The process of getting a tattoo on your skin is notoriously painful. But then, it is fortunate that tattoo machines have improved a lot when compared to the devices used in the past. To have a permanent tattoo, the ink needs to get inside the dermis. The tissue below your outer layer of the skin is termed as the epidermis. The tattoo expert makes thousands of pricks on the skin to make this possible. He uses a handheld machine which features a sharp needle. The artist just dips the needle, which is affixed to the handheld machine and turns the motor on to just move the needle. The moving needle is then applied onto the skin. The sharp pointed needle quickly moves through the skin, drags the ink and clings to it while moving into the dermis finally.
Tattoo making and the role of the needle
The needle used for making the tattoo is actually a piece of metal having several ends. A needle can have up to 3-25 ends as per the requirement. Each kind of needle helps in attaining a different effect. A needle, which has few ends, can be used for creating an outline. The needle having more ends is used for colouring and filling. The two most commonly used tattoo machines are the coil and the rotary. They work differently, but their purpose is the same. They help in moving the needle. The motor of the rotary machine moves with the circular motion to move both the needle up and down.
Related Link: Here’s How Getting A Tattoo Works In Slow Motion
Modern tattoo machines
A modern tattoo machine has the potential to pierce the skin at the frequency of 100-3000 times per minute. In order to let the tattoo last for a long time, the tattoo machine needs to pack a punch to allow the ink get through the epidermis, a layer of skin constituted of fibres, collagen, blood vessels and glands.
Thousands of tiny wounds being made
The making of a tattoo is all about creating thousands of tiny wounds on the skin surface to let the ink penetrate through the epidermis. When the process takes place, the immune system just moves into the overdrive, oozing special blood cells, namely, macrophages to the tattoo site to engulf those foreign ink particles. This is the chief reason why the tattoo fades away. The body undergoes a cleanup, but still this is responsible for making the tattoo permanent. The macrophage consumes ink particle and then moves back to the lymphatic highway while bringing the consumed ink to the liver for the process of excretion. But then, the other macrophages do not move back to the lymphatic highway. The blood vessels stay and the consumed ink particles become visible all through the epidermis.
If you wish to have a tattoo you must certainly go for it. After the tattoo is done, you need to take care of the tattoo by following natural ways.
