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BROOKLYN, New York – The End Is Near tattoo parlor in South Park Slope could pass for one of the neighborhood's upscale boutiques.
Local artwork covers the light blue walls. Ornate body jewelry fills a glass showcase. A stuffed badger greets visitors. There's just one thing that gives the parlor away – the unmistakable electric hum of a tattoo needle.
"We're not the seedy underground that used to be," said Trischa, the shop's one-named manager, whose fair skin, revealed by a black tank top, is almost completely painted with ink.
As tattoo shops turn chic, ink's allure has spread into the mainstream. Despite the well-known risks of infection, allergies and scarring, an estimated 45 million people in the United States – including 36 percent of adults in their late 20s – have at least one tattoo, according to estimates by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and a Harris Interactive Poll.
Although sleazy "scratcher shops" with unskilled artists and dubious safety records are becoming a thing of the past, scientists are growing concerned about what's going into tattooed skin, not just how it got there.
New research has turned up troubling findings about toxic chemicals in tattoo inks, including some phthalates, metals, and hydrocarbons that are carcinogens and endocrine disruptors.
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