Temporary Airbrush Tattoo Ink Review
By: AlexxpuNkreaNk GrEzIkraYa. at 05:54 - 23/06/2012
As the popularity of airbrush tattoos and body art increases around the world, more and more companies are developing their own airbrush tattoo ink. Being an airbrush tattoo artist for over 6 years now, I have had the opportunity to try out many different brands of temporary tattoo ink. Outlined here are my findings from my own independent experiments.
When shopping for temporary tattoo ink, the first thing you should look for are companies that use only FDA approved ingredients. As of this writing, the FDA does not regulate temporary tattoo inks, so be wary of any company that says their inks are actually FDA approved.
The next point to watch out for is companies advertising concentrated ink. You do not want to change the chemistry of the inks you are spraying by reducing them yourself. Buy inks that are ready to spray. Sometimes you will still have to slightly reduce these airbrush ready inks in order to spray properly, but these minor adjustments will be far more consistent than having to reduce the inks from a concentrated form.
Okay, now let's get into looking at some actual inks. The first brand of ink I tried was Nazille sold by TATstore. Nazille is a very thick alcohol based ink. The ink requires 25-30 PSI to spray well. It stays in solution well, but still needs to be shaken occasionally. The durability of the airbrush tattoos sprayed with Nazille is very good. I used this ink at a resort pool where I set up frequently, and it was not uncommon for tattoos to last a week or more even with the kids swimming extensively in chlorinated pools.
The next ink I tried out was OCC temporary tattoo ink. This ink is very thin, and settles quickly. There is a good variety of colors. The ink sprays very easily, but tended to clog the airbrush up a bit when I did not shake it enough. The colors were vibrant. However I found this ink to not be very durable for airbrush tattoos on the general public. I think it is much better suited for professional applications such as photo shoots where the longevity of the artwork is of little concern. But tattoos did last an average of 3-5 days.
Another ink trial was done using ABA temporary tattoo ink. This ink is the cheapest name brand airbrush tattoo ink on the market that I know of. While not as thick as the Nazille ink, it is thicker than the OCC, and sprays very well at 25 PSI. There are almost too many different colors to choose from. This ink proved to be very durable for public tattoo use, with longevity ranging from 6-10 days for tattoos.
The final ink we will look at here is EBA ink. This ink is thinner than the ABA ink, but stays in solution extremely well. The ink is also scented with a cotton candy type fragrance, which is much more pleasant than the alcohol smell of the others. There are 9 colors to choose from giving a good range of options to the artist who knows how to blend his colors. This ink sprays very well at 20 PSI, and is my favorite to use to date. The white is the best I have come across for its sprayability and opacity. Tattoos generally last 7-12 days with this ink.
Other brands of temporary tattoo ink that may be worth looking into further include Badger's Totally Tattoo, TATstore's Duratat, and Paasche's brand of airbrush tattoo ink. Once again, when shopping for your inks make sure that they are cosmetic grade, made for use on the skin, with FDA approved ingredients. You will also want to have the MSDA sheets on file for any inks that you plan to use on the public.
Body Painting: Henna Tattoo
By: AlexxpuNkreaNk GrEzIkraYa. at 05:54 - 23/06/2012
Henna tattoos are an ancient custom in India: girls and women are body painted before ceremonies, like marriage. They painted complicated patterns on their hands and feet to symbolize their fertility.
Henna (or 'Mehndi', the Indian name) is made from the henna plant (Lawsonia Inermis). The leaves of the plant are dried and ground. The powder gets mixed with water and you get a sort of green-brownish mud. If you put that mud on your skin, let it harden, and then peel it off, you will notice it has left an orange color.
You can get your henna at an eastern shop or a 'souk' in many different colors. There's orange, mahogany, brown and black. The orange one is the traditional henna. The black henna is synthetic. It contains PDD (P-phenylenediamene) and can cause allergic reactions. Even if it doesn't cause irritations, it's still unhealthy. Moreover, in the past, black henna at your wedding was considered a disgrace.
Henna Recipe
With one pack of henna, you'll have enough to body paint the entire football team. Put the henna in a bowl and gently pour some lemon juice and boiling water in the bowl. Don't use too much water, the mud has to resemble the thickness of sate sauce. The purpose of the lemon juice is to help the color hold better on your skin.
Your skin should be clean, dry and not fat. If you want to color your nails too, they shouldn't have nail polish on them. Make sure you really want this, because your nails will be orange for about 2 months. It doesn't come off! When the henna is cold, you can get to painting.
If you want to paint your foot soles, which is a traditional custom in Marokko, make sure you have a pillow of some kind to keep your feet off the floor, before you know it, the henna mud is everywhere! You can apply the henna with all sorts of instruments, what works best is a syringe (without the needle of course).
Symmetric and geometric shapes work best. Don't make the lines too thin, the color won't come on to your skin very well. The bigger the surface, the brighter the color will be.
Now: the annoying part: Waiting...
Let the henna dry in the sun, the warmth of the sun will get your color deeper into your skin. You can also use a hairdryer.
If you make a mistake in the picture your painting: ACT QUICKLY! If you wipe it off too late, the henna will leave a red spot.
After a while, the henna will start to burst. Don't peel it off yet! The henna has to stay on for at least two hours. Then you can start removing the crusts of mud.
DON'T remove the henna with water! Just scrape the crusts of your skin, you can do this with a bold knife. Don't let your body painting get in touch with water for the first couple of hours. Right after you scraped off all the crusts, rub your skin in with olive oil. It will make the color brighter and help keep the color on as long as possible. Your henna painting will survive for about a month or so.
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