Tattoos - Effects on the Skin

The process of tattooing involves the insertion of a pigment into the skin's dermis. The Dermis is the layer of dermal tissue just beneath the epidermis. After the first injection, the pigment is spread throughout a homogenized layer down to the epidermis, then to the upper dermis. The presence of this foreign material activates the body's immune system.

As soon as the immune system is activated, the phagocytes then swallow up the pigment particles. As the healing proceeds, the damaged epidermis flakes away, thus eliminating the surface pigment. Deeper in the skin granulation tissue is created, which later is converted to connective tissue by the growth of Collagen. This heals the upper dermis, where the pigment remains trapped inside the fibroblasts and ultimately is absorbed in a layer just below the dermis/epidermis boundary. Its existence there is stable, but in the long term the pigment will tend to seep deeper into the dermis, which is the reason for degraded details of old tattoos.

Some tribal cultures make tattoos by cutting designs into the skin and rubbing the wound with ink or ashes. Some cultures still continue this practice, which is actually considered scarification. Other cultures create tattooed marks by hand-tapping the ink into the skin by using things or sticks created like needles. Japanese tattoos still use the hand picked device and just use it to create the tattoo.

As for the machine, the tatting process uses the electric tattoo machine, which inserts the ink into the skin layers using groups of needles into the bar that is attached to a revolving unit. The needles are repeatedly driven into the skin, going in and out at a rate of 80 to 150 times per second. One has to make sure that the needles are sanitary, just to avoid future health problems because of the tattoo. The Tattoo artist should also be wearing gloves and any wound should be wiped frequently with a towel of some kind.

The price for the tattoo depends on the complexity of the tattoo design. Of course, the simpler designs have a cheaper price as compared to those that are really complicated in design.