So you want a tattoo but cant decide what to print on your skin for eternity? Or maybe youre an incredibly fickle individual who cant even commit to a favourite colour. In the past, my advice in either of these scenarios would be DONT GET A TATTOO, STUPID.
But Canadian brothers Tyler and Braden Handley offer a new option: tattoos that look real but only last for two weeks. Their start-up company, Inkbox (getinkbox.com), is part of the Ryerson Fashion Zone and Ryerson DMZ.
Tattoos start at $18, and custom designs begin at $47. You can browse 300-plus designs by artists on their website.
The semi-permanent tattoos are 100 per cent organic and safe for all ages, made from jagua, a fruit found in the jungles of Panamas Darien Gap. Inkbox donates a percentage of every sale to the Darien Initiative (jaguaink.com), which provides educational and agricultural support to local tribes and fights deforestation by planting jagua trees.
The tattooing process is simple, and the newest designs take only 10 minutes to apply. The black colour fully develops in about 12 hours. Voila! Youre a badass. Kind of.
What makes Inkbox tats last so much longer than other temporary options? They dont sit on your skin they sit in the skin by staining the epidermis (your first layer of skin). Real tattoos stain the dermis, your second layer of skin, which doesnt exfoliate.
The brothers are trying to raise funds via Kickstarter to purchase more machinery that will allow them to continue to produce tats locally. Learn more at getinkbox.com.
