Thursday, February 23, 2012

Are Temporary Tattoos AKA Fake Tattoos in Your Future?

They may be exactly what you need at a certain period in your life when you are simply not yet ready to commit to a real tattoo.
When you love the colors and designs of a full sleeve but aren't ready to commit, or you just need the perfect touch for a costume party, or perhaps just when you feel like playing an elaborate joke on a loved one, you'll find that fake tattoos, more flatteringly known as temporary tattoos, are perfect!  Temporary tattoos are tattoos that will fade with time, and though you might be most familiar with them as purchases from gum ball vending machines, you'll discover that they can be great fun as an adult.  There are lots of reasons why you might want to opt for a design that is temporary, so what do you need to know about temporary tattoos, and how can you get the best effect?
We don't know for sure who came up with the idea for the temporary tattoos as we know them, but it was clear that around the beginning of the 1900s, they were making the rounds as a fun extras for kids. Cracker Jacks, advertised a toy in every box and it seems likely that the simple food coloring fake tattoos of the day were a part of the toys that you could get.  As far back as the 1950s, Cracker Jacks was printing out penny sheets of food coloring based tattoos.  They were used to great effect for advertising, and Smurf tattoos, Bionic Women tattoos and tattoos for PeeWee's Playhouse were all part of the fun.
There are plenty of reasons why you might want to play with fake tattoos.  For instance, you might want to test out a design and to see how it might work on your body, or perhaps you like the idea of slipping into a new persona for the evening and having a tough tattoo on your neck or arm would help you do it.  You can always give your significant other or friends a real shock when you walk in with an enormous rose on your thigh.  Non-permanent floral tattoos that are painted on with henna paste can shade anywhere from a soft orange to a brownish black, and these are often used in wedding ceremonies.  Other people would love to get tattoos, but their jobs might not permit it.  Wouldn't you love the chance to decorate your skin with some lovely designs without worrying about long term consequences?
Kids love temporary tattoos.  Think about all the time that you might have spent as a kid getting those tattoos, wetting them carefully and then applying them to your skin.  It's great to see color that bright or that vibrant on your skin and you can bet that Cracker Jacks definitely knew this and capitalized on it.  You can give that special kid in your life a tattoo sheet that will thrill them.  Do they love fighter jets or unicorns, tribal designs or flowers?  You can have lots of fun showing a kid how to put them on and they can enjoy the designs for days.
When discussing temporary tattoos, it might be interesting to also mention tattoos that point towards a false relationship or a false history.  One common offender is the military tattoo.  Some people see military tattoos as a tool to show their pride in God and country,  because there are few stations as honored in our country as that of an individual who has served their country in this way.  However, there are also people who have not served, but have had the military be an important part of their life through their family or their spouse.
While we have spoken a great deal about transfer tattoos, there are many different types of temporary tattoos out there, that is, markings that can be made on your skin that have no lasting effect.  Fake tattoos that you find in the gum ball vending machines are essentially ink that has been printed on a non-stick sheet that is then covered with a protective layer.  When the protective layer is peeled off and when the tattoo is dampened, the ink can be transferred to another surface.  Non-permanent tattoos that are of a higher quality tend to be made of ink and glue, which causes a sharper transfer that lasts longer.
Henna tattoos, as mentioned above, originated in the Middle East and has traditionally been used for weddings and other celebrations, but these days, you might see someone giving out henna designs at your local Renaissance Faire.  Henna essentially stains your skin and because of this, it tends to have better staying power than other forms of temporary tattoos.  Henna is ground up into a paste, usually with lemon juice in it, and then it is applied to the skin in intricate loops and whorls.  Paisley and floral designs are quite common and popular.  The henna was originally applied with a stick, though these days it tends to be applied from a tube, not unlike one that holds frosting.  The paste needs to sit on the skin, and when it is rinsed off some time later, the design underneath will usually be a pale orange that darkens over time.
When you want something that is as much like a real tattoo as possible, you should consider getting an airbrush tattoo, which is what is used when movie actors are in a role that calls for them to be inked up.  In this type of fake tattooing, the ink is applied to the surface of the skin with the use of an air brush.   You can get a whole range of colors in this way and you'll find tattoos made in this fashion can be wonderfully detailed.

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