Medical experts warn that new craze could leave people marked for life

PLASTIC surgeons warned yesterday that young people joining a craze for ''temporary'' tattoos could be left with permanent body markings.

The so-called temporary tattoos, which are offered in some hairdressing salons, have been touted as an alternative to the traditional variety. Temporary tattooists claim their work will rise to the top of the skin and vanish after three to five years, because they avoid breaching the skin's dermis - the inner layer of skin.

But medical experts said yesterday that the theory behind temporary tattoos was fundamentally flawed and the designs may never disappear. Professional tattooists also warned that people who had bought temporary tattoos were ''guinea pigs''.

Mr Arthur Morris, a consultant plastic surgeon at Ninewells Hospital in Dundee, said: ''There will be a lot of very upset people in a few years' time. Tattoos are either permanent or they are very temporary.

''A tattoo only lasts if it goes into the dermis. There is no possible middle ground. There is no way I know of that you could hope that a tattoo could last for a few years and then rise to the surface or simply disappear. Some people will be forced to get permanent cover-up tattoos, while others will have to pay several hundred pounds to have it removed privately.''

Mr Iain Mackay, a plastic surgeon at Canniesburn Hospital, Bearsden, near Glasgow, who specialises in laser treatment of tattoos, said that if pigment was introduced into the dermis a tattoo would almost inevitably be absorbed. Conversely, one placed superficially on the epidermis would disappear within a few days or weeks as skin was shed.

Mr Khalil Nakib, a plastic surgeon at St John's Hospital in Livingston, said: ''There is a lot of movement of pigment when it is introduced into the skin.

''Pigment will either migrate to the outside and disappear or migrate deeper and become permanent. I don't know of any way to keep it stable at one level.''

Plastic surgeons have in recent years seen a decline in the popularity of tattoos, but there are fears that the promise of a temporary version - despite costing up to three times that of a permanent one - could have sparked a revival.

Ms Kate Leisk, 20, a student at Stirling University, had a #60 12-inch dragon Temptoo down her right upper-arm, shoulder and neck in January. She claimed yesterday that her tattooist had assured her it would fade.

''I know that many employers don't like tattoos, and later, when I'm old and wrinkly, I may not want it myself,'' she said.

''The fact it may be permanent hasn't quite sunk in. If I had known, I wouldn't have had it, especially in such a visible place. It will be like hell waiting for five years to find out.''

Secretary of the Association of Professional Tattoo Artists Lal Hardy said: ''Professional tattoo studios won't go near these so-called temporary tattoos. It is hairdressers and market stalls who are doing them. The people actually doing it may even believe the tattoos are temporary, but those getting them are guinea pigs.''

Mr Patrick Gorman, who until recently offered temporary tattoos at Stirling hairdressers The Cutting Crew, said that to his knowledge the process was safe.

''I tell people they may last for up to nine years, although our suppliers tell us it is usually three to five years. We have a cap which goes on to the needle to make sure it can't go too far into the skin,'' he said.

However, Ms Yvonne Carter, managing director of Tyneside-based CD International, which markets Temptoo, said: ''We don't claim we are selling temporary tattoos. We are selling Temptoos, which are like a pigmentation.

''Others may claim they are doing temporary tattoos, we don't. Salons should be telling their clients that they don't or might not disappear, but we as suppliers don't take any responsibility for third parties.''