Would You Tattoo Your Eye?

The most avid tattoo collectors all eventually run into the same dilemma—they run out of virgin skin. No problem, just tattoo your eyeballs!

At first it’s hard to believe that it is even possible to tattoo the eyeball. Traditionally tattoos go on skin whereas the eyeball has no skin, how the heck do you get a tattoo on there?

It turns out that it is a relatively simple, but risky, procedure. Ink is injected under the outermost layer of the eye (the conjunctiva) and onto the sclera. It takes several injections in order to cover all of the sclera and alter the color of the eye for life, according to the BBC.

While other tattoos can be removed via laser or simply covered up, once you tattoo your eye there is no going back. You certainly can’t laser your eye (well, you can, but Lasik is a whole different deal) and there is no way to remove the ink. Tattooing the eye is a bold move to make for this reason among others, including the risk.

The eye is one of the most complicated and delicate parts of the human body. This means that it is not only easy to damage but most times the damage will be irreparable—which means that when an eye tattoo goes poorly it will leave the person’s sight impaired. And that’s the best case scenario for a problem; the worst case is blindness. A slip of the needle or the wrong kind of ink and a person’s life is forever changed for the worse.

One of the pioneers of eyeball tattooing is a man named Luna Cobra. The way that the trend has taken off has made Cobra a bit skeptical about the quality of work being done.

“It’s shocking. We had no idea anyone else would do it,” Cobra said in an interview with the BBC. “We often felt like we released a beast into the world and now all these people will be damaged. It’s a shame because I think it’s something really beautiful, but it’s taken an odd course.”

Despite the risk that is inherent in eyeball tattoos they really can be quite beautiful. Whether it is by blacking out the whole eyeball like famed tattooist Little Swastika or by adding a subtle tint like piercer Kylie Garth, eye tattoos can be quite striking.

Sound off in the poll below and let us know if you would ever ink your eye.