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[Urban Buy]

Skin deep
Boston now offers more (legal) body art than ever

BY JULIA COHEN

JEALOUS OF YOUR best friend’s tribal tattoo? Envious of your date’s pierced nipple? It’s time to get the body art you’ve always wanted, for two reasons: 1) the statewide ban on tattooing was recently lifted, and 2) summer heat means more exposed skin. Whether you want a heart on your chest or a ring through your nose, Boston now has what you’re looking for — and the perfect weather for flaunting it.

Though hardly a new trend, piercing — in some places, at least — remains exotic. Standard cartilage piercing (ears and nose) can cost around $30, while the price for impaling the tongue, nipples, and other more imaginative (that is, painful) parts runs around $60. Wary of letting just anyone pierce those private places? State guidelines recommend that all piercers pass CPR tests and courses on preventing transmission of diseases and blood-borne pathogens. Local piercing parlors include Chameleon in Cambridge and Tribal Ways in Boston.

Those who don’t want a permanent mark (or whose parents would kill them if they showed up at a family event with a naked lady on their exposed biceps) had better stick with temporary or henna tattoos. Pick up a cheap packet of old standards such as roses and barbed wire at Newbury Comics, or head to Johnson Paint Company for more unusual designs such as Hercules or wild animals. Temporary tattoos should last several days; henna tattoos, which can cost from $15 to $300 and may take from 15 minutes to four hours to apply, last about two weeks. Drop in to India Henna Tattoos to get a quick design, or make an appointment for the fancier stuff, traditionally applied to the hands and feet.

For those who can bear the needle (plenty of folks are actually addicted to its pinch), tattoos are well worth the cost and commitment. Fees start at $60 for the small and simple and reach the thousands for custom work, which costs at least $100 an hour. Pick a design from the shop’s selections or sketch your own.

If mere ink doesn’t satisfy you, body-modification art is your only hope. This involves branding, scarification, or the insertion of plastic pieces under the skin to change the way the surface looks and feels. Because these processes are even more invasive and permanent than tattooing, you should be extremely cautious about where you get it done. Raelyn Gallina, the only recommended body-modification artist available in Boston, actually lives in San Francisco. She comes to town two or three times a year; appointments to see her can be made by calling the adult boutique Grand Opening.

Then go shopping for some skimpy clothes to show off the results.

• Chameleon Tattoo & Body Piercing, 23 JFK Street, Cambridge, (617) 491-4335; www.chameleonbodyarts.com

• Grand Opening, 318 Harvard Street, Suite 32, Brookline, (617) 731-2626; www.grandopening.com

• India Henna Tattoo, 279 Newbury Street, Boston, (617) 266-6539

• Johnson Paint Company, 355 Newbury Street, Boston, (617) 536-4244

• Newbury Comics, 332 Newbury Street, (617) 236-4930; 36 JFK Street, Cambridge, (617) 491-0337

• Tribal Ways Body Piercing, 93 Mass Ave, Boston, (617) 536-0445; www.tribalways.com/tribal.htm

 

Issue Date: July 19-26, 2001






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