While walking on the road, you’ll find many people, teenagers in particular, flaunting tattoos on their backs, hands, legs and abdomen. The art of getting yourself tattooed in various designs, modern and traditional, is rapidly gaining popularity.

It’s considered as the latest ‘in’ thing which makes one look trendy and funky. However, before just putting your body under the tattoo needle, it is essential to be aware of the various side-effects of tattooing. Given below are some health risks associated with tattoos.

Do you know that in the name of art and fashion, you are actually subjecting your skin to various harmful and potentially dangerous chemicals? The inks used during tattooing usually contain chemicals which can lead to mutations, cancer and birth defects.

The chemicals involved in tattoo inks can be risky and harmful and can also lead to various kinds of skin irritation and infections. This is because tattoo inks usually contain many metals which react with the skin. Since tattoos involve use of needles, they also carry the risk of disease transmission like hepatitis, tuberculosis and also the dreaded HIV. Thus, it is necessary to ensure the proper sterilization of needles before their usage.

Some people, though less in number, face the problem of allergic skin reactions after getting a permanent tattoo etched on their skin. These allergic reactions can occur along with scarring and phototoxic reactions. Thus a proper after care is also needed to keep your skin safe and healthy after getting it tattooed. Also, you need to take extra precautions before getting your self tattooed.

Check for your skin’s sensitivity and go to a proper professional to avoid infections and diseases. However, prevention is always better than cure and thus it is advised, that one should weigh the pros and cons of tattoos before blindly running behind them.