Tattoos may not be the best idea in the residence halls


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Sophomore Hailey O'Brien gets a tattoo on her ribs by tattoo artist Jessie Villasenor on Wednesday at Evolved Artforms Tattoo.

Tattoos are a regular fashion trend. Nearly every student seems to have a little ink. 

What many students don’t know is that these permanent pieces of art may be risky when living in a residence hall.

Most freshmen coming to campus are just turning 18, the age to finally obtain a legal tattoo. Not every student will take advantage of this, but having three tattoo parlors near campus just adds to the temptation. People with new tattoos tend to get excited and may not think about all the work that goes into the after-care, this is how infection can occur.

“I just got my second tattoo a few weeks ago and it was harder to take care of than the first,” said Shelby Township freshman Natalie Wojcickij. “It was really hard to find Dial soap and Aquaphor around campus. With the tattoo being on my thigh it was hard to air it out. I was kind of ill-prepared.”

In residence halls, showers can be small and this can be a problem when trying to clean a new tattoo without fully submersing it in water. A tattoo needs a lot of extra attention, from delicately washing it to making sure it doesn’t dry out from heat.

Living in a dorm also can be messy. If the room or bathroom is not regularly cleaned, bacteria may grow. That’s no place for a fresh tattoo. Since residence halls are highly populated and temperatures can get warm, bacteria can grow at a faster rate.

According to a PR Newswire study done on residence hall rooms, people in these small areas are more at risk to staph infection because residence halls are highly populated with busy students who may not have time to clean everyday.

Staph is a bacteria that is regularly on a person’s skin. Each person is a carrier of a different type of staph and can be immune to the type they carry, but not to someone else’s.

“As long as a person has good hygiene and clean bedding, a tattoo won’t be at high risk for infection,” said Eric Ochsenkehl artist and owner of Evolved Artforms Tattoo. “A tattoo is an abrasion, not a large wound, so if it’s done in the proper environment it shouldn’t get infected. Another thing people don’t think about is sleeping in someone else’s bed, it may not be clean and this could cause problems.”

So many students on campus have tattoos and it’s important for them to be informed of how to take care of them. Using certain soaps and lotions that the artist recommends will definitely help the healing process, as well as not touching or picking at it. According to the Health Services Office in Foust Hall, there have been no recent incidents with tattoo infections.

“In the beginning of the semester, I got a tattoo of a quote going down my whole side,” said Charlotte freshman Mikeayla Pellegrino. “I didn’t have any problems with the after-care and it looks really nice. As long as you take care of yourself, your tattoo will be fine, even if you’re living in the residence halls.”

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