Tattoos have been around since antiquity. Traditional tattoos were made in a number of ways. Some cultures cut designs into the skin and rubbed the wound with ink or ashes, while other cultures hand tapped ink into the skin using animal bones or sharpened sticks resembling needles. Traditional tattooing is still alive in some cultures, like Japan where a method called tebori is still used. In tebori, the ink is inserted beneath the skin using hand-made tools with needles carved from bamboo or steel. In all traditional tattoos the ink was derived directly from nature, and this limited the colors available.
The modern method of tattooing involves a machine that has a five-needle set-up. Simply put, this operates somewhat like a sewing machine. The machine drives needles repeatedly into the skin, at a rate of 80-150 times a second. When done professionally this is done with minimal trauma and heals quickly. The selection of colors available today for tattoos is almost limitless. Colors can be mixed, creating unique pigments. Modern tattoo inks are carbon-based inks that often contain Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS plastic).
The procedures in modern tattoo parlors that abide by today’s standards are very hygienic. The tattoo artist will wash their hands and the part of the body that is to be tattooed. The sterilized needles come in a single use packet. Wearing gloves, the tattoo artist will apply the stencil of the tattoo desired onto the area, and using the machine, draw the outline of the design on the skin. The tattoo will be shaded and colored, each time being wiped clean. On completion a bandage will be applied.
In most countries it is illegal to tattoo a minor without parental consent, or to tattoo people who are under the influence of alcohol or drugs, people who are pregnant, or people whose mental health renders them incapacitated.
Using modern day tattoo machines, pigment is applied to the dermal tissue that underlies the epidermis. The foreign material stimulates phagocytes that engulf the pigment particles. The damaged epidermis flakes off during the healing process, and the pigment is trapped within fibroblasts. The pigment migrates deeper into the dermis over a long period of time, which is why the details are not as clear on older tattoos.
The method of application has changed over time, likewise the reasons for doing so. However the fascination with tattoo is still present in today’s society, as it has been for thousands of years.