HISTORY OF TATTOOING & MICROPIGMENTATION

Chapter 2 of Micropigmentation Millennium

History of Tattooing and Micropigmentation

Pictorial self-adornment has a long history. The earliest evidence of tattooing dates to the Ice Age, or more than 8000 BC.  These early body adornments were probably used to imitate the color of animals, have some mystical or religious purpose, or possibly camouflage; however, there is no clear evidence for these suppositions.  Modern tattooing is in an extension of the primitive custom of painting the body.  Examples of body paint include the red ochre found in prehistoric burial sites; blue woad, used by the ancient Britons; kohl, used in Asia to enhance the beauty of the eyes; henna, used on fingernails, in the Middle East; and, of course the war paints of the American Indian tribes.  The giant cosmetic industry today might well be considered a modification of primitive “war paint” customs.  Early crude tattoo needles made of bone, and bowls that held pigment (usually soot) have been found in carves and rock strata in France, Portugal, Romania, and Scandinavia. 

Egyptian mummies, some as old as 4000 years, display tattoos on women but not men.  These tattoos were placed on dancing girls, concubines, and women singers, and usually depicted the symbol of Bes, the goddess who protected women. However, men were tattooed in Libya.  Male mummies with symbols of sun worship on their skins were found in the tomb of Seti I (1300 BC). In very early Greece, men were tattooed as a sign of nobility or proof of bravery.  Later, when that custom declined tattoos in Greece were limited to slave and criminals.There is no evidence of tattooing among Hebrews even before the Mosaic Law, which forbade it.  There is a scarcity of tattoos on Jews, even nonreligious Jews, today.

From the ancient Middle East, the practice of tattooing spread to Southern Asia.  By 2000 BC, it was practiced by the Shans (Eastern Burma), then the Burmese and Indians of the South Pacific.  There is some controversy concerning the origin of tattooing in the South Pacific.  One explanation is that tattooing came from China via Formosa, the Philippines, and the East Indies.  In China, there is evidence that tattooing was done as early as 1000 BC.  The custom continued until the Chou Dynasty (300-100 BC), primarily in the barbaric tribes of the North, and usually only for branding criminals.  A second theory of the origin of South Pacific tattoos is that the practice of tattooing came from South America with sailors along the Kon-Tiki route to Polynesia and New Zealand.  The fourth, less scientific but definitely more romantic explanation is that it was brought to the islands of the South Pacific by the Goddess of Tattooing, who sang the virtues of the art as she swam from Fiji.  The theme of her song was that it was proper that women be tattooed, but not men.  Somehow the message became confused, and it came about that men were tattooed instead of women.

It has been well documented that the Incas, Mayas, and Aztecs were tattooing themselves long before the Christian era.  Daniels, Post, and Armelagos described mummified skin and published photographs of two tattooed hands, one from Ancon, Peru (AD 900-1450), and the other  (date unknown) from elsewhere on the coast.  They also reviewed the histology of mummy skin and could clearly identify black tattoo pigment, presumed to be carbon, melanin, carotene, and acid mucopolysaccharides.

The Ainus were a nomadic people who traveled across Asia to Siberia and Japan.  Ainu settled on the Island of Hokaido in Northern Japan.  Some contemporary Ainu women have their chins and upper lips tattooed with an imitation of hair or lip accentuation for sexual attractiveness (black or blue-black lipstick). By the time of the Roman Era, the Britons, Iberians, Gauls, Goths, Teutons, Picts, and Scots were practicing the art of tattooing.

“When the Roman Legions finally conquered the Britons and pushed northward into Scotland, they met the unyielding opposition of the original Iberian inhabitants, now pushed back by their earlier Celtic conquerors into the Highlands of Central, Northern and Northeastern Scotland. The name ‘Pict’ used by these people is actually a Roman one meaning ‘painted men’ and referred to their practice of tattooing themselves with woad, a blue dye derived from a native plant.  They also colored their entire bodies blue before battle with dye as they, like the Celts, often went into battle naked.  And while we think of them as being ‘blue Picts’, the Romans also refer to them as being ‘green’.” (from the Journal of the Clan Campbell Society, USA, 1984).

Early Romans considered tattoos barbaric.  Later, a few Romans had an interest in the art of tattooing, but only for a limited time.  When Julius Caesar raided Britain in 55 and 54 BC, he found the Britons with animal tattoos.  It is believed that the name “Briton” is derived from a Breton word meaning  “painted in various colors.” Early Christians used small tattoos such as the sign of the cross, a lamb, a fish, or the letter  “X” or “JN” to identify themselves, just as members of present-day Mexican American gangs and clubs often sporty the “Pachuco Mark” between the thumb and index finger.

When Emperor Constantine established Christianity as the Empire’s religion in AD 325, he forbade facial tattooing because it disfigured the human body, made in God’s image.  In AD 787, Pope Hadrian I banned all forms of tattooing.  “Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, not print any marks upon you.”  (Leviticus XIX: 28)

At about the same time as Constantine was banning facial tattoos, Eskimo women were tattooing themselves.  A mummy of one such Eskimo woman was found on St. Lawrence Island.  Alaska, in the Bering Strait 40 miles from Russia and 130 miles from the Alaskan mainland in 1972.  The 1600-year-old tattoos on one arm were clearly evident, but infrared photography was required to delineate the tattoos on the other.  A unique tattooing technique, limited for many years to Alaska, was described in 1928: “Some of the St. Lawrence Island Eskimo women and girls have beautifully executed tattoo marks.  These are made freehand although sometimes an outline is traced before tattooing takes place.  The pigment is made from the soot of seal oil lamps, which is taken from the bottom of tea kettles or similar containers used to boil meat and other food over the open flame.  The soot is mixed with urine, often that of an older woman, and is applied with steel needles.  Two methods of tattooing are practiced.  One method is to draw a string of sinew or other thread through the eye of the needle.  The thread is then soaked thoroughly in the liquid pigment and drawn through the skin as the needle is inserted and pushed just under the skin for a distance of about a thirty-second of an inch when the point is again repeated.  The other method is to prick the skin with the needle which is dipped in the pigment each time “ (Geist, 1928)

Cabeza de Vaca, 1530, and Captain John Smith, 1593, recorded tattoos on natives in the Gulf of Mexico and in Virginia and Florida.  Captain Cook wrote in his diary, called “First Voyage, 1976,” “Both sexes paint their bodies, Tattow, as it is called in their language.  This done by inlaying the color of black under the skin  in such a manner as to be indelible.”  Cook’s sailors were intrigued by the Polynesian tattoos and started the almost universal fascination with tattoos by sailors, and other military personnel of all countries ever since.  The word “tattoo” actually came into the English language because of Captain Cook.  It is interesting that the only other Polynesian word that became current in languages other than those of the South Sea Islands was “taboo”, from the Tongan “tabu,” a word often used in connection with orders to ban tattooing.  The word “tattoo” is a variation of “tattoow,” “Tatau,” and “tatta,” All forms of “ta,” the Polynesian use a piece of wood to strike a piece of bone or shell with many points on it, carrying the pigment to be driven into the skin.

Tattooing flourished in Japan in the 17^th Century.  It had been reinstated in the 13^th Century, after having been abolished for 200 years.  Its use was largely confined to the branding of criminals, a punishment that replaced former harsh sentences like the loss of a nose or an ear.  The greater number of convictions, the more tattoos showed on the criminal’s skin.

The late 18^th Century marked the beginning of tattooing as a true art all over Japan, with awards given for the best designs of tattoos.  Individuals frequently bequeathed their tattooed skins.  Some of these have been mounted in the Anatomy Museum of the University of Tokyo Medical School.In 1868, Emperor Meiji made tattooing illegal.  He considered it a barbaric custom that humiliated Japan in the eyes of Europe.  Although Japanese people in general obeyed Meiji’s law and stopped getting tattoos, the Japanese tattoos artists continued to practice on foreign visitors. They became so famous that many Europeans and Americans made trips to Japan to have beautiful designs put on their skins.

It is important not to forget or diminish the role that tattoo artists have played in the development of micropigmentation.  Intradermal implantation of pigments for cosmetic or reconstructive reasons has its origins with the ancient art of tattooing. It has been from the experiences and experiments of tattoo masters over the last century that we have developed the current micropigmentation.

The credit for the true first tattoo machine design must be given to Thomas Edison, “The Wizard of Menlo Park”. In 1876 and 1877 Edison received patents for his mechanical stencil pen which employed an electromagnetic motor. In 1878 there were two more patents for similar machines that exploited the reciprocating action that is the essence of modern tattooing machines.

Modern tattooing can be dated mid 1880s, when Samuel O’Reilly exploited Edison’s idea and  designed the first electric tattoo machine in New York which was later patented in Great Britain in 1891 by his cousin, Tom Reilly.  Tattoo machines used today by tattoo artists are very similar to the original O’Reilly unit, with some ingenious modifications and artistic embellishments.  Many of these modern tattoo machines may be seen in the Tattoo Art Museum in San Francisco or at the World of Tattoos exhibit in Honolulu. All of the micropigmentation instruments now available on the market are in one way, shape or form derivatives of the original O’Reilly instrument.  A standard tattoo instrument has the ability to change its frequency from less than 30 cycles per second to over 120 cycles per second.  Reciprocating and rotary tattooing machines represent the basic types.  Of these two types, the double coil reciprocating machine is the conventional type most used by tattooing artists.

According to Pati Pavlik, the Standard American Style of Tattoo presently consists of a solid black outline with a body color.  The profession underwent an important transition in approximately 1968 when tattoo artists began adopting basic art techniques in the application of tattooing.  Consequently, tattoo art transcended its previous single dimension style to a multidimensional art form.

A true pioneer in tattoo reciprocating machine development, needles, and pigments has been Huck Spaulding, a master tattoo artist with 45 years experience and president of Spaulding and Rogers Mfg. Inc., the largest and oldest supplier of tattoo equipment. Tattoo masters Lyle Tuttle of California, Joe Kaplan of New York, and Jack Rudy of California began their professional tattoo careers decades ago.  True innovators, neither artist limited his business solely to traditional tattoo art.

Lyle Tuttle opened a San Francisco tattoo studio in 1960 and is best known for his traditional tattoo art on celebrities.  He has also been a guiding force in the evolution of intradermal cosmetics for three decades.  He is the director of the Tattoo Art Museum located in San Francisco and is the editor of the national publication, The Tattoo Historian.  Mr. Tuttle also acts as a consultant on restrictive pigmentation to doctors specializing in breast reconstruction at Stanford University.

Joe Kaplan has been a major influence in intradermal cosmetics for the last twenty years.  His work with physicians helped legitimize cosmetic and reconstructive tattooing within his tattoo studio and supply businesses in Mt. Vernon and his collaborations with plastic surgeons such as Dr. Schoenbach, Chief of Plastic Surgery at Our Lady of Mercy Hospital in the Bronx.

Jack Rudy was the first tattooist to introduce the single needle fine line technique.  This use of single needle was crucial to adapting to the array of situations and circumstances.

By the late 1970s, a greater number of women established themselves within the mainstream of tattoo art.  Mary Jane Haake, Winonna Martin, Shelia May and Pati Pavlik are all traditionally trained tattoo artists who began offering intradermal makeup and reconstructive pigmentation. In 1979 there was a documented case of permanent eyeliner performed on Dr. Linda Dixon. Although they were unaware of each other’s venture into intradermal cosmetics and reconstruction, they all shared a basic parallelism in development: an expertise in classical tattooing and an appreciation of cosmetology with a view toward facial morphology and the disciplines of makeup artistry.

From the standpoint of relatively modern medical applications, the use of tattooing can be first be traced to Dr. Pauley who, in 1853, used a form of tattooing to treat “congenital purple plaques” and other various lesions of the skin.  In 1848, Cordier had used tattooing as a means of treatment for nevi; and Schuh, in 1858, had the idea of first using skin tattooing in transplanted tissue in the practice of cheiloplasty.  Twenty –one years later, in 1879, DeWicker began using India ink in tattooing corneas for the cosmetic improvement of unsightly glaucomas or corneal scars.  In 1911, Kolle was the first to use tattooing of a reddish pigment to change the contours of scarred lips with the vermilion border.  He also performed work in the area of scar revisions as well.  In the late 1920’s and mid ‘3030s, Knapp, Duggan, and Nanavati began using various metals such as gold and platinum chloride to improve corneal scarring and give the illusion of normal-appearing iris.

In the 1940s, Moestin, Mauclaire, Duformentel, and Passot are generally given credit as the first group of doctors to introduce the use of eyelash tattooing with a hypodermic needle and syringe using a brown pigment as an alternative to eyelash grafting.  In 1984, Dr. Giora Angres published an article on the use of eyelash tattooing to create an eyeliner and/or eyelash enhancement effect for cosmetic purposes.  Dr. Angres was the first medical doctor to develop his own machine and pigments for the specific purpose of this eyeliner procedure.

In the fall of  1985,  Dr. Charles Zwerling and  Dr. Frank Christensen co founded the first organization for Micropigmentation: The American Society of Micropigmentation Surgery, Inc. The society was a non profit organization that was created to provide scientific and educational forum in the field of Micropigmentation. Through its national and regional scientific meetings ASOMSI provided an opportunity for communication of physicians, allied health professionals and companies that were involved in the expansion of this new technology as well as clinical trials in the field of Micropigmentation. Some of the accomplishments of the Society were: First Study: 1986 Complications of Blepharopigmentation, 7911 procedures retrospective study by ASOMSI - paved way for New Jersey legislation as article showed safety of permanent makeup; First Micropigmentation program for Cosmetologists in 1985

During the summer of 1986, the first textbook, MICROPIGMENTATION, was written by Drs. Zwerling, Christensen, and Goldstein.  This book provided a foundation of knowledge of the field, served as a reference guide, and created the basis for quality assurance and  technical accuracy for this emerging field. The book was published by Slack, Inc in New Jersey.

In 1987 the Permaderm Corporation developed and explained micropigmentation to cosmetologists and other non-medical people.  Due to numerous legal problems with the FTC in 1989-90 and training deficiencies, the company was short-lived.  However, a number of cosmetologists and estheticians continued to pursue micropigmentation procedures.

In 1989 Dr. George and Annette Walker formed a new company named Dermouflage.  The unique concept of Dermouflage was to create an allied approach to dermapigmentation with the emergence of the nursed as an alternative practitioner ability of Annette Walker and other nurse as an alternative practitioner to the field.  Moreover, with the creative and investigational ability of Annette Walker and other nurse pioneers, new uses of dermapigmentation were discovered and utilized for patients.  Now reconstructive applications for burn victims, vitiligo, scars, and portwine stains are available based on the new technique and research by Mrs. Walker and others.  Dermouflage Clinics, Incorporated have graduated and trained over 1250 nurses and over 400 technicians in 41 states, Canada, Puerto Rico and Mexico.

            The National Cosmetic Tattooing Association or NCTA was founded in 1989 for the specific purpose of advancing the cause of education through ideas, facts, and theories on quality control, procedures, techniques, equipment, and training. As the nation’s first professional association for practitioners of cosmetic tattooing, these initial objectives were critical toward establishing professional standing. With the evolving success of achieving this standing on an international level, the N.C.T.A. has sought to shift the focus of its primary objectives to meet the developing demands of the industry, with a primary focus of scientific studies and research associated with the practice of cosmetic tattooing.

             The Society of Cosmetic Professionals was founded by Susan Preston  in December 1990 and was “dedicated to providing information and setting quality and professional standards for the Permanent Cosmetic and Aesthethetician industry.”

In December 1993 the name of the organization was changed to The Society of Permanent Cosmetic Professionals, a California nonprofit mutual benefit corporation. The SPCP is a Technician oriented organization for permanent cosmetics, micropigmentation, permanent makeup, cosmetic tattoo, and traditional tattoo technicians.Last modified: 12/25/2005

         The Allied Health Association is an association of beauty and health professionals dedicated to the success and growth of allied health services. Our members and clients include Electrologists, Permanent Cosmetic technicians, Cosmetologists, Nail Technicians, Estheticians, Dermatologists, Plastic Surgeons, Nurses, Chiropractors, Beauty Colleges, and other Schools relating to the health and beauty industry.

               In 1992 The American Institute of Permanent Color Technology and the American Council of Dermagraphic Research were formed.  This new company and research organization  offered its members various training programs around the United States as well as educational seminars in which leading authorities in the field of permanent makeup participate.  The company’s main purpose is to serve as an educational forum for the procedure as well as a means of interdisciplinary communications with the filed among the physicians, nurses, cosmetologists, and tattooists.

             MCN International was established in 1992 in Irvine, California. Since it’s establishment, MCN has put tremendous effort into providing the most advanced educational programs for the industry both domestically and internationally.

               The American Academy of Micropigmentation ( formerly  The American Society of Micropigmentation Surgery, Inc.) was founded in 1992,  an independent, non-profit organization whose primary goal is to promote and sustain excellence in micropigmentation, permanent makeup, and cosmetic tattooing while supporting self-direction and self-regulation as positive motivating forces for all practitioners. The Academy is a voluntary, scientific, and educational institution organized to  improve the care of the patient who seeks permanent cosmetics or micropigmentation. The Academy has developed a continuing education program for its members, a Quality Assurance protocol for public safety, and  Board Certification Examination for micropigmentation which has been adopted by various state agencies as proof of competency. Some of the accomplishments of the Academy have been: The first board examinations and certification program for micropigmentation in 1994; the first Quality Assurance and Utilization Review Manuals; First Certification Exams for Instructors: 2001 "CMI" Exam; First Certification Exams translated and administered in Korean and Japanese languages: 2002 and with the development of the International Micropigmentation Association; Publications of the first Journals in Micropigmentation and International Directories 2000-2002;

In 1993, the second textbook, MICROPIGMENTATION: State of the Art, was written by Dr Charles  Zwerling, Dr. Norman Goldstein and Annette Walker, RN.  This book provided a further foundation of knowledge of the field, an updated reference guide, and promoted  The American Academy of Micropigmentation as the basis for quality assurance, utilization review and board certification.

            Conventional and cosmetic tattoo artists were invited to join a new organization in 2001. The "Conventional and Cosmetic Tattoo Association". This non-profit organization welcomes both styles of tattoo artist under one organization. Interesting was the novel approach of this organization to “oppose any organization or group that attempts to claim that any type of tattooing is a medical procedure.”; and, “mission will be to produce the finest quality cosmetic and conventional tattoo artist. We are about sharing knowledge and education to those that want to produce only the finest results and perform these important arts correctly, safely, and honestly.”

 Chapter 2: History of Tattooing

1.      Conway, H., and Docktor, J.P.: Neutralization of color in capillary hemangiomas of the face by intradermal injection (tattooing) of permanent pigments. Surg Gynec Obstet, 84:866, 1947

2.      Conway, H., and Montroy, R.E.: Permanent camouflage of capillary hemangiomas of the face by intradermal injection of insoluble pigments (tattooing): Indications for surgery. New York J Med, 65:876, 1965.

3.      Snyderman, R.K., and Wynn, W.D.: Complete replacement of port wine stains. New York J Med 66:1910, 1966.

4.      Baer, R.L., and Witten, V.H.: 1955-1956 Year Book of Dermatology and Syphilology. Chicago, Year Book, 1956.

5.      Brown, J.D., Cannon, B., and McDowell, A.: Permanent pigment injection of capillary hemangiomata. Plast Reconstr Surg J: 106, 1946.

6.      Pauli: Ueber das Feuermaal und die einzig sichere Methode, disease entseullung zu heilen. J Gebruttsh, 15:66, 1835.

7.      Hance, G., Brown, J.D., Byars, L.T., and McDowell, A.: Color matching of skin grafts and flaps with permanent pigment injextion. Surg Gynec Obstet, 79:624, 1944.

8.      Byars, L.T.: Tattooing of free skin grafts and pedicle flaps. Ann Surg, 121-644, 1945.

9.      Matthews, D.N.: Technique and value of tattooing in plastic surgery. Proc Roy Soc Med, 40:81, 1947.

10.  Winer, C.H.: Hemangiomas: histologic structure and treatment. Calif Med, 77:242, 1952.

11.   Andrews, G.C.: Diseases of the Skin for Practitioners and Students. 3^rd ed. Philadelphia, W.B. Saunders Co., 1946. Appendix IV…2

12.   Cecil, R.L., and Loeb, R.F.: A Textbook of Medicine, 8^th ed. Philadelphia, W.B. Saunders and Co., 1951.

13.  Merritt, H.H.: A Textbook of Neurology, Philadelphia. Lea & Febiger 1955.

14.   Thompson, H.G., Birdsell, D.C., and Freidling, A.: Surgical tattooing: an experimental study (Part II). Plast Reconstr Surg 37:563, 1966.

15.   Thompson, H.G., Douglas, L., and Monroe, I.: Surgical tattooing: an experimental study (Part II). Plast Reconstr Surg 39:291, 1967.

16.   Gifford, Sanford R., and Steinberg, A.: Gold and Silver impregnation of the cornea for cosmetic purposes. Amer J Ophthal, 10:240-247 (April) 1927.

17.  Pickrell, Kenneth L., and Clark, Eldon H.: Tattooing of corneal scars with insoluble pigments. Plast Reconstr Surg, 2:44-59 (Jan.) 1947.

18.   Ebenste, H.: Pierced Hearts and True Love. London, Derek Verschoyle, 1953, p. 73.

19.  Giacometti, L., and Chiarelli, B.: The skin of Egyptian mummies. A study in survival. Arch Dermatol, 97:712-716, 1968.

20.  Armelagos, G.L.: Diseases in ancient Nubia. Science, 163:255-259, 1969.

21.   Post, P.W., Daniels, F., Jr., and Armelagos, G.J.: Ancient and mummified skin. Cutis, 11:779-781, 1973.

22.   Zambucka, K.: Faces from the Past, The Dignity of the Maori Age. Melbourne, A.H., and A.W. Reed, 1971.

23.   The Oxford English Dictionary, Compact Edition. Volume II. Oxford University Press, 1971, p. 2674.

24.   Schmidt, H.: Tatoveringer. Copenhagen, Leo Pharmaceuticals, 1968.

25.   Cook, J.: First Voyage, 1776, Diary, in: Price, A.G., ed.: The Explorations of Captain James Cook in the Pacific as Told by Selections of Appendix IV…3 His Own Journals 1768-1779. New York, Dover, 1971, p. 37.

26.   Parry, A.: Tattoo: Secrets of a Strange Art as Practiced by the Natives of the United States. New York, Simon and Schuster, 1933.

27.   Collins, J.: Unpublished manuscript.

28.   Tadasu, I.: World of Japanese Tattooing. Japan, Haga, 1973.

29.   Dooley, J.: The Mafia – Japanese-style – thrives in isle. Part I. Honolulu Advertiser (March 20, 1978).

30.   Mellen, J.: The Waves at Genji’s Door: Japan Through Its Cinema. New York, Pantheon Books, 1976, pp. 100-103.

31.   Belishe, M.: The most subtle of Hawaiian arts. Hawaiian Observer (March 19,1973), pp. 1-3.

32.   Zwerling and Christensen "Micropigmentation of the Eyelids and Eyebrows; Vol 2 “Surgery of the Eye” 1988 Churchill Livingston

33.   Pavlik, Pati: personal communication 1993.

34.   Angres, Giora: Surgical maneuvers: Eyelid pigmentation technique and pretreatment patient considerations. Ocul Surg News 4:22, 1986.

35.   Zwerling, Charles et al.: Micropigmentation, appendix, “How Tattoo Machines Work,” contribution by Fenzl, Robert, M.D., Slack Publishing Company, New Jersey, 1986.

36.   Zwerling, Charles  et al: “ International Permanent Cosmetics Directory 2000”, published by the American Academy of Micropigmentation Inc., North Carolina 2000

37.  Dr. Linda Dixon, First Chapter on Cosmetic Tattooing in traditional tattoo textbook: Jan 2001. 50,000 copies

38.  Zwerling, Charles  et al: “ Journal of Micropigmentation 2001”, published by the American Academy of Micropigmentation Inc., North Carolina 2001

39.  Zwerling, Charles  et al: “ International Permanent Cosmetics Directory 2002”, published by the American Academy of Micropigmentation Inc., North Carolina 2002

40.  Zwerling, Charles  et al: “ Journal of Micropigmentation 2002”, published by the American Academy of Micropigmentation Inc., North Carolina 2002