No pain, regrets with temporary tattoos

No pain, regrets with temporary tattoos

By Stevie Emilia

JAKARTA (JP): Tired of the same old thing? Then why don't you
try something different, like having a tattoo. The good news is
that you can have a non-permanent one. It will fade after only a
few weeks.

Moreover, there is no need to fear that the needles will hurt
you, or that you have to wait for hours for the process to be
completed.

The temporary tattoo, as many teenagers here have dubbed it,
uses brushes to apply the ink and will take less than an hour to
dry out.

Many celebrities, including actresses like Mira Sorvino, Demi
Moore, Liv Tyler and Madonna, are known to have tattoos.

And here, tattoos have also become a trend, just like other
fashions.

In public places teenagers and even adults proudly display
their skin art to the public without fear of being associated
with criminals as used to be the case.

"It's temporary and painless," said Nila, 19-year-old
university student of her experience of having a tattoo of a rose
painted on her waist.

She said she only followed the trend. "Many of my friends also
have had themselves tattooed and I think it's cool," Nila said.

She proudly displayed her tattoo while wearing a tight red
mini shirt that stops just a few centimeters above her waist when
she went to Seibu shopping mall with some friends.

"And my boyfriend loves it... he thinks it's sexy," she added
with a laugh.

As if anticipating the trend, temporary tattoo services can be
found in many shopping centers and even cafes.

Cafe Kupu-Kupu in Bulungan, South Jakarta, for one, offers
services for both temporary and permanent tattoos.

"Our customers are from all walks of life. Children,
teenagers, executives, even older women and men. Maybe because
the designs are artistic, not scary," said Natasha Manurung of
Cafe Kupu-Kupu.

Tattooing is a serious business as the ink, which comes in
powder form, is imported directly from Australia, tattoo artists
say.

"The tattoo business is booming here," said Natasha.

To have a temporary tattoo is not difficult. Interested
customers can select the most desirable pattern from several
catalogs available in stores. One can pick various patterns,
ranging from the funny representing cartoon characters to the
more exotic items like dragons, butterflies or flowers.

Prices for getting a tattoo are reasonable and mostly depend
on size. Simple designs that look like a ring cost about Rp
15,000 while Rp 25,000 will get you a bracelet. But a dragon
tattoo will force you to dig deeper into your wallet as it will
cost around Rp 50,000.

"The simplest pattern is our most popular," a male employee of
a tattoo corner at the Metro Pondok Indah shopping mall said,
referring to the bracelet tattoo. "But the dragon pattern is also
popular. Maybe because they say dragons bring luck to you," he
added.

Applying a temporary tattoo is not as complex as applying a
permanent one. Most of the time the shop assistant will directly
sketch the selected pattern on to the customer's skin. After the
sketch is completed, the assistant will draw out a deeper color
with ink.

A bracelet tattoo, for instance, is usually completed in less
than 15 minutes and one will only have to wait for about an hour
for it to dry. Most temporary tattoos last for at least three
weeks.

To have a permanent tattoo is almost the same as having to
make a lifetime decision. One cannot back out after the tattoo is
applied, unless you have a bundle of money to undergo plastic
surgery.

In creating permanent tattoos, the artist will make the sketch
before beginning to prick one's skin with buzzing needles full of
ink.

Unlike a temporary tattoo, it might take weeks for the
permanent variety to heal. Once finished, the permanent tattoo
needs to be bandaged for at least three hours before washing, it
is not to be rubbed or scrubbed for several weeks. And one should
apply hand lotion for two weeks and then stay out of the sun for
a few more weeks.

It is the simplicity of temporary tattoos that makes teenagers
interested in having them. Apart from teenagers, some children,
who are accompanied by their parents, and adults wearing elegant
clothes, can also be seen lining up to have their bodies
tattooed.

"It's okay if they want to be tattooed on an open part of
their bodies like the wrist, arm or ankle, but if they want to
have it on their shoulders, waist or chests, I feel
uncomfortable," admitted a shop assistant at a tattoo corner in
Mal Taman Anggrek shopping mall in West Jakarta of his female
customers.

Some women do like being tattooed on special parts of their
bodies.

Ina, not her real name, had her left chest tattooed with a
flowery pattern before her friend's wedding party last month.

"My gown makes it possible for me to display my tattoo. My
friends like it, they tell me it's very attractive," said the
former stewardess of a private airline.

Now, when the color is fading, Ina is already planning to have
another tattoo. "I want to have a dragon tattoo on my arm. Not a
big one, a small one will be just fine," she said.

It is not only women who are lured into having tattoos to
follow the trend, but also men.

Dani, a student of the Gunadarma University in Depok, has just
had a dragon tattoo on his left arm.

"My friends persuaded me to have this one... but I like it
although some people might be scared of me," he said, laughing.

But he did not regret having a temporary tattoo.

"If it's gone, no problem with me. I didn't want to have a
permanent tattoo in the first place. I just followed my friends,"
Dani said.

Some people, however, were already attracted to the skin art
long before temporary tattooing became a trend here.

Ira, a university student, had wanted to have a tattoo for a
long time but kept canceling her plan after many people,
including her parents, told her of the painful process.

She said that for her a tattoo was not simply part of a trend
but more a personal thing. And she was not afraid of people's
response to her tattoo.

"Tattoos don't change people. They're simply coloring your
skin, not your personality," Ira said wistfully.

Now, she has tattooed her left shoulder with a butterfly
pattern and has a bracelet on her left ankle.

"Because a permanent one is almost impossible for me, a
temporary one will be just fine. If my tattoos fade away, I will
have them done again," promised Ira.