Using Spray Tan for Airbrush Tattoos

[Ruth Mills]

After getting my first ever spray tan today courtesy of Elaine (Lavender_blue), I did a bit of lateral thinking and thought of how it might be possible to use DHA (dihydroxyacetone) in conjunction with stencils for airbrushing on temporary tattoos?

Has anyone tried this? I guess it would work best with higher DHA concentrations, as the aim would be to get as dark a tattoo as possible? Ideally the end result would look not dissimilar to a henna tattoo (mehndi) giving a dark brown stain on the skin?

Am guessing this would be best suited to people who want a really long-lasting temporary tattoo, and who like the "look" of henna. As far as I know, most airbrush tattoos available at the moment use a black alcohol-based ink that can last for 5 days or so if treated carefully - whereas a DHA tattoo could potentially last longer as it's colouring the top layer of the skin itself by chemical reaction rather than just sitting on the surface?

Also, does anyone know if lawsone (the active ingredient in henna) has been approved for use on the skin itself? It's also known as 2-Hydroxy-1,4-naphthoquinone, Hennotannic acid, Natural Orange 6 and C.I. 75480 in case anyone has also heard of it in other contexts... it would be interesting to see how this would compare with DHA in terms of depth of colour and longevity on the skin - and which would work better - or if the two could be combined in a single product?

 

[tweeboo]

hmmm.......might be a good idea, give it a go and let me know how it goes.

 

[marioned]

It is a very interesting idea.

 

[Ruth Mills]

hmmm.......might be a good idea, give it a go and let me know how it goes.

Alas I haven't got the kit myself, but would be happy to "guinea pig" for any adventurous geeks who wanted to experiment with this idea.

 

[Susie H]

Don't know about the henna side of things, there are a few geeks who use this, but when I have used air brush body ink, I have used all sorts of colours, which was why I asked if you air brushed when you body paint. I'm still playing with spray tan stuff, have no money to train while Paul is of work:cry: but I will see if I can persuade Kay to let me temp tat her on top of the spray tan she's having on wednesday, just to see how long it lasts etc, so it would be a darker patten on top of the tan..................

 

[Ruth Mills]

Don't know about the henna side of things, there are a few geeks who use this, but when I have used air brush body ink, I have used all sorts of colours, which was why I asked if you air brushed when you body paint. I'm still playing with spray tan stuff, have no money to train while Paul is of work:cry: but I will see if I can persuade Kay to let me temp tat her on top of the spray tan she's having on wednesday, just to see how long it lasts etc, so it would be a darker patten on top of the tan..................

Nope, alas I just do brush and sponge body painting so far... one day I will try airbrush though. I guess you've used the alcohol-based ink when you've done airbrush tattoos before then?

That would be so cool if you could try the temp tattoo with Kay next week though - would love to see how it turns out and how dark it is