Art is art, even if it is painted onto the human skin as canvas. Now before going any further, I’d just like to stress that I’m not stating an opinion for or against the support of (fashion trend) tattooing or any other body modifications of sorts, that all come neatly encompassed under the term ‘body art’ because it’s simply a matter of an individual’s personal choice, one that I choose to respect.
Now there are many forms of body art, but the one I’m particularly interested in discussing today are those that involve colour pigments. So I guess that leaves us with tattoos and body painting…But don’t be mistaken to think that tattoos and body painting refers to those odd few people who subscribe to an entire body draped in every colour under the sun, because the application of these pigments are closer to your home than you think.
Tattoos are also the cosmetic application of permanent make-up done by everyday people on their eyebrows, eyes, lips or even to create that single defining beauty mark on the face. These don’t cost much and are used by those who would like to be free of the hassle of the daily makeup routine or those who want to fade a visible scar.
Body paints aren’t just used on models as part of a clever marketing strategy or performers on stage, they are used by people like you and me and our little ones on special occasions, all in the spirit of celebrating the holidays, a parade or even just a birthday! The use of body paint could be little or as it takes to make a tiny green clover or big as much as it takes to furnish the transformation of your little girl’s angel face into that cute as a button bunny… In fact make-up itself is also a form of body paint.
Now as much fun and as beautiful artificially pigmenting (permanent or otherwise) our skins can be, it’s important for us to know what exactly we are exposing ourselves and our children to.
Permanent tattoos apply the colour pigments directly into the layers of your skin. It’s a painful process and one that is not without much risk. Brushing aside the obvious health infections that comes with the use of needles, the ink itself raises much concern because they contain many heavy metals, including lead, arsenic, antimony, beryllium, chromium, cobalt, and nickel among many others, all of which posses threats to your health. The ingredients used to make the inks will vary for each colour and are different for each make/brand. Furthermore, unlike your average bottle of hair dye, you won’t exactly easily find a list of ingredients that make up that tattoo colour pigment.
Body paints on the other hand are many in sorts. There are:
- Facial cosmetics (eye shadow, blushers, lipstick, eyeliner, etc)
- Henna, which is from a natural source
- oil-based paint
- water-based paint
- alcohol based paint
- liquid latex
To be continued in the next article…’Body paints, the colours, the types and the dangers’
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