Does anybody know how Tattoos stay on the skin? I asked my uncle who is a tattooist and he doesn't know. I also asked my science teacher and he did not know. Could anybody help me?
They don't stay "on the skin" they stay "under the skin. The structure of skin can be broken down into 3 main parts: 1. The epidermis is the layer of dead skin cells that are on the surface. This layer is unliving and continually shedding off. 2. Next is the dermis, which is living and contains all the hair/sweat/oil glands and follicles. 3. Is the subcutaneous layer, which is fatty and very vascular(lots of blood capillaries). This is the layer that bleeds heavily in a cut. Tattoos go inbetween the dermis and subcutaneous layers of skin. They stay there because there is little vascularity. If you go too deep into the subcutaneous/fatty layers, you get blow outs. I hope that answers te ? Cheers
can you explain what a blow out is, ahimsa? i know the term in relation to stretching piercings, but haven't before heard it in regards to tattoos... though it sounds quite unfortunate, and something i would want to be aware of!!!! also, how would you recognize a blowout as far as tattoos go?
Blowouts in terms of tattoos are when the tattooist goes too deep or overworks the skin. This forces ink into the fatty subcutaneous layer which has much more blood flow. The trauma of tattooing causes bleeding which makes the ink spread under the skin. Think of it as a bruise with ink in it. Once the blood dissipates, the ink is still there. These are usually seen in hard lines. It will look like a nice clean tattoo line and then there will be a little area where the ink has spread into a not so nice clean line. They aren't going to be huge like a black eye bruise, but make tattoos look sloppy and amatuer. Anyway, any tattooist good enough to work in a professional shop should know how to avoid this. If you follow standard guideline for finding a reputable tattooist, this shouldn't be a problem. Cheers
unfortunately, not every tattooist who works in a professional shop avoids this. i know several people who have really bad blowouts, though i didn't know what they were called at the time. and they were done in professional shops. but thanks a lot for the information, it's very helpful! i've had bleeding with several of my tats, but they look ok now that they've healed. especially the inside of my wrists, the color bled a lot, and then half the ink came back out. it doesn't look all blurry though. is it considered a blowout when a tat bleeds, regardless of if it becomes blurry under the skin later, or just when it looks all fucked up after the healing process?
Ahhh, I guess the level of incompetence can be astounding in any place. Sorry to hear some friends had this happen. Anyway, no, bleeding is not a blowout. Skin will bleed when pierced. Its just that the subQ layer bleeds much more that the dermis, which leads to the problems. I know what you mean about having a little panic attack as you wash away all the ink of a new tattoo. I have a full color full back piece and other work. They all bled, and they all flaked different colors are they healed. No patchiness or fading; this is normal.
well, unfortunately, on the wrists, the color did come out a bit patchy. as did the color on my teal armband. but i've heard greens and blues don't stay in skin as well as some other colors, so i'm guessing that's part of it. it looks fine for now, and eventually i'll have to get them touched up anyways. it's not bad unless you look at it REALLY close... from a distance it looks fabulous. i'm just picky, but i don't have enough money to pay for the really expensive pros. and that's kinda what i was thinking, as far as the bleeding of it. i've studied anatomy a lot, and know the skin layers and stuff, and didn't think the amt. of bleeding i've had would be enough to be coming from subq, more like the normal response of skin to being stuck thousands of times with a needle!
