Hispanic Tattoo Artists Could Provide Skin Cancer Prevention via Aftercare Instructions and Social Media

December 2019 | Volume 18 | Issue 12 | Original Article | 1237 | Copyright © December 2019


Cristian D. Gonzalez MD,a Adrian Pona MD,a Barbara J. Walkosz PhD,b
Robert P. Dellavalle MD PhD MSPHa,c

aDepartment of Dermatology, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, CO
bKlein Buendel, Inc, Golden, CO
cUS Department of Veterans Affairs Rocky Mountain Regional VA Medical Center Dermatology Service, Aurora, CO



recommending sunscreen, tattoo artists recommended seeking shade and wearing loose-fitting protective clothing as the primary sun safety practices in Latino men that worked outdoors in a blue-collar occupation.

Need for Tougher Tattoo Artist Regulations
Although three Hispanic tattoo artists did not talk about tattoo regulations, all tattoo artists who mentioned tattoo regulations during their interview recommended more strict regulations on obtaining a tattoo license in Utah. All of them recommended formal primary and secondary skin cancer education during an apprenticeship or pre-requisite to obtaining a license to tattoo. They also mentioned the need to standardize sun safety information in aftercare instructions. However, all of them were unsure about standardizing wound care in the aftercare instructions.

Social Media Use
All Hispanic tattoo artists used social media (Facebook [100%]; Instagram [100%]; Twitter [10%]; Snapchat [50%]; Pinterest [10%]; YouTube [20%]) and each tattoo studio associated with the tattoo artist had both Facebook (100%) and Instagram (100%) (Table 3). Tattoo artists reported that a majority of their clients followed them on social media after their tattoo. Most tattoo artists agree that their Hispanic clients follow them on Facebook more than all other social media platforms. Six tattoo