**********************************************************************************************

Hi, my name is Mandy. I have been HIV positive for the past 4 years. I caught HIV by making the biggest mistake of my life…getting a tattoo. I know what you’re thinking..you’re probably saying..”well she could have had sex and caught it.” That’s just not so..i am a virgin..and now i have to stay that way for the rest of my life. I’m not writing this story to scare any of you, i just don’t want any of you to have to go through what i went through. Well, im gonna tell you my story now. Here Goes.

The day i turned 20 is the day i wanted to do something that i always told myself i would never do… have lots a fun. I was a junior in college, and having the time of my life. Of course, i kept my head in the books, and steered clear of the guys that were there… but i had amazing friends. They were so daring.. not like any of the friends i ever had. One of my friends had her nipples pierced, her nose pierced, eyebrow, navel, and her hood pierced…along with 5 tattoos. I’m not saying i wanted to get a tattoo because my friends had them, i just wanted to get one so i can finally express myself through art. So, the day i turned 20 is the day i decided to get one done.

We all decided to go to this place where everybody said it was the best place to get a tattoo. They did them cheap.. mine cost $60 for a large, colorful cartoon girl (the ones that look like they could be on sailor moon or any of those japan cartoons) on my back. We got there, and the tattooist was finishing up this guy who was getting a snake tattooed on his forearm. When he was done, he told me the wait would be 30 minutes because he needed to prepare everything. I waited patiently, and listened to my friends making fun of some tattoos that they had there. So, finally it was finally my turn to go in.

The other tattooist had left because it was his break, so there was this other guy there…a freaky looking guy..with all these face piercings and tattoos all over his arms. He told me to sit in this chair and life my shirt over my head so he could get the placement right. He showed me the placement and i thought it looked fine, so he continued. He didn’t explain to me what he was gonna do..or how the needles were sterilized. I asked him about it, but he said there was no need to say anything, that everything i needed to know was on the form i had signed. So i said fuck it, and let him continue with his job. I must say…getting that tattoo hurt so bad. I swear to you, it felt like a huge butter knife was going through my back. I cried and screamed. The guy kept asking if i wanted him to finish it up, and i said yeah. When it was finally done (3 hrs later) he told me that he would only charge me $60. So i tipped him $40 and left with a very bloody, sore back. He told me to clean it with Neosporin, and after 5 days of that, rub some moisturizing lotion on it.

About 4 months later, i went to my regular doctors check up. I felt fine, but im always known to be “the cautious one” in my family. He took my blood, checked my eyes, my lungs, etc etc. Only a few days later, my doctor called me back and told me to come to his office ASAP. When i got there, he had a worried look on his face. I knew something was wrong. I asked him right away what was wrong. He told me that i tested positive for HIV. I was in total shocked. I asked him how this could have happened, because i haven’t had sex with anyone in my life. He explained the possibilities…and finally said that word…”needle”…….i totally broke down and started crying….i knew it had to be when i got my tattoo……

Well…i guess you’re probably asking…”then what??”… well..they investigated the place, and found out the place was extremely filthy, and the place might have infected about half the customers that went there, including me. The place got shut down, and yada yada yada (the place reopened 2 years later)

Well…..that’s my story. I hope that all of you that are reading be careful that you check out the places that you wanna get a tattoo. Don’t make the same mistake that i made. This tattoo ruined my life. Please be careful.

********************************************************************************************
I hope her story at least makes you think. If you contract a disease like HIV from a tattoo, getting it removed will not make it go away, however if there is an allergy or other skin irritation from tattoo ink then removing the tattoo may provide some relief or prevent a long-term condition.

Our repeated advice is for people to get educated and understand the risks and dangers of tattoo inks as well your tattoo removal options ranging from laser tattoo removal to tattoo removal creams.

Check out: The Tattoo Removal Cream Store and The Secret Dangers of Tattoo Inks.

• Gang Tattoos Passe – Extreme Makeovers – Since anti-gang laws were enforced in Honduras and El Salvador and series of killings in Guatemala were committed by citizen vigilante groups and security forces, gangs are ditching tattoos to duck the radar and have resorted to more …
• Another Tattoo Blog – BlahStuff – INKEDblog takes you beneath the skin of today’s tattoo culture. Our mission is to celebrate tattooing as a modern art form which incorporates art, fashion, style, and pop culture. While paying homage and respect to the past, …
• Anybody had laser tattoo removal and got a wicked rash on the … – I underwent my first in a series of 10 laser tattoo removal sessions two weeks ago. I experienced the “laser bumps” which went away after a few.
• Tattoo Ink Removal: Affordable Methods at Natural Remedies For You – A normal laser tattoo removal requires many treatments. Amature tattoos are easier to remove then professional, multicolor ones. Other factors that determine treatment efficacy include: Tattoo colors, the type of ink used and your …
• Porrothecat: Tattoo Removal #11 – Porrothecat is a blog mostly about laser tattoo removal. It compensates for my sadly uncreative day job. I live in California with Alex and Porro, both of whom I love more than words can say. If you’d like to contact me directly, …
• Laser Tattoo Removal – How Does It Work? | CompleteTattooRemoval.com – People like to get tattoos when they are younger and sometimes do so for stupid reasons. Often, after ten years of so of having a tattoo, the person may decide.
• Laser Tattoo Removal – Shoulder | CompleteTattooRemoval.com – Laser Tattoo Removal by Medispa Institute in Houston, TX. http://www.medispainstitute… This is the first treatment of an older (6+ yr) professional black.
• Has anyone had any success with wrecking balm or any other tattoo … – ஐ Shei ஐ on Anybody had laser tattoo removal and got a wicked rash on the tattoo area? the_only_solorose on I need some serious advice on TCA acid and heeling time for a self performed tattoo removal with 50% dilution? …
• Laser Tattoo Removal – Laser tattoo removal – Tameka from Deal or No Deal has a tattoo on her lower back removed by Dr. Will Kirby, the Dr. TATTOFF medical director who makes his Dr. 90210 debut. Free Web Proxy.
• Payment Plans for Laser Tattoo Removal – New Look Laser Tattoo Removal offers financing for laser tattoo removal procedures. If you really need to remove a tattoo but are looking for a way to finance the procedures as opposed by paying with a credit card or debit card, …
• Examining Wrecking Balm Cream Tattoo Removal – People always ask us about laser tattoo removal or the Rejuvi system. We cant ignore that these are very good methods and show quicker results that tattoo removal cream but they also come as a high price. …
• New Tattoo Ink May Change The Longevity of Tattoos – Just as the number of Americans sporting tattoos has soared in the past decade, so has membership in another group: people who want their bodywork removed. Only then do they come to know the truth — that laser tattoo removal is painful, …
• laser surgery tattoo removal – Needles to say, Kim finally got the pointSunday HeraldIn April, Andy Bates, a dentist in Skipton, North Yorkshire, started a sideline in laser tattoo removal when he spotted a gap in the market. Bates’s surgery and more »
• A few questions about laser tattoo removal? – Articles & info provided just for the love of tattoos. Tattoo designs & and many personal stories about tattoos.
• Laser Tattoo Removal-The Most Current Information – Laser tattoo removal works by using light beams of high intensity that pulsate on the tattoo. The laser light breaks down the ink pigment and it rises to the top layer of skin which peels away. This type of treatment can take several …
• Tattoo Removal Business, Tattoo Removal Investment – New Look Laser Tattoo Removal is proud to be one of the leading providers of laser tattoo removal services in the United States. With our complete focus on tattoo removal, superbly trained and experienced staff, use of the latest in …
• Tattoo Removal Cream ” Reviewing Your Options – Your most obvious choice is laser tattoo removal. The price of laser treatment however is often horrifying to the recipient, in many cases it costs a great deal more than the tattoo itself. The procedure it quite painful and treatment …
• Which Laser is Best for Tattoo Removal? – One of the most important questions our students and course attendees face when setting up their own laser tattoo removal practice is “what laser is best for tattoo removal?” The second most important question is generally “how do I …
• Video Bomb – Sk:n clinics – laser tattoo removal – Specialists in skincare and laser tattoo removal treatments with professional clinics nationwide. Book a free consultation or call 0800 028 7222 to speak to an expert at sk:n http://www.sknclinics.co.uk …

New York is one of the most competitive and expensive areas of the country for laser tattoo removal. That means you have to really do your research and choose the right professional if laser tattoo is your chosen method of tattoo removal. I suggest making a lot of calls and visits if at all possible. There is also a good reason to do some research on the laser removal process.

Some people are under the illusion that laser tattoo removal is a single visit deal. That is very unlikely. Laser tattoo removal in NYC, or anywhere else for that matter, will mean multiple visits and some discomfort. You were probably not aware that laser will penetrate the skin with heat nearing 900 degrees. That is hot. It is all part of the process to get your body to expel the inks and flush them from your system.

There are also different types of lasers that are more effective on some colors than others. It is not likely that every clinic will have all the technology in-house.

You may want to consider fading your tattoo yourself before you start bouncing all over New York looking for a tattoo removal clinic. Some tattoo removal creams can fade a tattoo to the point where laser treatment is not required. If laser is still the preferred method, fading the tattoo in advance will reduce the number of sessions required to remove the tattoo thus saving you money. This is crucial since maser tattoo removal can cost 10  times the amount of the initial tattoo application.

Consider Wrecking Balm to fade or remove your tattoo.

New Yorkers have many reasons for getting a tattoo. Perhaps it is to memorialize a loved one or to express emotions for a current love. Some get tattoos as a way make a personal statement about themselves. No matter they are everywhere.

Perhaps you have a tattoo or are considering getting one.  What I find interesting is that people seem to give little thought to the potential risks of tattoos. Risks? Well of course. The modern method of applying tattoos was based on a machine called the autographic printer, or an engraving machine.. The inventor was none other than Thomas Edison in 1876. I remember people having crude adaptations of these devices when I was kid.  The machine was later adapted to apply inks under the skin. The ink reservoirs came later. And now New York is littered with tattoo parlors and body art.

Most people are probably not aware that the large majority of tattoo inks are based on metals. For instance red and black come from iron oxides. Yellow comes from cadmium. Green comes from chromium and so on. By the way, iron oxide is rust…go figure.

I do not know if I am ready to make a pronouncement that tattoos are unsafe, but it is a well known fact that the Food and Drug Administration(FDA) has begun to take close look at tattoo inks given the rising popularity of this obsessive ritual. Can you imagine the panic on New York (NYC) if the FDA said tattoos cause cancer?

The mere fact that the many of the inks are based on metals is a cause for alarm since high metal content in the human body has been linked to many diseases. Additionally, there are other inks that are based on plastics that are reported to change the texture of the skin in a way that cannot be reversed even if the tattoo is removed.  The most disconcerting tidbit I stumbled upon was the knowledge that many tattoo artist mix their own inks. There is no oversight no way to know if someone is qualified to do such a thing.

The skin is the largest organ on the human body. Many people seem to forget that. Essentially whatever is applied to the skin is absorbed through the body.  This is true of soaps, lotions, perfumes, colognes, and of course tattoo inks. We know this is the case because tattoos will fade a bit over time, but not because the ink is washing off, it is being absorbed by the body internally.  So the question is, if a person were to ingest the same ink that makes up their tattoo, what would happen? My guess is that they would become very ill, very quickly.   So perhaps the effect is the same just a bit slower as the skin drinks in the inks.

I guess the more I think about it the more I am alarmed at the number of people who get tattoos and more importantly the people who have them covering nearly their entire body.

Finally there are two other considerations. The person who gets a really bad tattoo and the person who gets a tattoo and decides they no longer want it. Then what?

The business of removing tattoos seems to be growing in stride with the business of getting tattoo as people increasing are feeling remorse over their decision to permanently get inked.

But tattoo removal is no walk in the park. The methods most commonly sought are dermabrasion, laser removal, and do-it-our-self creams.

Dermabrasion  essentially is a process where the skin is filed down similar to sanding a piece of wood. This is expensive and can leave permanent scars. Not to mention, sanding down certain areas of the body has got to be painful.

Laser treatments can fade tattoos but several visits may be required and the costs can skyrocket very quickly. There is also the risk of hypopigmentation which is where the skin become lighter as a result of the laser exposure.  Laser can also cause some tattoo inks to change in color rather than fade in a desirable way.

There are several creams on the market that claim to fade tattoos. Some work better than others. The challenge for any of these methods is keeping up with the rapidly changing inks used in tattoo parlors.

Wrecking Balm makes that claim and also uses a device that is FDA approved for application. While it can not be purchased in most stores in New York, you can purchase it on line quite easily.

For many in New York, the cost of tattoo removal is many times more expensive than the original tattoo application. While I personally do not have any tattoos I know many who do and a few who wish they didn’t. Given the cost I would say try the creams first. It is cheaper and if it works you can avoid some pain and potential scarring. If all else fails and you just want the tattoo gone then I guess laser tattoo removal or dermabrasion are the next options.