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SEVİM SONGÜN
ISTANBUL – Turkish Daily News

Conforming with what seems to be a global trend, people's interest in tattoos is on the rise in Turkey as well.
Turkish people choose to get tattoos from tattoo artists recommended by their friends. Despite many tattoo artists plying their trade in Turkey, their job was only recently recognized as a profession by a state body. They have considered performing their work illegally since the law, which will define who can be a tattoo artist, has not taken effect. Nobody but doctors can operate under the skin according to a law dating from 1923. That is why tattoo artists are facing problems since they have no permission or certificate to create tattoos. Now they are anxious to see the law enter force, which will not only regulate the education required but also bring standards to the job. “Doctors say it is not their job to do tattoos and they don't know its techniques,” said Güray Tan Mısır, owner of Dreamcatcher Tattoo and Piercing in Istanbul's Kadıköy district. Tattoo artists believe that creating a tattoo is more than a technical job. “Tattoo is an art, it is more than a technical profession. We are a kind of painter and the human body is our canvas,” said Umut Kıran, a tattoo artist. Several tattoo artists came together and established the Association for Developing the Body Ornamentation Art (VÜSAD) in 2006 to organize tattoo artists, exchange information and make the job recognized as a profession legally. “VÜSAD is the first of its kind in Turkey and it has 150 tattoo artists as members,” said Mısır, vice president of VÜSAD. Mısır told the Turkish Daily News that they are cooperating with the Health Ministry and have provided suggestions about the regulation of standards and education of tattoo artists. The Health Ministry established a committee comprised of doctors, infection experts and lawyers who worked on these suggestions and prepared a draft bill. “This law will define who can be a tattoo artist, the hygiene and technique standards of our studios,” said Mısır. Today those who are interested in this job and have an education in art or painting can become tattoo artists by training as apprentices in the studios. “There is no school for being a tattoo artist in the world; one learns it from an expert by working as an apprentice for one to three years,” said Ruhsel Donbalak, owner of Blacksea Tattoo in Istanbul's Taksim district. Donbalak warned that if the law will only allow doctors to engage in tattoo creation, then some tattoo artists will work illegally. “It will be hard to control the sterilization standards in those studios,” he said.
Does getting tattoos carry health risks?
Tattoo artists claim that getting a tattoo is as safe as any operation if it is done properly. “Every operation on a body carries risks if the surgeon is not doing his job properly,” said Donbalak and added, “if your dentist is negligent about hygiene, that could lead to infection too.” Tattoo and piercing have lower risks, if the sterilization is done properly according to infection expert, professor Deniz Gökengin at Ege University's Medicine Department. “If tattoo is not done under sterile conditions, it has the risk of infections like HIV, hepatitis B and C,” she said and added that “this risk is very low if sterilization is done however it is not so easy to control whether those conditions are fulfilled.” Most of the people who decide to get a tattoo choose the studios and artists via the Internet or based on recommendations of friends. “I came here because of the reputation of this studio and the tattoo artists. One of my friends got a tattoo here and she has not had any problem or disease,” said Zeynep Gümüş, who got a tattoo from the artists at Dreamcatcher's studios. Gümüş, a nurse, said that those who come to get tattoo should check the hygiene conditions of the studios. Tattoo artists also believe that hygiene and technical conditions in the tattoo studios should be checked. “Those who do not fulfill the hygiene conditions and do not have the sterilization machine called autoclave, harm us too,” said Mısır. He also complained that tattoo artists and permanent make up specialists are defined as a profession in the same article of the Coordination Committee for Specifying Artisans, Traders, and Industrialists' June 2007 decision. Make up specialists create tattoos relying on this article. “It is very dangerous since they use make up dye while creating a tattoo but tattoo dye should be special and natural, made of plant pigments,” said Mısır. The same problem occurs when metals other than titanium are used in piercings, said Mısır. “I got a piercing and had an infection because that piercing was not made of titanium. Then I came here [Dreamchatcher] to get a new one,” said Tuba Mavituna.
Tattoo artists also said they do not create tattoos for people under the age of 18 without the permission of their family. “Tattoo should be original and peculiar to each person, but those who get a tattoo at younger ages usually regret it later,” said Kıran and added that those who want to get a tattoo should think twice because it will be with him or her for life.





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