Kylie Garth is one woman who was brave enough to have her eyeballs tattooed a color she calls “sea foam.” photo from http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-30750361
The wave of the future has arrived in the form of needles and tattoo ink.
According to BBC.com, Luna Cobra is an American tattoo artist who first injected tattoo ink into people’s eyes. His intent in doing so was to replicate the blue eyes of the characters in the science fiction movie Dune.
Cobra claimed that in Canada there was a body modification contest and he was trying to help his friend fit the appearance of the characters in the film.
In order to successfully tattoo an eyeball, ink must lie under the conjunctiva, the eye’s top layer. For this to happen, Cobra must very precisely implant the ink into the eyeball.
One injection of tattoo ink will cover a quarter of the sclera, or white portion, of the eyeball. Cobra must inject ink several times to completely color the sclera.
The practice of eyeball tattooing is spreading to different parts of the world. Cobra has successfully tattooed hundreds of people’s eyeballs in cities such as Singapore, Sydney, and London. Not only can he tattoo the sclera blue, but also black, green, and red.
Cobra claimed that this practice has spiraled out of control.
Despite the fact that it is dangerous to inject too much ink and and to penetrate the eyeball too deep with a needle, some Brazilians and Russians are attempting to tattoo their eyeballs themselves.
Some experience eye irritation while others do not. Popek is a Polish rapper. Cobra tattooed Popek’s eyes green and Popek felt burning, yet body piercer Kylie Garth claimed that after Cobra tattooed her eyes blue, she experienced no pain.
The American Optometric Association regards this practice as unsafe. Jeffrey Walline, the chair-elect of the association’s Contact Lens and Cornea Council, said, “My advice is not to do it as there’s not enough benefit to even warrant considering that risk of potential pain and loss of vision.”
Besides the safety hazards this practice imposes, the impact on people’s physical appearance after Cobra tattoos their eyes is often shocking to those who are unfamiliar with the practice.
In response to people tattooing their sclera black, Cobra stated, “You’re going to look frightening forever to the majority of people you encounter. You might find people have trouble connecting with you or looking at you because they can’t follow your iris.”
Senior Breah Koller feels that “The most frightening part is that once it’s done, there’s no going back. Aside from the fact that it may be a trend now, in the future people will have to live with the color and potential consequences of the tattooing.”
This emergent practice is increasing in popularity, but tattooing an eyeball is a risk one must be completely willing to take before following through with the procedure.
Senior Allie Gunn said, “I think that it is interesting that people are able to even tattoo eyes now and it shows how much technology is advancing today. If people want to change their eye color, they should go for it. However, the fact that some are risking loss of vision and pain for it baffles me. Still cool, though.”