FYI: What Makes Tattoos Permanent?
How tattoos work SCIENCE INK by Carl Zimmer. Published by Sterling Publishing © 2011 And how does tattoo removal work? It's all about the particles in the tattoo ink's pigment says Dr. Anne Laumann, MBChB, a professor of dermatology at Northwestern University. Tattoo application uses a mechanized needle to puncture the skin and inject ink into the dermis or second layer of skin just below the epidermis. Since the process involves damaging the skin, the body responds with white blood cells which attempt to absorb the foreign particles and dispose of them in the blood stream. "The reason pigment stays there is because the pigment particles are too big to be eaten by the white cells, so they just sit there," Laumann says. Pigment particles are too big to be eaten by white cells, so they just sit there.Tattoos have become increasingly popular in recent years. According to a 2010 Pew Research Report,...