I'm thinking of getting a tattoo, but the place I want it to go would
mean it would have to cover a medium-sized flat mole. Is it possible
to tattoo over a mole, or could this be a health risk? If it's not a
health risk, would it affect the tattoo in any way? Thanks for any
help... good luck!

Hi there,

I instantly guessed that there could be a few problems with tattooing
over a mole - pain, damage and cancer. Via the Internet, I found that
a tattoo over a mole might make it hard to detect cancerous growth,
could cause a lot of bleeding, and might break state laws:

CANCER
========

The problem with moles is that they need to be constantly checked for
any signs of skin cancer. Tattooing over a mole could make it
difficult to determine whether it was changing color or shape.

"You should never cover a mole with at tattoo, because it could turn
cancerous without you knowing it."
( from "Tattoo - Quick Facts" )
http://www.state.in.us/isdh/healthinfo/tattoo.htm

"...tattoos and tattoo ink may not cause cancer, but dark tattoo
colors can make a melanoma (skin cancer) more difficult to
identify..."
( from 'Adverse Affects of Tattoo Ink" )
http://www.alice.columbia.edu/goaskalice/1204.html

" When he did the stencil and placed it on my back, we tried to go
bigger to accommodate a mole, but then we realized there were at least
a few moles on my back, and accommodating them all would have been
impossible. We agreed to just tattoo around them and leave a halo of
white space for growth detection.
( taken from "LadyJ's Journal of Bodyart-Related Happenings and
Thoughts" )
http://www.ladyj.net/personal/bodmodjournal.html

This discussion suggests that you can tattoo where a mole has been
removed, as long as it was not cancerous. Tattooing over a current
mole is a "no-no".
http://pub54.ezboard.com/fpermanentmakeupfrm4.showMessage?topicID=91.topic


DAMAGE
======

I know this from shaving over a mole on my face - when I nick it, it
bleeds heaps.

"Q: Can I get a tattoo on a mole?
A: No. A mole is the same as a scar, but moles that are opened will
bleed like crazy."
( taken from "Tattoo Land - Frequently Asked Questions" )
http://www.fortunecity.com/meltingpot/botswana/1152/TattooLand/faq.html


LAW
===

Some regulatory districts will have rules, laws or guidelines
pertaining to moles and tattoos.

"Tattooing, permanent cosmetics or body piercing shall not be
performed on skin surfaces which have sunburn, rash, pimples,
infection, open lesions, mole, or manifest any evidence of unhealthful
conditions without a physician's written authorization."
( taken from an article on "Los Angeles County Tattoo Regulations" )
http://www.luckyfish.com/laregs.html

PAIN
====

No mention that I could find - I presume this is because tattooists
refuse to tattoo over moles, so therefore nobody gets to find out how
much it hurts or doesn't hurt.

Search Strategy:

All The Web / Lycos... Title:tattoo Text:mole
http://search.lycos.com/default.asp?adv=1&lpv=1&loc=searchbox&query=&submit_button2=Search&wfr=%2B&wfr=%2B&wfr=%2D&wfw=title%3A&wfw=&wfw=&wfq=tattoo&wfq=mole&wfq=&wfc=3&df0=i&dfq=&dfc=1&lang=&ca=

Google... tattoo pain mole
://www.google.com/search?q=tattoo+pain+mole

Google... tattoo mole
://www.google.com/search?q=tattoo+mole

I trust this answers your question. If any portion of my answer is
unclear, please ask for clarification.

Best wishes,
robertskelton-ga

What can I say? Superb research, thanks.

As long as we're talking about moles here, please, thawishbone, have
yours regularly examined by your doctor.  I just had one removed a few
weeks ago because  it had started to become vexing - it turned out to
be cancerous.  We caught it early enough to get rid of all of it.

Early detection = early cure and no more nasty buggies later.  Take
care of yourself so you can come back and tell us where you end up
putting your tattoo!

--Missy

Hi There - following up on robertskelton's excellent research answer
and missy's equally excellent further advice, you might also find the
following info useful:

The place where I get my tattoos done (I'm in the UK) is amongst the
top ten tattoo parlors in the UK. In fact, the UK government, when
proposing guidelines on safety proceedures, etc within tattoo
parlours, used this particular tattoo
parlour and their practices as the model upon which to base their
proposed guidelines (at least, that's what one of the guys there told
me). At any rate, they are extremely well-regarded in the industry,
practice very safe tattooing and piercings, have proper sterilisation
equipment, clean needles, won't tattoo is you're drunk or high, etc.

You can check out their website here:

http://www.into-you.co.uk/

Anyways, I spoke to one of the chappies there and this is what he had
to
say:

Generally speaking, they STRONGLY advise against tattoing over moles
although they will consider tattooing over very small, flat moles IF
you've had a chat
with your doctor first. They absolutely will NOT tattoo over large
and/or raised moles as they feel that that represents a health risk
(e.g. a mole's characteristics can change over time, the tattooing
process itself may cause some type of change, the ink can hide changes
in the mole, etc).

:)jem-ga

Wow -- I didn't expect such a response... I've checked out Into You
which looks cool, thanks jem, I'd also recommend Evil from the Needle
in Camden or American Body Art in Paris (ahem). missy - thanks for
caring... it's all under control ;-) Thanks to all for the info!