You can get a tattoo with the ashes from a cremated loved one

When our loved ones die, we tend to keep something of theirs in order to hold onto them even after they’ve left our world – jewelry, photographs, and other items of sentimental value. Sometimes we even cremate them and keep their ashes.

Bob Johnson, an Ohio-based tattoo artist, has been tattooing clients for more than three decades. Some of his specialties are ritual tattoos and commemorative tattoos. They look just like any other black or color filled tattoo, except for the fact that there are ashes of a lost family relative or friend mixed with the ink. It sounds strange, but it’s proved fairly popular over the last 30 years. Mr. Johnson explains that a microscopic amount of the ashes of the cremated person is sterilized and mixed with the ink before the procedure, and that many people choose to opt for such tattoos in order to keep their lost friends or family members close to them after they’ve passed away.
Some people claim that the procedures can pose a risk to health and that they are unhygienic. However, Bob hasn’t had a single client suffer infection, as the ashes and the rest of the tattooing equipment are sterilized before use.