Why Is It Difficult To Remove A Tattoo?

Posted by | Posted on 12:07 AM

By Chris Hartman

Today, tattoos are one of the most common forms of body art, popular especially among young adults. They are a form of art and self expression. Tattoos can signify many things - from important life events to a sense of identity, respect, love and spiritual depth. More than fifty million people in the United States have at least one.

Did you ever wonder why are tattoos permanent? I mean, why don't they just break down and wash away like most of the stuff that gets into the skin does? In this article we will try to answer these interesting questions.

If we want to understand tattoos, we must understand how our skin works. Our skin is built up of three major layers - epidermis, dermis, and hypodermis. Epidermis is the visible outer layer that protects our bodies. Dermis is the second layer. It consist of blood vessels, nerve ends, collagen fibers, elastic fibers, fibroblasts, etc. The last layer, called hypodermis, consists primarily of connective tissue and fat.

OK, so where do tattoos go? They go into the second layer of the skin - the dermis. And why are they permanent? Because the dermis stays more or less the same for our entire life.

Every day, epidermis sheds a massive amounts of dead skin cells. Did you know that dust is mostly made of dead skin cells. Yep, our skin is constantly being regenerated. This is the reason why tattoos must be injected into the dermis. If they're not deep enough, they will just fade away.

On the other hand, if the ink goes too deep, into the hypodermis, it can look blurred and smudgy. It can also cause pain, bleeding, and even infection. A needle should go an average of 1/16 of an inch (1.5mm) into the skin.

Tattooing is a skill that requires plenty of practice and talent. If you choose to get a tattoo, experienced artists are always the way to go. You don't want a tattoo that will fade away or look blurred, do you?

About the Author:

Comments (0)