WTF: This Tattoo Craze Is Seriously Surprising
We’re all for honoring the memory of a loved one, á la this dad’s creatively heartbreaking obit, or even the woman who live-blogged her friend’s death, but this tattoo craze (no, it’s not Tattoodo, though that’s definitely one to check out!) might be taking things a bittttt too far.
Dubbed “morbid inking,” the process basically involves adding the ashes, hair or DNA, such as cheek swabs from a deceased person, to your tattoo ink prior to getting tatted.
Um, what?
Apparently an underground trend for years, the process of carrying your loved ones with you forever via your ink is becoming more and more mainstream. Though it hasn’t been cleared by the FDA, microbiologists ensure that it’s safe, when done properly: Ashes must be stored in such a manner than microbes will not form, for instance.
Newer development efforts in the field, which would see carcinogens from your beloved’s hair (cooked to 2,700 degrees) turned into ink itself by Swedish company Skin46, are also in crowdfunding stages.
“Everyone has a parent, child, lover or friend that they want to be connected to in a physical and emotional way,” said the ink’s inventor, Andreas Wampl. “I’ve talked to a lot of people who don’t even have regular tattoos but love the idea of a connective one. I think it’s a huge market.”
Hmmm. We don’t know about you, but we think we’ll wait to see how this one plays out before we rush to the parlor!
Would you try morbid inking? Let us know over @BritandCo!
(h/t Elite Daily, photos via Getty)