Since watching the video of Maria Louise Del Rosario getting her boyfriend’s name tattooed in her asshole, I’ve had a lot of questions. Many of them were answered in her interview with The Broward-Palm Beach New Times’ music blog Country Grind. Like, she got her first anal tattoo at age 19 and, while she was in jail, her fellow inmates nicknamed her d**k s**t. All very informative, but my remaining questions were more, well, technical. So I spoke with tattoo artist Myles Karr, co-owner of Three Kings Tattoo in Brooklyn, to get his take on this whole anal tattoo business. What you should know if you want to get your butt hole tattooed after the jump. Warning, the content is slightly graphic.
Myles Karr: Never. I’ve never personally experienced it. No tattoo artist I know has ever tattooed a butt hole either. In the industry, we consider it a novelty thing. About 99 percent of people would probably be turned down if they walked into a tattoo shop asking for an anal tattoo. If someone came into my shop, not only would I not do one, I would not refer them to anyone else to do it.
TF: Are there any circumstances under which you would tattoo an anus?
MK: No. For the right price, you’d probably do anything. But it would have to be a crazy, crazy price to get me to do that. And even then, I can’t imagine any circumstances under which I would do it. I’d only even take the request seriously if the person had a bunch of other tattoos all over their body and it was like the last place that wasn’t inked. Otherwise, I’d assume they were doing it for shock value. It’s just another way of up-ing the ante for attention. There’s always going to be someone who wants to do something like that. I’m not in the business of knocking other tattoo artists’ work, but someone who agrees to tattoo an anus is someone who doesn’t respect themselves, respect the craft, or respect their customers. They probably just want to gain notoriety.
TF: Do you think the artist at the convention who tattooed Maria’s asshole was trying to gain notoriety?
MK: No. I believe he was altering a tattoo that was already there. If that’s the case, it’s a different story because the person already has a tattoo there and you are fixing it.
TF: She was drunk also while getting her anal tattoo. I’ve had a few tattoos, and I was under the impression that you couldn’t drink at all before getting one.
MK: Yeah. It’s certainly frowned upon to tattoo while drunk because you bleed more if you’ve been drinking.
TF: While it’s healing, can you poop?
MK: I don’t know the exact logistics of how that would work. I do know that it’s a precarious place to get tattooed. You probably would bleed a lot more in the asshole because of all the nerve endings and capillaries. It would be very painful. It’s soft tissue.
TF: What about anal sex? Would one have to refrain?
MK: I have no idea what the exact healing time Tattoo Artist would be. Different parts of your body heal faster than others when you get tattooed. Like the inside of your lip heals faster than the inside of your arm. Whenever I’ve tattooed anyone in the crotch region, I recommend that Tattoo artists refrain from having sex for two weeks. My general rule of thumb is: If you’re doing anything that hurts, stop.
TF: When I got my tattoos, I was instructed to put a thin layer of either A&D ointment or Aquaphor on them. Would there be a different healing protocol for an anal tattoo?
MK: You would probably use Preparation H because it’s safe for that area. The general rule of thumb is to use a sparing amount. But it would be a slippery slope, pardon the phrase, for an anal tattoo. Because of how sensitive your butt hole is, you might need more Preparation H, but if you put more on, more bacteria might get trapped in the area. The best way to heal would probably be to cross your fingers and hope it works.
TF: What kinds of things do people typically get tattooed in their asshole?
MK: I’ve never seen any of this first hand, only pictures and stuff on the internet. But I’ve seen starfish before. There’s a picture of a dragon tattooed on someone’s asshole that’s been floating around for a while. You’re going to be limited as to what you get there. You’re not going to get a portrait or something. I assume only small simple designs and lettering around the asshole would work.
TF: If there was hair down there, would you have to shave the asshole before you tattoo it? Click here:
MK: Yes. You’d have to.
TF: Do you think there would be, I know this is gross, but any kind of anal leakage while performing an anal tattoo?
MK: Again, I don’t know firsthand. But I assume that you would have issues because you’re putting pressure down there. And there are needles involved. It’s not something I or anyone I know would want to get involved in. Please, anyone reading this, do not contact me for a Tattoo Artist!
TF: Anything else you should know before attempting to get an anal tattoo?
MK: Make sure you shower first. And … don’t do it.
