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From the one we proudly wear back from the trip, to the one we have thought through, the tattoo can be declined in a multitude of colors. But faced with so many choices, are we all equal in the world of tattooing?
According to the latest Ifop report conducted in 2018, 18% of French adults are or have already been tattooed. A growing number since in 2016 , 14% of the people questioned were concerned.
Despite this craze, the Instagram accounts of some salons give pride to fair skin, hear white. The lack of diversity challenges, as if black people do not tattoo.
" Color tattoos on dark skin are strongly discouraged. We tell the truth, "assumes a tattoo artist in one of the most famous salons in Paris. Thus, some institutions do not hide their reluctance to tattoo a black person with colored inks. For their managers, black skins " heal badly and tattoos do not age well ".
The cause: these skins would be thicker and more sensitive. Inks of color would be better on white skin and some tattooers would prefer black and gray for darker skin tones.
The injunction of dark inks
It took time for photographer Gael Rapon before having brightly colored tattoos on his body. " For several years, I asked Parisian tattooists if I could get tattooed in colored ink. The answer has often been no. [....] Sometimes without explaining myself why, without offering me anything else. The only reason I was given was that the color inks did not work on the blacks, "says the photographer.
Yet, for the National Union of Tattoo Artists (Snat), " there is no recommendation for the use of color inks depending on the type of skin. The healing and aging of tattoos are not particularly specific on light or dark skin to our knowledge. "
Ideas received on skins
Where do these ideas come from on the healing of black skins? Marie Jourdan, a dermatologist specialized in tattoo removal (removal of a tattoo), explains that " the thickness of the skin is the same, whatever its color ".
" In some parts of the body, " she says, " there may be more layers of cells, which may make skin feel denser and firmer, but in reality it is not thicker . "
It is the high amount of dark melanin found in black and mestizo people that is more prominent on the surface of the skin compared to white skin.
" But that does not make the skin necessarily more sensitive and more prone to swelling. It is more a reference to the perception one has of oneself and is mainly based on received ideas , "says the dermatologist.
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A publication shared by Keyone (@clumsyhandz) on March 19, 2019 at 9:25 PDT
The evolution of the art of tattooing
In the tattoo parlor Yoso , in the nineteenth arrondissement of Paris, the spirit is to collaborate in a structure that mixes tattoo, gallery and art bookstore.
For one of its founders, Caroline Lorme, " you have to adapt the technique that will be the most relevant to have a good result in the skin. But we do not put people in boxes by forbidding them things . "
As for the color inks, Clumsyhanz , one of the tattoo artists in the show for three years, admits that " some customers sometimes tell me that a tattoo artist did not want to tattoo them or that they were refused because 'they had too dark skin '.
In this salon, as in others that flourish everywhere in France, benevolence and communication are essential: " You must know that the black skin does not accept all the colors unfortunately, " according to Clumsyhanz .
" But this information, we must take the time to instill in customers who have a darker skin tone. Being black myself, there are colors that I would not put on me, because I know that it will not necessarily come out well , "he says.
For Karine Grenouille, secretary of the Snat, " if a tattooist adapts his technique according to the skin to tattoo [type that also varies depending on the age of the person for example, or the location on the body including, note] , there is no method to adapt to the complexion of the skin. The colors are simply not as good on dark skin. "
Tattoo inks, however, have evolved in quality. Black and colors are better seen on the skin, even if " on a black skin, the white can become ocher and the red can become burgundy with time, " says Clumsyhanz.
Benevolent salons and inclusive tattoos
In Bordeaux, at the tattoo parlor Sibylles , we swept all these questions at the opening. The manager Charlee really wanted " a benevolent and feminist tattoo parlor where the client can get a tattoo safely ". This is the strength of this place, which hosts tattoo artists who dare color on black skin.
Tattoo artists Katie Mcpayne and Chimaera , who sometimes officiate at the show, advocate the inclusion and use of color inks, regardless of skin color. Customers can also have a color test to see the final result.
" Katie Mcpayne is the first person I ever dared to ask for a color tattoo, and she first did a test to see the ones that came out the most on my skin. We tested a lot of colors : purple, pink, green, and even orange, "says Gael Rapon.
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A publication shared by Katie Mcpayne (@katie_mcpaynetattoo) on May 30, 2018 at 12: 36 PDT
For these artists, it is also essential to fill the lack of representation of tattooed people with dark skin, especially on social networks. This is the work done by " Ink the Diaspora ", an Instagram page created by the American Tann Parker that publishes people tattooed with black and black skin as new models that can be referred to.
The evolution of the representations is also done in the drawings that propose the tattoo artists, with characters with the varied physiques. For Clumsyhanz, " there is a shift in recent years where the black community is trying to find artistically, in the tattoo, things that match him more and are very interesting. "
In his book, Signs of Identity. Tattoos, piercings and other body marks , French anthropologist and sociologist David Le Breton explains that tattooing has become a more aesthetic and artistic practice since its emergence in the 1980s.
" The trace on the skin has value of decoration, it reflects a desire to aesthetize the relationship to oneself. It displays the individual's independence from the social, his clear desire to make of him what he hears. "
At its origin, tattooing was mostly a marginalized art. Now, with its democratization and its high popularity, it must be more inclusive. For David Le Breton, tattoos " then return in their use to a desire to change lastingly the intimate and especially social definition of oneself ".
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A publication shared by Katie Mcpayne (@katie_mcpaynetattoo) on April 25, 2019 at 12:23 PDT