Not everyone wants to have ink punched into their skin. Fads come and goes and the end result is a bit of ink that is there for the rest of your life. There are alternatives though. Why not consider getting an airbrush tattoo? They do not leave a lasting mark. There is no pain and you can change the style whenever you feel like it. No one has to know that your “living on the edge” personality is just temporary.

In the process of creating an airbrush tattoo a design template is placed on clean, dry skin. The colors are selected and loaded into a specialized air gun which will blow pressurized air out in short burst when the trigger is compressed. The airbrush tattoo artist places the colors where the customer indicated upon the design and then will apply a top coat to help ensure longevity of the tattoo designs.

The process is actually identical to that of painting a car. It is best to layer the color than to apply too heavy of a coat. The heavier the paint is then the more chance for runs to occur. Clean up for the artist is very simple. An alcohol solution on a cotton ball can remove any of the excess paint or smudges. As with the temporary tattoo, the airbrush tattoo is limited in the amount of time it will last. Repeated showers or baths and articles of clothing rubbing against it will cause the tattoo to erode. But unlike its permanent counterpart, the artwork does not have to be removed with a costly tattoo removal procedure.

Kids are fascinated by tattoos. Restaurants, pizza places and even grocery stores all have vending machines that spit out temporary tattoos. Carnivals and festivals often have face painting booths to add fanciful lions, hearts or white, puffy clouds to a child’s face or hands. An airbrush tattoo station at your child’s next birthday party will be a sure fire hit with his or her friends.

The drawback to the airbrush tattoo, besides its lack of permanency, is that they are often hard to find. Tattoo parlors usually do not offer these less expensive features. Many times it becomes a matter of finding someone familiar with airbrush design. A good source could be a local nail salon. Many nail designs feature airbrush art and the operator could easily do one on the skin. The difference would be in the paint.

So when searching for some new decoration, consider the airbrush tattoo. It is much less work and drain on the wallet than a real one and is much more realistic than the lick and sticks found in toy machines or in cereal boxes. And above all else, when it gets tiresome a couple of swipes and it’s gone.