Fashion Forward: The New Ink Trend

The first time I stumbled across the newest ink trend I almost threw-up in my mouth. That’s what Google images can do for someone if they look too closely. But then something funny happy- I became enthralled with the extent people will go to to make a statement and/or be noticed. I heard about it a few months back but didn’t believe it could really possibly exist or that anyone would be interested in something of that genre. I guess in the end I was wrong because it does exist and people are interested in it. What was it you ask? Eye tattoos.

Not of eyes, per say, but rather a tattoo on the eye. Oh yes, I kid you not. So did the best next thing I thought I should do. I researched it.

The official term is Corneal Tattooing. It started out with the purpose of helping people’s eyesight or correcting imperfections or discoloration on the cornea. It was considered a treatment by doctors and those that got it done were called patients. But then it began to grow into something new, different, and defiantly eye-catching. Pun intended. People who didn’t need ink coloration on their corneas or for any medical purpose began to ask the question. Could they get it done for purely cultural and personal reasons? Yes, they sure could.

A needle is inserted deep into the eye where the special kind of ink is released, allowing it to spread through the white part of the eye. Artists can also create shapes and symbols against the white of the eye, symbols such as squares, hearts, starts, and circles. Nothing too detailed can be done because it is a delicate kind of art that comes with a high risk of blindness or corrupting the eyesight. Another apparently popular trend is dying the white of your eye a certain color or the same color of your cornea, creating a kind of other-worldly look. I just think it’s creepy. The craziest part of all of this is that people are actually getting it done.

Naturally, this idea would lead to others. What next, permanent lip liner? Yep you named it. Not only that but also eyebrows, eyeliner, lip blend, beauty spots, full lip color, and cosmetic corrections due to sun damage or hair loss. The list is impressive as far as cosmetic tattooing goes. They cater towards busy women that don’t have time to perform necessary make-up touches, athletes, actors, models, and the like. Actually, this new tattoo thing wasn’t half as repulsive as the in-the-eye tattoo one, but it still made me lean forward and question out society.

I can’t bash it all the way because I am sure to a certain point these tattoo ideas have benefited people like those that suffer from small imperfections that they desire to fix, or those that wish to never have to buy another lip liner product, even those that desire these types of tattoos for purely attention-getting reasons. All good reasons that I can’t begrudge, however I can ask the question as to why?

I suppose I can’t hold a candle to this at all- I don’t have any tattoos and don’t really have a large desire to get one. And the graphic images that showed up on Google were enough to deter me from putting anything near my eyeballs, least of all an ink filled needle. It all seems so extreme to me. Certain people desire to have their make-up tattooed to their skin. I question how hard it is to really do your make-up or how horrible you would really look without it. And the whole blue-eye-ball thing just leaves me puzzled. Why on earth would you want a blue eyeball? Don’t get me wrong, I think both are fascinating in their own way, (I say fascinating because I am both fascinated that they exist and that people get them) but at the end of the day I’m more likely to say the whole thing is just a unnecessary. Then again, we live in the 21st century and if we want to do it, it looks like it can be done, blue eye balls included.