Tattooing is gaining more acceptability among Nigerians especially the youths. Different reasons ranging from the desire to be different, trendy and to belong are being given for the increasing interest.
As a result of the increasing popularity, tattooists in the country are daily smiling to the bank
Victor Michael, the Chief Executive Officer, Top Class Beauty Salon, Ikeja, on Wednesday said that tattoo business was very lucrative in the country.
Speaking in an interview in Lagos, Michael said that any individual engaged in the tattoo business must be well versed in the intricate art.
He added that the business could take a highly skilled practitioner to places where they could reap bountifully from the volume of clientele that would come their way.
“This business is a money-spinning business but then you need to have the competence to be able to deliver to your clients what they actually want.
“You cannot afford to make mistakes when you are doing it because it varies from one client to another.
“Some tattoos are crafted in a way that it can fade by themselves after two months; some take three to six months, while some others are permanent,’’ he said.
Michael, who holds a degree in business administration from the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, said that permanent tattoos could be erased but was very expensive and painful to erase.
He said that Laser machines were used in erasing such tattoos and could cost about N30, 000 or more to effect.
The tattooist, however, said that tattoos vary according designs and sizes.
“We charge our clients from N2, 000 and above.’’
He also said that tattoos for the red and pink lips designs ranges from N2, 000 and above to craft.
The stylist noted that there were two ways the pink and red lips were done.
“We start by first, washing the lips with chemicals and thereafter use certain creams to polish it every other time.
“The other way of doing it is to craft it with a machine permanently,’’ he added.
Michael stressed that generally, some tattoos were made in a way that it faded by itself after two months, while some others take about three to six months to fade out.
Taofik Bello, another tattooist who operates in the Gbagada area of Lagos, told NAN that the reason he had a tattoo design on his body was because it gave him a “swag’’.
“When people see me, I look different from the crowd and I like the attention I draw to myself and I sell what I do also.
“You can see that I have it all over my body.
“Tattoos make me see myself as an entertainer because I also sing to entertain,’’ he said.
Reacting to the trend Olalekan Adesina, a comedian popularly known as “Elgee’’, described the tattoo phenomenon as an ephemeral experience.
“I feel tattoos are mistakes borne out of youthful exuberance. Everyone that has done it regrets after a while.
“It also is driven by a burning passion to represent something. Believe me it’s not worth doing at all,’’ he said.
In the same vein, Sleek Daniel, a student of the Lagos State University, said that he liked to see tattoos inscribed on his body.
“As a Christian, I need to be seeing the cross emblem on myself all the time to make me remain committed to my faith,’’ he said.
Meanwhile, a Yenagoa-based Consultant Dermatologist, Dr Ebimie Okara, said the side effects of tattooing included infections and allergic reactions from the dyes used in creating tattoos on the skin.
Okara added that the materials used in the process could have an adverse effect on the individual involved.
“If the dyes used in tattooing contains traces of mercury, then there can be allergic reactions which can also affect the kidneys.
“Also, in the local tattoos, unsterilised instruments used on the skin can result in infections that can also enter the blood stream of the individual.
“Such persons are at risk of infections including HIV and other blood related infections and diseases,’’ she said.
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