Tattoo preservation is the process of permanently halting decaying in body art after death so that tattoos can be removed and given to loved ones. Although Save My Ink is the first North American company to offer this type of service, though there are a few European companies (Walls and Skin) in this line of work.
Body art is preserved chemically and enigmatically to permanently stop the decay process after death. The tattoo is then removed and sent to your selected beneficiary. The process takes three to six months after Save My Ink has received the body art from a funeral home.
Pete Vanderheide is a London Tattoo artist at Neon Crab Tattoos and Piercing. He expects this practice to be taboo for quite a while.
“[Tattoos are] less taboo for sure. Well now when you are cutting the skin off someone who’s been dead too, I don’t think that will be less taboo for a hundred years.”
Save My Ink is also known as the National Association for the Preservation of Skin Art and offers body art preservation to members who pay a yearly fee.