, stress is being put on your lobe, thus restricting the flow of blood, oxygen, nutrients, etc. to the bottom of your lobe. Over time, this can cause your lobe to thin out, and also cause it to become irritated. One of the best ways to alleviate this problem is to take your jewelry out for a few hours each day to allow the piercing to breath and increase blood flow to the bottom of your lobe. Over time, this will promote healthier lobes, including thickening the tissue, thus providing more room to stretch in the future.

There is no steadfast rule on when it is a good idea to start allowing your lobes to relax. We personally believe that at ANY size it is beneficial to leave your plugs out for at least a little while, and that at any size larger than 2 gauge (1/4') anyone should be able to leave their jewelry out overnight. If you are concerned about leaving your jewelry out, take it out for a progressively longer period of time each day until you find the amount of time that is the longest you feel comfortable with. If you have trouble reinserting your jewelry after leaving it out, a hot compress for 5-10 minutes and some lube along with a taper will quickly resolve your problem

Healed Piercings:
By far the two most important things that you can do for healed lobes are oil massages and relaxing your lobes. Relaxing your lobes is described above. For massaging your lobes, the two most popular types of oil to use are jojoba oil and Vitamin E oil. Jojoba oil is good because it is an extremely close match to the oil that your body naturally secretes, and it therefore much less likely to irritate your skin. Vitamin E oil also has an extremely beneficial effect, as it breaks down scar tissue. In stretching, scar tissue is the enemy, making future stretches much more difficult and making your lobes less supple. By doing Vitamin E oil massages, you help enable the breakdown of any scar tissue that has formed and keep your ears as healthy as possible. Another benefit to oil massages is that it helps to promote blood flow throughout your lobes, thickening them up (often substantially) over time.
What is this gunk on my jewelry? I thought my ears were healed...
If your ears are healed and you seem to have some funky suff on your jewelry when you take it out, this is most likely dead skin cells. Your entire body sheds dead skin cells as it grows new skin, you just don't see it (guess what a good part of the dust in your house is!). Since there's a signifigant amount of skin touching your plug, those dead skin cells don't have anywhere to go, so they build up on your jewelry. This effect and the smell that goes along with it varies from person to person and from material to material, with metals generally seeming worse than other materials, like organics.

After stretching my lobes are very sore / bleeding - HELP!
If you are experiencing any of these problems, then you have stretched your lobes too quickly. Unfortunately, this means that you are going to have to backtrack to heal your lobes before you can consider stretching again. Downsize your jewelry to at least your previous size (if not farther) and treat your ears as if they are a fresh piercing or fresh stretch. Once you think that your ears are completely healed, wait another two weeks and begin doing vitamin e oil massages for at least another month prior to stretching. Properly healing your piercing after a damaging stretch should take 2-4 months to be safe.
I think I have a blowout! What exactly is this and what do I do about it?
A blowout happens when one stretches too fast. These generally happen during or immediately proceeding (within 48hrs) a stretch. A blowout occurs when the pressure on the insides of the piercing is too great, and the hole deforms itself by twisting inside out, resulting in the "blowout," or section of tissue that appears as a flap on (generally) the backside of the piercing. There are a few things you can do to try and recover from a blowout. First a foremost, you must downsize immediately. Being stubborn and not taking this action could result in the blowout healing, which almost always requires surgery to fix. Second of all, the piercing absolutely must be treated like a brand new piercing. This means religious sea salt soaks and aftercare. Blowouts go hand in hand with tears, and most blowouts result in at least minimal tears to the lobe, so the aftercare becomes especially important.
Materials:What materials are appropriate for fresh stretches?Titanium, Niobium, 316L or 316LVM implant grade surgical stainless steel (sss), Glass, implant grade PTFE (Teflon)
Benefits of certain materials (organics & glass):
There are certain materials that offer something extra to the person who is stretching their ears because they offer additional properties that make them more appealing. Glass is very popular, as it is a special material termed a 'super-cooled liquid'. This means that there is much less chance for any edges, and that the surface is super-smooth. Glass is also hypo-allergenic, which is a great advantage for people who have skin that is very sensitive.

The other group of materials that have something special to offer is organics. I am a personal advocate of organics in healed piercings. Many people have found that the body tends to accept them extremely well, often resulting in increased comfort and decreased amount of smell and 'ear cheese' being given off. However it is important that you pay attention to the type of wood the jewelery is made of as some woods are toxic.

(toxic wood to the human body - rosewoods, kingwood, violet wood, sono wood, cocobolo,sugar maple, birch,camphorwood, ziricote, bocote, macassar ebony, bubinga, pau ferro,wenge, purpleheart, snakewood, willow, teak, thuya burl, padauk, red oak, american mahogany, afromosia, australian blackwood,
greenheart, mansonia, sassafras, satinwood, cedar, hemlock, pine, yew)
info thanks to Botanical dermatology: Plants and plant products injurious to the skin
Dangers of acrylic / improper materials:
An entire book could be written on the dangers of acrylic and other improper materials being utilized as long-term body jewelry. There are many different types of NOVELTY jewelry that are produced out of a wide array of materials. This jewelry is just what is says: a novelty. There is no great danger in wearing them for a short while, but they should not be the primary jewelry worn as they are not of the same high quality as the other materials available. Acrylic is a porous substance and its use can lead to irritation. It also begins to react with your skin over time - breaking down tissue and releasing toxic chemicals/fumes to be absorbed by your skin.


 

the arthouse inc: Laser Tattoo Removal - cynosure affinity QS

the arthouse inc: Laser Tattoo Removal - cynosure affinity QS: Here at the arthouse inc we not only do tattoos but we also remove them. we work in corelation with Enhance - cosmetic and laser dermatolog...

Laser Tattoo Removal - cynosure affinity QS

Here at the arthouse inc we not only do tattoos but we also remove them. we work in corelation with Enhance - cosmetic and laser dermatology where Sondra does the removals

the machine we use for removal is the cynosure affinity QS

The Affinity QS is a high-powered, Q-switched Nd:YAG laser that lets you choose the most effective wavelength for treating multi-color tattoos and pigmented lesions: the 1064-nm wavelength or the 532-nm wavelength.

Two Wavelengths-and Twice as Powerful

·         The 1064-nm wavelength is ideal for treating darker tattoos and dermal pigmented lesions, such as nevus of Ota or nevus of Ito

·         The 532-nm wavelength treats red-colored tattoos and epidermal pigmented lesions, such as solar lentigines

·         Two hundred percent as powerful as competitive Q-switched Nd:YAG lasers

·         Optimal versatility enables you to switch wavelengths, select spot sizes (2mm, 3mm, 4mm*, 6mm) for customized treatment and deliver more energy where it's needed for faster treatment of large areas

The Affinity QS is a high-powered, Q-switched Nd:YAG laser that lets you choose the most effective wavelength for treating multi-color tattoos and pigmented lesions: the 1064-nm wavelength or the 532-nm wavelength.

How does laser treatment work?

Selective absorption of very high power peak laser light pulses by tattoo ink in the skin causes the targeted ink particles to breakdown mechanically while significantly decreasing potential damage to surrounding tissues. The fragmented particles are then removed from the skin by the body's immune or lymphatic system.

Are there any side effects to treatment?

Overall, treatments are gentle and mild, causing only slight discomfort with minimal side effects.

How many treatments are required?

The number of required treatments is dependent on several factors, including depth of ink penetration, age of the tattoo and color intensity-that is, lighter versus darker colors. However, most people need five to six treatments and begin seeing results after only one or two sessions.

Is any recovery time needed between treatment sessions?

Although treatment sessions are scheduled approximately four to six weeks apart, no rest or recuperation time is required after each visit. You will immediately be able to resume normal activities without restriction.

What types of tattoos can be removed?

While certain pigments and inks are harder to erase than others, the majority of colors can be removed-including black, blue, green, brown and even red.

for more information about laser removal or to book in for a consultation email sondra or call the arthouse 4032832883