Remembered in Ink

Tattoos are not nearly the taboo they once were in our culture. In the past two or three decades, they have grown to become an almost-universally accepted form of artwork and personal expression, and their popularity has grown to cover most age groups and types of people. It is rare, these days, to meet someone who does not have at least one spot of the artwork inked onto their body, or, failing that, who does not say “I want one; I just haven’t found anything special enough yet.”

One theme that has always been popular for tattoo art is the memorial tattoo. One of the original designs, the classic Mother tattoo–“mom” scrolled on a ribbon encasing a heart, or a winged heart—took many years to gain cultural acceptance. But, I dare say, the taboo has been broken now, and the design is but one of many common and original tattoos created as a memorial of the deceased.

For some, getting the artwork done is a bold step, taken in devotion to a loved one who has been lost. A memorial tattoo is a way for a person to honor and remember the deceased, to express their grief and their respect, to signify their loss to others through artwork without having what could be a difficult conversation. The tattoo can be a very intimate way to carry a memory after the loss of a loved one.

Now, the taboo is being pushed one step further, with the ever-increasing trend of including cremation ashes with the ink of a memorial tattoo. This is just one of many creative ways that people have come to utilize cremation ashes to memorialize or honor the deceased. Despite it’s growing popularity, the practice may still seem morbid to some (just as the original tattoo was once unacceptable to the majority), and some caution about health concerns.

Because of the added material being injected under the skin in the procedure that utilizes cremation ashes, there may be added risk of infection, though there doesn’t seem to be any research to validate these concerns. Some artists will charge extra for the procedure, and many require clients to sign an extra waiver.

Clients looking to get a memorial tattoo with cremation ashes have a few extra steps to complete, as well. When a body is cremated, the remains will not be fine enough to use in the procedure, so they will have to be further ground and sifted to create a fine dust that is usable. It is also recommended that the ashes be baked to further sterilize them, though the temperature of cremation may have already covered this. Either way, anyone looking to get this type of tattoo should be sure to do their research on the possible health risks, and work closely with the right tattoo artist to ensure that the procedure is safe and that they get the best results.