Mattel: no plans to discontinue doll

Parents in the US are furious over fashion doll Barbie’s latest reinvention, which sees her covered in tattoos. The new “Totally Stylin’ Tattoos Barbie” comes with a set of body art stickers to be placed anywhere on her body.

The set also comes with a tattoo gun so kids can stamp designs on themselves. Manufacturer Mattel says the tattoos for children are temporary and wash off. But some parents believe the toy is not appropriate for young children and would not buy the doll.

Tattoo Barbie Not Proving Popular

Jenn Alcayaga, a parent from Sacramento, California, is against the message the new Barbie could send to young girls.

“It’s attracting kids too young to want to expose parts of their body to show off tattoos,” she said.

Another parent, Brandon Thompson, is more open to the idea.
“Maybe it’s a sign of the times,” he said.

“Every generation is different. Elvis was evil at one time.”

It is not the first time Mattel has tested the limits of what parents see as acceptable in a children’s toy. In 2002, they released a pregnant doll, whose stomach opened to reveal an infant doll.

Complaints forced retailers like Wal-Mart to stop selling it.

Despite the complaints surrounding the tattooed Barbie, sales are exceeding expectations. Mattel says it has no plans to discontinue the doll, insisting it gives girls a chance to express themselves and be creative.

Mattel says the tattoo Barbie lets children express themselves and be creative

What’s your take on this? Would you let your daughter have a Tattoos Barbie?

Personally, I don’t see anything wrong with it, it is just a doll with stickers on it.

CANTON — Whatever his reasoning, Lee M. Deitrick thought it wise to tattoo a toddler’s bottom. It wasn’t even his child.

Now the 20-year-old Louisville man has learned his punishment. He was sentenced Wednesday to three years in prison.

Deitrick pleaded guilty in Stark County Common Pleas Court to two felony child endangering charges as part of a plea deal with county prosecutors.

Deitrick tattooed the outline of the letter “A” on the child’s buttock. The mark covers about one-half inch.

The mother — a friend of Deitrick’s — left her then-19-month-old at Deitrick’s W. Main Street home for a few hours on Nov. 7 while she visited a friend in the hospital, said Katie Chawla, assistant Stark County prosecutor.

One of the child’s relatives, 17-year-old Brandi Nelson, held the girl across her lap, Chawla said.

“I don’t know whose idea it was. It was late in the evening and apparently somebody thought it was a good idea,” Chawla said.

County prosecutors maintain the tattooing caused the girl serious, permanent disfigurement and involved sharp and or prolonged pain. Deitrick had the tattoo equipment and has given tattoos to others, Chawla said.

Deitrick declined when asked by Judge Lee Sinclair if he wished to say anything during his court hearing.

Defense attorney Eugene O’Byrne told the judge that Deitrick wanted to take responsibility and move on.

Deitrick watched the child — whose name begins with “A” — often, O’Byrne said.

“There was no malice,” he said. “More of an error in judgment.”

Nelson, in March, had pleaded true — the juvenile equivalent of guilty — to a felony child endangering charge in Stark County Family Court and is awaiting sentencing in June, court officials said.

Deitrick had faced up to eight years in prison on one charge and five on the other had he been given the maximum term.

His 3-year term will start after he completes his current prison sentence for previous, unrelated convictions. He had been released early for felony domestic violence and misdemeanor violating a protection order convictions. That 18-month prison term was reimposed in February. [via]

Do you think it’s okay for parents to tattoo their toddler?

Tattoos involve piercing into the skin, which almost always involves pain.  No matter how big or how small the tattoo may be or where it is located, you can expect to feel some kind of pain.  Granted, some people do not feel pain at all! So the overall amount of pain you will experience depends on your tolerance.  If you have a high pain tolerance (Unlike me!), you may feel next to nothing during the entire process.

When you get a tattoo, the needles will puncture your skin at very fast rates and variable depths.  The outline of the tattoo is easily the most painful, as the needles will be used to create a black line that will stand out on the tattoo.  This part need to be inserted fairly deeply and carefully to ensure that it’s done correctly.  The shading of the tattoo normally isn’t painful, although it depends on the penetration depth and effect that you desire.

Normally, the pain you feel is a slight burn or scratching feeling.  If the tattoo is going to be on an area where there is less bone and tissue such as the wrist or chest, the pain will be a bit more intense.  Areas like the arms and legs however, normally aren’t that painful.  Areas such as these have more tissue and muscle, which will lessen the amount of pain you feel.

Even though some pain is to be expected, there are ways that you can minimize the pain.  Below are some tips that will help you deal with the pain.
1.    Never show up to a get a tattoo on drugs or drunk.  This will thin out your blood, causing you to bleed more.
2.    Always choose a tattoo artist that you are comfortable around.  If you have confidence in your artist you can minimize the pain a great deal.
3.    Show up at the studio with sheer determination.  You should accept the fact that the tattoo will take time.  Quality work is an art – and should never be rushed.
4.    If the pain becomes too much to bear, you should let your tattoo artist know immediately.  He will allow you to take a break, or stop and come back later.  You can always break up your sessions, as tattoos don’t need to be finished immediately.
5.    To ease your mind, listen to music.  This way, you can take your mind to a different place and focus on something other than the tattoo.

Good tattoo artists will clean and apply antiseptic ointment to your tattoo as they create it.  Expert artists know that this helps keep the tattoo healthy.  Once the tattoo is finished, the artists will wipe it down, clean it off good, and apply another coat of antiseptic ointment.  Once the ointment has been applied, he will put a piece of soft tissue or cellophane over the tattoo.

Once the tattoo is finished, the artists should tell you how to take care of your new tattoo.  Some of the better artists will talk to you and give you a detailed sheet with all of the information you need.  If you went to a tattoo artist who didn’t explain this to you, you may be wondering just what you should do.  Taking care of a tattoo isn’t hard – as long as you know what you can and can’t do.

When you first get home with your new tattoo, you should never hop right in the shower.  You should keep it dry for the first few days, but also clean it every few hours.  Before you touch the tattoo or clean it, you should always make sure that your hands are clean.  If you keep your hands clean, you won’t have to worry about an infection.

You’ll also want to visit your local drugstore and purchase a tube of A&D ointment.  A&D ointment is the best to use.  A&D will keep your tattoo clean and shiny and should be used for the first few days. Once the ointment starts to dry on the tattoo, you should wipe the old application off and apply some more.  Don’t rub it too hard, or you could damage the healing process.  For the first few days, you should avoid using soap as well.

After 5 – 6 days, you can quit using the ointment.  A&D ointment will keep your tattoo healthy, which you’ll notice the first time you apply it.  After you stop using it, you should use an unscented body lotion.  You want to avoid body lotions that have scents, as they can easily irritate the tender skin that resides under your tattoo.

After you have used the lotion for a few days, you can stop using it.  Most tattoos, after they have healed, tend to leave a scab in some areas.  If your tattoo has a scab, you should be careful when you try to pick it.  If you aren’t careful, you could end up damaging your design.  The best thing to do is you have a scab is to leave it alone.  You can put A&D ointment on it if you want, as most of the time a scab will itch.

A tattoo can be a great thing to have providing you take care of it. Tattoos will stay with your for the rest of your life, unless you choose to get them surgically removed.  Taking care of your tattoo now will keep it healthy and infection free in the long run.  If you follow the above advice on how to take care of your tattoo – you won’t have anything to worry about.

Although it may be surprising to Americans whose main source of familiarity with Oriental symbols and other artwork comes from viewing this lovely, traditional art in tattoo studios all across the United States, due to the significant influence of Buddhist and Confucianist religions both the Japanese and Chinese societies take a very negative view of tattoos.  In these societies, tattooing was a means of branding criminals;  it was not acceptable for citizens to engage in the process.  In today’s society, tattoos are still unacceptable.  Although their younger generation usually takes a more liberal view of tattooing, the youngsters who have them generally keep them covered.  

Tattoos have long been a part of life for royalty in Great Britain.  Following in the footsteps of his predecessors King George the fifth and King Edward the seventh, one of today’s most well-known royal figures, Prince Charles, also sports a tattoo.  Unlike in the distant past, however, tattoos in Great Britain are no longer limited to the class of royalty;  during the past few decades, tattoos showing up on their rock stars has brought the practice to the mainstream population.  What was once a status symbol for wealthy public figures has become a widespread part of everyday life for the younger generations.

In Vietnam, tattooing is still currently illegal, and is rarely done except in prisons.  For those who insist on having some type of body modification in light of the laws against tattooing, cigarette burns are used instead.  It is rare that anyone other than gang members utilize this practice.

In Mexico, tattoos were originally thought of as a symbol of courage.  The early explorers who arrived in Mexico in 1519 believed the practice to be the influence of Satan.  In a recent survey, more than half of those polled who were over age thirteen stated that they would consider getting a tattoo.  While most expressed a preference for designs such as flowers, religious symbols, or names, some said they would like a tattoo of their favorite brands of soda or beer.  This is assisting in marketing to some degree, as many people in Mexico City now consider tattoos to be a fashion accessory, not only widely acceptable but in style.

Considering both the Biblical prohibitions against tattooing and the still-present memories of the Holocaust, it is not surprising that most of the older generation in Israel continues to hold a negative view of tattoos.  It is a little surprising, though, that the younger generation not only does not always share this viewpoint, and actually considers the practice of getting tattoos of religious symbols to be a visible sign of pride in their Jewish heritage and identity.

In assessing both the historical aspects and present-day points of view, it’s not difficult to see that for many countries around the world culture plays a significant role in whether or not tattoos are thought of as an acceptable form of self-expression.  In most cases it is also clear that with or without cultural influences, times change and with the changing times comes different ways of looking at the subject of tattoos.  What took a very long time to gain widespread popularity in the United States has proceeded in a similar fashion in most other countries also.

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Tattoos are permanent things.  The ink is injected deep into the skin, into the secondary layer of skin called the dermis.  The repeated injections deposit the ink in this part of the skin for the purpose of lasting a lifetime.  Having tattoos removed can prove to be quite an involved process.

One key to keep in mind is that some scarring is likely to occur when having a tattoo removed.  After care will be necessary as well and may include bandage changes or a suture removal.  Even with tattoo removal, some individuals will still experience some colored areas on the skin that have simply been lightened.  

Many factors influence the success rate of a tattoo removal.  The tattoo size and color have a great effect on how and if the tattoo can be completely removed.  The tattoo’s location on the body also affects removal.

There are several methods for tattoo removal.  Very small tattoos can be removed with excision.  This is the procedure when a small tattoo is simply cut away.  An incision is made, that tattoo is removed and the skin is then sutured closed.

Larger tattoos may be removed by excision as well; however it may take several attempts to remove the entire art.  Many times, the middle portion of the tattoo is removed and allowed to heal before attempts are made to excise the outer portions.  Another technique for excising larger tattoos is to take a skin graft from another area on the body to make it possible to close the incision.

Another technique is called dermabrasion.  This method for tattoo removal involves the use of a special chemical that is applied to the tattoo.  The tattoo and skin around it are frozen, providing a local anesthetic effect.  A rough surfaced tool is then used to rub down the tattoo in the same fashion one would use sandpaper.

Lasers have recently grown in popularity in the medical field and tattoo removal has certainly benefited from them as well.  For the purpose of removing a tattoo, the laser is used to break up the ink and coloration of the design.  Cells in the body are then able to attack and eliminate these colored cells naturally.  When lasers are used, repeat visits are often needed to continue the break down of the ink that was used.

Tattoo removal can be done with one of a variety of methods.  A physician is needed for this type of procedure.  The physician should be consulted with any concerns regarding the size of the tattoo to be removed, the coloration, the location on the body and the required after care that will be needed once it has been removed.

A tattoo is thought of something that lasts a lifetime.  Although they can be removed with surgery, lasers or dermabrasion, some scarring is likely to be encountered.  Getting a tattoo should be seriously considered first as it will always be a permanent mark in the skin.