Tattoos in Social and Health Care – Soteekin päiväkirjat

History of tattoos

It is impossible to say exactly where the tattoos came from. Tattoos have been done for a long time all over the world. Tattoos have been widely associated with crime and in the past tattoos have been used to mark prisoners, soldiers, sex workers and others.

The earliest signs of tattoos can be seen as far back as 10 000 years in different human cultures. Different tattoo cultures exist in different parts of the world. Tattoos have appeared in Europe as early as the 1700s and 1800s. The so-called “new tattoo” appeared in the West in the 1960s and in Finland later. The purpose of the modern tattoo is to shape the body and to reflect the individual’s own identity.

In ancient times, tattoos were made by breaking the skin of the area to be tattooed with a fish tooth, a sharp stone, a sharpened bone, or a wooden stick. It was not until the 1700s that the Maori (or indigenous people of New Zealand) began to use metal needles to tattoo, making the images more symmetrical.

In Finland, the first official tattoo studios were established only in the late 1980s, because until then the health authorities refused to give permission, citing health concerns.

Tattoos today in Social and Health Care

Today, tattoos have become more common in the world and their visibility in the street scene is quite widespread. People’s attitudes towards tattoos have changed over time, as tattoos have become part of people’s identity and many people want to express themselves through their images.

Previously visible tattoos may have had an impact on getting a job and may have prejudiced the jobseeker. For example, tattoos may have been associated with crime, different religions and even evil spirits. Today, there is a more tolerant attitude towards tattoos and tattoos should not affect access to employment in the social and health sectors. However, some people, especially older people, may still have assumptions about tattoos.

Benefits of Tattoos in Social and Healthcare

Tattoos are body modifications, body art or art therapy.

Individuals with tattoos have a high esteem or self-image.
Improves the individual’s perception about themselves.
Gives individual the feeling of belonging to a community that is important to them.
Boost the immune system because when you get a tattoo your body believes you’re being wounded, thus your immune response kicks into gear and your body acts to defend you from invaders, heal the wound and protect you.
Getting tattoos helps you to adapt to stressful situations and potentially enhance the body to release less cortisol under future stress (HUSH Anesthetic, 2021).

Risks of Tattoos in Social and Healthcare

Persons with tattoos can experience discrimination, depreciation and prejudice.
The application process damages the skin causing blood clot around the broken blood vessels and creating a bruise.
Causes aseptic inflammation.
Can cause allergic reactions and hypersensitivity due to the tattoo ink because the inks contain substances that can cause allergies (green ink-chromium, blue ink- cobalt and yellow ink-cadmium)
Tattoos can lead to keloids which are formations of fibrous scar tissue caused by excessive tissue repair in response to trauma or incision.
Tattoo colors promote cell stress and weaken mitochondria function. For instance, the black tattoo dye contains benzopyrene, phenol concentrations and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons that reduce the mitochondrial activity of the skin cells thus limiting its health.

Soteekki students interviews

Anonymous

What tattoos means to you?

Tattoos are means of self-expression and what I like. I want to showcase my relationship with my family through them.

What kind of reactions you have got from clients or colleagues about your tattoos?

Most of them thought it’s cute as they were small and not overly complicated in design.

What word comes first in your mind when you hear a word “tattoo”?

Self-expression.

What is your motivation for doing tattoos?

Memories that I always want to cherish.

Yalin

What tattoos means to you?

It means that they’re a part of me and they all have individual meanings that’s why I got them.

What kind of reactions you have got from clients or colleagues about your tattoos?

Most of them thought it was cool that I got, and some said it was a shame that I inked my skin, asked me why I would do that to myself which was mainly older people.