Temporary tattoo
Encyclopedia
Tattoo
A tattoo is made by inserting indelible ink into the dermis layer of the skin to change the pigment. Tattoos on humans are a type of body modification, and tattoos on other animals are most commonly used for identification purposes...
. Temporary tattoos can be drawn, painted, or airbrushed, as a form of body painting
Body painting
Body painting, or sometimes bodypainting, is a form of body art. Unlike tattoo and other forms of body art, body painting is temporary, painted onto the human skin, and lasts for only several hours, or at most a couple of weeks. Body painting that is limited to the face is known as face painting...
, but most of the time these tattoos are transferred to the skin. Temporary tattoos of any kind are used for numerous purposes including self-expression, identification, and advertising. For example, actors who wish to add to their character's distinctiveness might take temporary tattoos painted on the skin by hand or using stencils as part of their cosmetic ritual.
Temporary transfer tattoos
Old fashioned temporary tattoos, which were first made popular as inserts in bubble gumBubblegum
Bubblegum is a type of elastic chewing gum, designed to be blown out of the mouth as a bubble.-History:In 1928, Walter Diemer, an accountant for the Fleer Chewing Gum Company in Philadelphia, was experimenting with new gum recipes. One recipe was found to be less sticky than regular chewing gum,...
, were poor quality ink transfers that often resulted in blurry designs and could easily be washed or rubbed off. A very identifiable brand would be the fruit flavored chewing gum
Chewing gum
Chewing gum is a type of gum traditionally made of chicle, a natural latex product, or synthetic rubber known as polyisobutylene. For economical and quality reasons, many modern chewing gums use rubber instead of chicle...
Fruit Stripe
Fruit Stripe
Fruit Stripe is an artificially and naturally flavored fruit chewing gum that is notorious for its strong but fleeting flavor. It is packaged in zebra-striped wrappers, and every stick now comes with one or more temporary tattoos. Three five-flavor packs are made: cherry, lemon, orange, mixed...
which has been popular with American children for many years. Nonetheless, these lick-and-peel temporary tattoos became a well-known piece of North America.
Modern temporary transfer tattoos are made of ink
Ink
Ink is a liquid or paste that contains pigments and/or dyes and is used to color a surface to produce an image, text, or design. Ink is used for drawing and/or writing with a pen, brush, or quill...
and glue
Glue
This is a list of various types of glue. Historically, the term "glue" only referred to protein colloids prepared from animal flesh. The meaning has been extended to refer to any fluid adhesive....
, and last much longer than older temporary tattoos. In this process, the tattoo is applied to the outer surface of the skin and remains until such time as the image fades away (typically after 3–5 days) or is removed.
While most temporary tattoos are created commercially for advertising or as novelty items, the process of creating has been adapted to the fine art of lithography
Lithography
Lithography is a method for printing using a stone or a metal plate with a completely smooth surface...
as well. And even more recently, Chanel
Chanel
Chanel S.A. is a French fashion house founded by the couturier Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel, well established in haute couture, specializing in luxury goods . She gained the name "Coco" while maintaining a career as a singer at a café in France...
, the Parisian fashion house, has set up a themed area in Selfridges
Selfridges
Selfridges, AKA Selfridges & Co, is a chain of high end department stores in the United Kingdom. It was founded by Harry Gordon Selfridge. The flagship store in London's Oxford Street is the second largest shop in the UK and was opened on 15 March 1909.More recently, three other stores have been...
on Oxford Street
Oxford Street
Oxford Street is a major thoroughfare in the City of Westminster in the West End of London, United Kingdom. It is Europe's busiest shopping street, as well as its most dense, and currently has approximately 300 shops. The street was formerly part of the London-Oxford road which began at Newgate,...
offering customers the chance to have Chanel's own transfer tattoos applied by experts. The designer offerings have been advertised (as part of Chanel's Paris Spring & Summer 2010 farmyard barn theme recreated in London) as an opportunity for fans to have the chance to have tattoo transfers applied to "areas of the private nature".
Temporary tattoos usually consist of five main elements: the front of the sheet of paper, the back of the sheet of paper, ink, glue and a protective plastic sheet. The front of the sheet is covered with a special coating upon which the tattoo image is printed with special inks. A layer of glue is then applied on top of the image. A thin, transparent plastic sheet is placed over the front of the sheet to protect the image and glue layer. The back of the sheet is left untreated and has a list of ingredients and instructions printed on it.
Transfer temporary tattoos are usually applied by removing the plastic sheet, placing the image face down against the skin and moistening the backing by wetting it thoroughly. The backing can then be carefully removed, leaving the image in place.
In 1980, temporary tattoos were created using different and exotic ink systems. 3M designed and developed a special coating called Micro-Fragrance that made scratch-n-sniff technology possible. The temporary tattoo industry adopted the scratch-n-sniff concept and a few companies, such as Dallas-based Highgate Products, released scented tattoos.
Around this time advances in ink and screen printing were also developed. These advances made the tattoos last longer and look more realistic. As tattoos quality increased, so did demand. People began seeing temporary tattoos as a product that could last and could be used outside of inexpensive giveaways.
Today, temporary tattoos are sold everywhere from vending machines to check-out counters at mass retailers to high-end boutiques and can be customized and printed through a color laser printer using specialty color laser transfer paper
Transfer paper
Transfer paper is used in textiles and arts & crafts projects. Often, an ink-jet or other printer is used to print the image on transfer paper. Then a heat press can be used to transfer the image onto clothing, canvas, or other surface. Transfer paper is used in creating iron-ons.- Inkjet...
. A variety of tattoo designs exist; everything from Marvel superhero tattoos, to glitter designs, to Ed Hardy temporary tattoos for trendy adults and clubbing designs for young people.
Henna tattoos
Henna
Henna is a flowering plant used since antiquity to dye skin, hair, fingernails, leather and wool. The name is also used for dye preparations derived from the plant, and for the art of temporary tattooing based on those dyes...
tattoos, also known as Mehndi
Mehndi
Mehndi or menhdi is the application of henna as a temporary form of skin decoration in India, as well as by expatriate communities from the country. The word mehndi is derived from the Sanskrit word mendhikā. The use of mehndi and turmeric is described in the earliest Vedic ritual books...
, is another form of temporary tattoo. Coming from a south Asian tradition, henna uses a paste made from the powdered leaves of the Henna plant, Lawsonia inermis. Its active dye, Lawsone
Lawsone
Lawsone , also known as hennotannic acid, is a red-orange dye present in the leaves of the henna plant as well as jewelweed . Humans have used henna extracts containing lawsone as hair and skin pigments for more than 5000 years...
, binds with the keratin in skin, fingernails, and hair. Traditional henna is drawn in delicate patterns on the hands and feet, but modern henna is applied in all sorts of designs anywhere on the body. Unlike other forms of temporary tattoos, henna does not allow for a full range of colors but only shades of reds, browns, and near-blacks. The paste is applied and left on the skin for several hours to stain. The stain will gradually fade away as the skin sheds. Henna tattoos can last days to over a month depending on application and aftercare.
However, caution should be taken as many products labeled henna are misleading. Fast-staining "black henna" can contain para-phenylenediamine (PPD) which can cause allergic reactions and scarring.
Temporary airbrush tattoos
Temporary airbrush tattoos are another kind of temporary tattoo. Like other forms of temporary tattoos, they are applied to the surface of the skin and do no damage to the skin. Airbrush tattoos are created by placing a stencil to the skin and delivering the tattoo ink or tribal airbrush tattoo paint with an airbrushAirbrush
An airbrush is a small, air-operated tool that sprays various media including ink and dye, but most often paint by a process of nebulization. Spray guns developed from the airbrush and are still considered a type of airbrush.-History:...
. Unlike temporary transfer tattoos, the artist can control delicate elements of the temporary tattoo while it is being produced, which is more similar to the true permanent tattoo experience.
Temporary airbrush tattoos have been in existence since about 1998 and are largely used in marketing, advertising and the entertainment industry. Because of the constant research and development of airbrush equipment and inks, airbrush tattoos today so closely resemble real tattoos that many people cannot tell the difference.
Temporary airbrush tattoo removal
Most airbrush tattoo inks/paints are alcohol-based. Applying baby powder several times during the day will extend the life of the tattoo. Removal is done by applying an oil or alcohol based product. Baby oil, mineral oil and suntan lotion work best. Isopropyl alcoholIsopropyl alcohol
Isopropyl alcohol is a common name for a chemical compound with the molecular formula C3H8O. It is a colorless, flammable chemical compound with a strong odor...
(rubbing alcohol) also works, but should be used with caution as it can dry and irritate the skin. They last from a couple of days up to a week depending on how often the area is washed and taken care of.
Temporary variants of permanent tattoos
Some tattoos applied with a tattoo gunTattoo gun
A tattoo machine is a hand-held device generally used to create a tattoo, a permanent marking of the skin with indelible ink. Modern tattoo machines use electromagnetic coils to move an armature bar up and down, Connected to said armature bar is a barred needle grouping that pushes ink into the skin...
may be less permanent or easier to remove; however, as these involve insertion of pigments under the skin and do not involve the removal or degradation of all materials involved, they can not be considered completely temporary.
Photo Tattoo Simulation
Online Tattoo Simulators realistically simulate tattoo designs on body photographs. They require no supplies or removal process so are a fast alternative of seeing what a tattoo looks like before getting any work done.Semi-permanent tattoos
Some practitioners offer tattoos that they claim to be temporary, but will last for a period of years rather than days. These are applied using a tattoo gunTattoo gun
A tattoo machine is a hand-held device generally used to create a tattoo, a permanent marking of the skin with indelible ink. Modern tattoo machines use electromagnetic coils to move an armature bar up and down, Connected to said armature bar is a barred needle grouping that pushes ink into the skin...
, and are therefore the closest substitute for the permanent tattoo experience, including the discomfort. These tattoos are supposed to gradually fade away over time, leaving no trace. Some tattoo artists claim that the inks are inserted closer to the surface, allowing them to gradually slough off, while others claim to use special inks that naturally disperse over time.
There is some discrepancy as to whether these semi-permanent tattoos are in fact "temporary tattoos" at all. In practice, semi-permanent tattoos have had mixed results, and caution would say that any tattoo performed by inserting pigment under the skin should be considered permanent.
See also
- Body paintingBody paintingBody painting, or sometimes bodypainting, is a form of body art. Unlike tattoo and other forms of body art, body painting is temporary, painted onto the human skin, and lasts for only several hours, or at most a couple of weeks. Body painting that is limited to the face is known as face painting...
- MehndiMehndiMehndi or menhdi is the application of henna as a temporary form of skin decoration in India, as well as by expatriate communities from the country. The word mehndi is derived from the Sanskrit word mendhikā. The use of mehndi and turmeric is described in the earliest Vedic ritual books...
(so-called hennaHennaHenna is a flowering plant used since antiquity to dye skin, hair, fingernails, leather and wool. The name is also used for dye preparations derived from the plant, and for the art of temporary tattooing based on those dyes...
tattoos) - TattooTattooA tattoo is made by inserting indelible ink into the dermis layer of the skin to change the pigment. Tattoos on humans are a type of body modification, and tattoos on other animals are most commonly used for identification purposes...
- Fusen gumFusen gumFusen is a brand of bubble gum manufactured by Japanese confectionery manufacturer Marukawa. The product was exported around the world and was particularly popular in India and Pakistan. Fusen was notable for the water-based temporary tattoo that came in the product's wrapper.-External links:* *...