Thursday, July 06, 2006

what the hell...

Sometimes I wonder....is the system trying to send society subliminal messages saying "tattoos are dangerous (AKA bad)"? Some warnings geared toward tattooed individuals don't even make sense. MRI-related warnings aside, take hair dye warnings for example: the side of my Garnier Nutrisse hair dye box holds a warning that reads "IF YOU HAVE A TATTOO the risks of allergic reaction may be increased." Upon reading this warning I was confused as to why having a tattoo would affect one's susceptibility to allergic reactions. After some research, the only explanation I can come up with is that the FDA got confused and started assuming that since some people had developed a hair dye allergy as a result of improper 'henna' tattoos that people with normal tattoos might develop the same allergy. Now I'm not positive, but I'm pretty sure that henna tattooing and needled tattooing are VERY DIFFERENT. Not only are the inks used in regular tattoos nothing like the PPD laced ones used in sketchy henna tattoos, but the respective methods of application are a world apart. One is PERMANENT, and the other can become permanent due to the blistering caused by PPD 'henna' tattoos. So the only explanation I can come up with for the warning is that the FDA is afraid we'll get too excited and dye our skin instead of our hair. We may be "freaks" but we're not idiots...

1 comment:

Matt Lodder said...

The more tattooed I became, the more sensitive to PPD (black hair dye) mI became. Increased subdermal exposure to black dyes can increase your sensitivity to hair dye, and the reactions can be quite nasty.

I had flaking scalp, weeping sores, swollen feet and ankles and a rash over most of my body...