How does tattoos work

Follow all of the instructions the studio gives you for caring for your tattoo. To make sure it heals properly:. Tattoos usually take about 2 weeks to heal. Even after it's fully healed, wear a sunscreen with a minimum sun protection factor SPF of This not only protects your skin, but can help keep the tattoo from fading. If you decide to get a tattoo, chances are everything will go as planned. Some people have allergic reactions to the tattoo ink, causing itching, bumps, and rashes that might happen days, weeks, or longer after the tattoo was placed.

Tattoos might make eczema, psoriasis, or other skin conditions flare up. Serious problems can happen if you try to do a tattoo yourself, have a friend do it for you, or have it done in any unclean environment.

Skin infections caused by bacteria, viruses, or fungi can happen if the skin is not cleaned properly, or the ink or needles are contaminated. Sharing needles, ink, or other equipment without sterilization increases your chance of getting HIV, hepatitis B, or hepatitis C.

A lot of people love their tattoos and keep them forever. But others decide a couple of years down the road that they really don't want that snake on their arm or their ex's name on their chest. What then? Laser treatment is the best option for tattoo removal. The laser sends short zaps of light through the top layers of your skin, with the laser's energy aimed at specific pigments in the tattoo. Those zapped pigments are then removed by the scavenger cells of your body's immune system.

Although it's called tattoo removal, completely removing a tattoo can be difficult depending on your skin type, how big and complex the design is, and the types and colors of inks that were used. It can take several treatments over months, and results are not guaranteed. Treatment can cause darkening or lightening of the skin, and scarring. It also can be expensive.

It's best to consult with a dermatologist who specializes in tattoo removal to get your questions answered. Reviewed by: Mary L. Gavin, MD. Larger text size Large text size Regular text size. What Is a Tattoo? What if I Want a Tattoo? What Else Should I Know? Tattoo needles have at least three sharp points for fine lines, and many more for shading. The ink is held in place between them, much like how water can be sucked up a very narrow gap between two flat pieces of glass.

This is called capillary action. Once the needles puncture the skin, the ink is drawn down into the puncture wounds due to a combination of adhesive forces where the ink molecules are more attracted to the skin than to themselves and surface tension so that the ink moves through the puncture wound as a fluid and not just the ink molecules that are in contact with the skin until it is deposited in the dermis.

And if the needle is inserted too deeply the ink can spread erratically through the underlying layers of skin. Infections can also arise from inadequate equipment sterilization, improper aftercare or an unclean environment, and in some cases have led to sepsis and death. Traditionally, tattoos were applied using a sharp instrument, typically made of animal bone or bronze, dipped in ink made from ground charcoal.

The process was — unsurprisingly — exceedingly painful and the risk of infection high. Done properly, you could end up with amazing tattoos like this and this. And perhaps the question will no longer be whether or not you should get a tattoo, but where it should be placed an equally difficult question, I can assure you.

Follow us on Facebook , Twitter and Instagram to get all the latest science. Linda Quan Linda is a physics and chemistry graduate who loves to write in her spare time. She is also addicted to coffee and online shopping. On cold, moonless nights, she often ventures out with her camera to take pictures of the stars. You can find her on Instagram duoettria. Remember Me. It depends on what the tattoo artist is used to or feels more comfortable with when working that makes them decide which type of machine they use.

The needles are dipped into a cap containing the ink while the machine is running. The ink moves and stays between the needles due to capillary action.

Capillary action is also what makes certain liquids able to move up small tubes without any external forces. Read more on this…. The set of needles will pierce through the skin into the dermis layer where the ink should be. Obviously the epidermis is also pierced in the process but this layer replaces itself very quickly.

If the ink only sets into the epidermis, the tattoo could last only a few weeks. This is called tattoo fallout. If the needle pierces too deep, the ink can spread in the hypodermis which is called tattoo blowout. Also read my other articles on these topics: Tattoo fallouts and how to tell the difference and Tattoo blowouts and what you should know about them. The same principle that holds the ink between the needles is what lets the ink flow onto and into the skin; known as capillary action.

Because gravity is also present, the forces of the capillary action on the skin plus gravity are more than just the forces of capillary action between the needles. This makes it possible for the ink to flow from the needles. When the ink enters the skin, white blood cells see it as a substance that is not supposed to be in your body. When these white blood cells die, another white blood cell will come along and isolate the ink particle again.