Despite medical professionals warning the trend can cause blindness and cancer, men and women are getting their sclera - the white area around the iris - filled in with colour.
The practice involves injecting ink directly into the eyeball, which then spreads the colour throughout the white of the eye, an effect which is permanent.
Body modification specialist Luna Cobra claims to have invented the technique, and states on their website:
‘I, Luna Cobra, am the inventor of eyeball, or sclera, tattooing (tattooing the white of the eye in a solid or mix of colours). I first attempted the procedure on sighted human eyeballs in 2007 on three well-informed and consenting parties.
'Since then, I have fine-tuned both the technique and materials to increase the safety and minimize the risks of tattooing the eyeball. There are still risks involved, of course, but in the 8 years I have been performing this procedure, all my clients are all still ok.
‘Secondly, I personally have not trained anyone else to do this procedure. I have appeared on various tv/news segments though, and have inspired many copycats worldwide. This is important to know because without the proper education, training, experience and guidance, these practitioners have caused vision impairments like blurred vision, spots or floaters, and even blindness. YES PEOPLE ARE NOW BLIND FROM EYEBALL TATTOOING.
‘If you still think you must have this done then contact me for more information about setting up a consultation.’