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Tattoos and Skin-Piercing

Tattoos are drawing practiced on the skin with needles and colorants. In Africa, tattoos are considered as beauty ornaments. Tattoos are practiced on women, men and children during wedding ceremonies, mournings and other traditional rituals. Colorings are made of herbs blended together to attain the desired colours. Certain tattoos are permanent and other not. In certain tribes, instruments such as needles, thorns are used on the skin. The risks linked to HIV can occur with needles exchange.

Skin piercing is also called gashes are marks that are cut on the skin of young and adults during passing rituals in Africa. Used for medical and beauty reasons to allow penetrations of drugs in the body, piercing the skin leads to lesions and bleedings on the body of the person. These practices exposed them to HIV if the cutter used instruments which were not sterile which had been exchanged between patients and individuals.