Regular temporary tattoos first appeared at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, when chewing gum manufacturers included them in the packaging of their products as gifts. They became a fashion trend relatively recently – in 2010, making a splash at the Chanel spring collection show. You can make them at home from simple materials – paper, natural dyes and fixatives.
What is a temporary tattoo
Transfer tattoos (or flash tattoos) are a type of temporary tattoo that is applied to the skin using transfer paper made using a special technology. In everyday life, you can use regular paper instead. The durability of such a tattoo depends on the type of dye, the method of its application and ranges from 1 day to 1 month.
A temporary tattoo is a good option for those who have not yet decided whether to get a permanent tattoo. The design is applied only to the top layer of the skin.
The advantages of this technology are:
- painlessness of the procedure;
- no damage to the skin and no risk of infection;
- possibility of coloring children's and sensitive skin;
- low cost;
- easy tattoo removal;
- a large selection of designs and the ability to create your own image.
Transfer tattoos, which can be done at home in several ways, are an exciting hobby, but it should be taken into account that the dyes used can cause allergic reactions. For the drawing, it is recommended to choose only those materials that do not contain toxic substances - food, medical and cosmetic dyes.
Allergic reactions can manifest themselves as follows:
- the appearance of a rash on the skin;
- its redness and irritation;
- itching;
- blisters;
- loss of normal pigmentation;
- increased sensitivity to sunlight;
- In severe cases, scarring may occur.
These adverse reactions may occur immediately or several weeks after the dye is applied.
Tips for application at home
To create a quality temporary tattoo on your skin, it is recommended to follow these rules:
- To make the image last longer, you need to prepare your skin first - wash it with soap, shave off the hair, and degrease it with alcohol or wipe it with a solution of hydrogen peroxide. It should be clean and dry.
- When drawing a tattoo by hand, it is better to use small simple geometric outlines at the first stage, since a complex design is easily smeared.
- You can use a cotton swab to mix colors and create shading.
- To fix the image on the skin, you need to apply one of the following compositions: a special cosmetic makeup fixer, hairspray, alcohol-based cologne spray, talc, baby powder or starch. The last 3 products should be carefully distributed with your fingertips and then shaken off. The disadvantages of hairspray and fixers include the fact that they create a thin film on the surface of the skin, and it "does not breathe", and alcohol-based products dry it out.
In order for the design to last longer, it is recommended to apply it to those areas of the skin that are not frequently exposed to water, or to friction from clothing or shoes. It is also necessary to powder it with talc (or baby powder) once every 2 days.
What you need for application at home
Transfer tattoos that are easy to do at home even for a child, are made using the following basic materials and tools:
- dyes;
- paper;
- scissors;
- sponge or cotton pads for applying solvent;
- computer and printer (you can also draw a picture by hand);
- alcohol (vodka) or cologne, hairspray, makeup setting spray;
- baby powder (starch).
How to Make a Temporary Tattoo at Home
There are several ways to make a temporary tattoo at home:
- using ready-made "stickers";
- by printing the drawing on a laser printer;
- by drawing a tattoo by hand;
- by applying dyes through a stencil.
Colored
The following materials are used to make a color transfer tattoo:
| Material | Description |
| Paints or pencils for face painting | A set of 6 colors can be purchased for a price of 300 rubles, they are sold in children's supermarkets and craft stores. These paints are bright, have a large palette, are safe for the skin and are made on a natural plant basis. Professional sets for theatrical makeup are sold for a price of 700 rubles. |
| Food colorings | The most budget option, they can be bought in grocery stores. They are also safe, as they are used in cooking, but they spread a lot and are not as bright as other types of dyes. |
| Professional medical markers | They are used by plastic surgeons and artistic tattoo artists. Their advantage is a clear and thin outline (for example, the Sakura IP markers have a tip diameter of 0.4 and 1 mm), the tattoo lasts longer on the skin and is not erased even with alcohol. Such markers are harder to find on sale, and their price starts from 135 rubles. |
| Cosmetic pencils, liners and eyeliners for eyes and lips | It is best to choose waterproof modifications that do not have a greasy shine, as they look more natural. Liquid eyeliners can smear on the skin. The advantage of cosmetic dyes is that such products are safe for the skin and are available for sale. The price for them depends on the brand. |
| Special markers for temporary tattoos |
Transfer tattoos can also be done at home using regular markers and ballpoint pens, but this is not safe, as they are not intended for drawing on the skin and may contain toxic substances that cause allergic reactions and irritation.
Colored transfer tattoos are made in two ways: by drawing on regular paper and by applying through a stencil (this technology is described below).
The step-by-step process for creating a temporary tattoo using the first option is as follows:
- Prepare the skin for dye application – shave and degrease.
- Draw a tattoo on a sheet of paper using one of the above dyes. If the design is simple, you can apply it directly to the skin. To obtain a clearer image, you need to apply several layers of paint.
- Cut out the outline of the tattoo from paper, leaving a free area around the edges about 1 cm wide.
- Apply the resulting element to the treated area of skin and smooth it out gently. To create a temporary tattoo for several hours, the paper should be slightly moistened with water to transfer the paint to the skin. To obtain a more durable version, it is soaked in alcohol or cologne. They are applied with blotting movements using a sponge or cotton pads.
- Keep the paper on the skin for 10-15 minutes. The transfer efficiency can be checked by lifting the edges of the drawing.
- Remove the paper from the skin.
- Let the tattoo dry for 15-20 minutes.
- Fix the drawing using one of the methods indicated above.
Golden
Gold paint is included in some face painting kits. However, the easiest way to make a “gold” tattoo is with glitter – finely chopped sparkles that are used to create holiday makeup and manicures.
They can be of different colors and degrees of grinding, as well as in the form of a mix of different sizes and shapes. According to consistency, cosmetic glitters are sold in the form of dry powder, gel, liquid cream, stick.
In this case, the production of a temporary tattoo is carried out as follows:
- Prepare the skin.
- Draw a stencil on paper and cut it out.
- Apply the stencil to the skin.
- Sprinkle glitter or apply it with a brush.
- Fix the glitter with hairspray or use a cosmetic spray, dry and remove the stencil.
In specialized shops for tattoo artists, you can also buy special glue for glitter tattoos, which can be transparent or contain glitter. The glue is applied through a stencil and sprinkled with glitter. It stays on the body for up to 2 weeks and is made of safe materials. The price for such glue is from 150 rubles and up.
Black and white
Black and white tattoos are the easiest option for creating a temporary design on the body. Just like color images, they can be drawn with special markers or black eyeliner, or an eye pencil.
Applying a design printed on an inkjet or laser printer using conventional technology to the skin is not safe for health: the ink contains more than 15 components, many of which are toxic. For example, benzene, used as a solvent, has a carcinogenic effect.
The printer can be used to create a thin outline, which will make it easier to apply safe paint to paper. The image for the tattoo is taken ready-made from free clip art libraries, or drawn independently in graphic editors Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, Corel Draw.
Biotattoo
Biotattoo, or drawing on the body with henna, is one of the most ancient forms of body art. This technique was used in Ancient Egypt and India.. The durability of the image depends on the properties of the skin - it lasts longer on dry skin. The average "life" of such a tattoo is 2-3 weeks, but if you increase the exposure time to 3-5 hours, the image can last a month.
The advantages of biotattoo are its safety, durability, the ability to "renew" the design on the skin, as well as the maximum proximity to a traditional tattoo. Modern paints based on henna can be not only orange-brown (this is its natural color), but also other colors, with the addition of natural plant dyes.
However, they may also contain toxic substances. For example, “black” henna, popular for making temporary tattoos, contains para-phenylenediamine, an ingredient used to dye hair but not suitable for application to the skin.
This substance can cause chemical burns and severe allergic reactions. Therefore, before using dyes, it is necessary to study their composition in advance.
Transfer tattoos can be made at home not only with henna, but also with another plant product - jagua gel, which has appeared on the Russian market relatively recently. It is made from the fruits of the American genipa.
Unlike henna, this plant is not as popular, but it has long been used by Native American peoples to apply body art. Jagua gives the skin a bluish-dark, almost black color that does not wash off for 2-3 weeks. The paint is as safe as henna. The peculiarity of jagua is that the paint does not appear immediately, but after a few minutes.
Henna
Usually henna dyes are applied directly to the skin, but a simpler method is to dye through stencils. There are reusable stencils on sale, made of durable film, which are enough for 20-50 times, as well as self-adhesive ones made of soft silicone.
Henna is used in the form of a paste, for the preparation of which there are many recipes, and the secrets of its durability and the quantitative ratio of ingredients are passed down in Indian families from generation to generation.
One of the most common ways of making it is as follows:
- Brew ½ cup of strong black tea. The stronger it is, the darker the tattoo will be.
- Squeeze the juice of half a lemon into the tea and dissolve 2 tablespoons of sugar in it.
- Add henna powder and mix thoroughly. It should have the consistency of a thick paste.
- Let the mixture sit for 15-20 minutes. The finished mixture can be stored in the refrigerator for several days.
Transfer tattoos using henna are applied through stencils
The paste is applied with a brush through a stencil and left until completely dry. On average, this takes 40-50 minutes, after which the stencil is removed and excess henna is removed with a dry cotton pad. In order to keep the brightness of the drawing longer, it is regularly lubricated with olive oil.
Using a stencil
A paper stencil for applying dyes can be made at home by yourself. The greatest difficulty in this case is cutting out thin contours, as they easily tear and wrinkle.
To do this, you can use the following method:
- Print the drawing or draw it by hand.
- Place the paper on a cutting mat and tape the front side over it.
- Trim the edges of the tape with a sharp utility knife, remove the paper from the mat, turn it over and glue the back side.
- Trim the edges with a knife, turn the design over and carefully cut out the stencil.
Direct application of dye through a stencil is described in the previous sections of the article.
Using special paper
Transfer tattoos can also be made at home using special transfer paper.
There are 2 ways to use it:
- Transfer paper for applying tattoo outline to skin. The principle of its operation is similar to tracing paper - paper is applied to the skin, a drawn or printed image is placed on top. It is redrawn, the transfer paper is removed, and the resulting outlines on the skin are outlined with henna or other dyes.
- The tattoo image is printed on special paper via an inkjet printer with water-soluble or water-based pigment inks. A hypoallergenic sticky layer of glue with dye is transferred to the skin. Transfer paper for the printer is not intended for manual drawing, as it is thinner.
How to delete
Removing a temporary tattoo is done as follows:
- If it is applied using transfer paper or special markers, use alcohol.
- when using cosmetic pencils fixed with hairspray - with water and a greasy cream;
- face painting is washed off with a water-soap solution and moisturizing cream;
- if the tattoo is applied using glitter glue, use olive oil or alcohol;
- When using henna and jagua, you can speed up the removal of the design by rubbing it with a scrub and a washcloth during the shower.
Where to buy temporary tattoos
In industry, temporary tattoos are produced using several methods:
- Flexography – printing using photopolymer forms, from which liquid, quick-drying paint is transferred to paper. This method is most often used for large print runs. This technology is used to print the widely known transfer tattoos in chewing gum.
- Offset printing. The paint is applied directly to the adhesive layer of the decal paper with a gummed coating. Tattoos made using this technology look very natural. An example of decal is children's "transfer" pictures.
- Silk screen printing (or screen printing). These tattoos are the most expensive, as they allow you to get a thick layer of paint, apply glitter and other decorative elements at the same time. However, on the skin they are very different from traditional tattoos.
Many printing companies print images on special paper. You can also make a tattoo to order, using an individual sketch. The cost of an image (or several drawings) on an A4 sheet of paper is about 480-700 rubles; when ordering a series of identical tattoos, the price will be lower.
In online stores dedicated to the creativity and art of tattooing, you can buy a tattoo with a color, black and white image and with additional effects (gilding, rhinestones, glitter, luminescent paints). For children, they are made on the basis of watercolor paints, safe for health.
The process of applying such tattoos is as follows:
- Clean and degrease the skin, dry it.
- Remove the tattoo from the packaging and remove the protective film.
- Apply the image to the skin, which should not have any stretches or folds.
- Wet the tattoo with water and leave it for about 20 seconds, then remove its paper backing.
To remove a tattoo, use alcohol or body oil. The disadvantages of such designs include their low resistance to mechanical abrasion. With careful handling, the image can remain on the skin for up to 10 days.
Made using modern technology, temporary tattoos are applied as easily as in the past – just apply the design to prepared skin and moisten it with water.
You can make them at home using many improvised means, but you need to choose those that do not harm your health. Transfer tattoos are not inferior in quality to permanent tattoos and, if applied correctly, are safe even for children.
Article formatting: Vladimir the Great
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