We can all agree there are many reasons why people get tattoos. One of those reasons, which seems like a legitimate one, is to cover over scarred skin. Well, guess what? Health officials in Kentucky are currently proposing a ban on tattooing skin to cover scars!
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Tattoos arenât without serious risks; the toxic chemicals in tattoo ink have been linked to autoimmune and inflammatory diseases and each time the tattoo gun pierces your skin, the needle is technically opening a pathway for germs to enter the body, which increases the risk of infection. But this ban still makes little sense.
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The Kentucky Department of Health has stated it wants to clean up the environment in tattoo shops, though. Further confusing things, their proposal does not define âscarred skin.â This leaves many tattoo artists, like Draven Gayheart with Lost Gypsy Tattoo in Hazard, KY, asking for clarification.
âMy wife had a large portion of her bicep removed. She had a large scar in that area. She had this scar for half of her life,â he told WYMT-TV of Hazard. âItâs been turned into something of beauty now.â1
Down the road in Louisville, Alonzo Chappell, owner of Zoeâs Tattoos and Piercings, told WLKY-TV they tattoo over scars nearly every day.
âItâs really a healing process. I mean, a lot of people come to have closure on maybe a scar or some kind of burn,â Chappell said.1
A statement from the Kentucky Cabinet of Health and Family Services said: âRegulations in this area have not been updated for about 15 years.â1