Today I thought I would write a short article on the details of what is really going on when you get a tattoo.
Most modern tattoos are applied with a tattoo machine that has remained almost unchanged in over 100 years. The tattoo machine invented by Samuel O’Reilly rapidly moves a fixed needle at between 50 and 3000 RPM. Each time the needle punctures the skin a single drop of ink is deposited under the outer layer of skin in the dermis. The dermis is much more stable than the outer layer of skin so you are actually seeing through a persons skin when you look at their tattoo. The dermis is only about 1mm under the surface of your skin which makes it very important that your tattooist deposits the ink at the correct depth. If they go too deep your tattoo may look faded or washed out, If the tattoo is too shallow you will see it slowly fade away as the epidermis breaks down the ink.
Now lets take a look at what a tattoo machine consist of. The driving force behind the machine is a magnetic vibrator that moves the needle. The needle is fed through a tube that will draw and hold the ink for the tattoo. A needle may actually have various amounts of needle tips ranging from a single point, used for outlining, to a 15+ needle point, called a mag, used for large area’s of shading. The machine is powered from a variable power supply allowing the artist to alter needle speed. The system is activated via a foot pedal similar to what you would find on a sewing machine. You may also see rubber bands used to vary tension on the components of the machine in order to stabilize the needle.
The tattooing process is pretty much a controlled abrasion.
4 responses so far ↓
1 sheena // Jan 11, 2008 at 9:05 am
hi hope you can help me and my eighteen year old son keep argueing about what we think is worse a real tattoo or a real tattoo many people have told me if you can sit through an indian ink tattoo you can sit through a real one is this true as my son thinks it is false,i feel if you have had both then you are in a place to say,my son has a small indian ink tattoo and i have six nether of us have a real one what is your take on this.hope you can stop the arguements.sheena.
2 Curt // Jan 11, 2008 at 11:18 am
By a real tattoo, I assume you mean a professionally applied tattoo as opposed to a home made tattoo with art school type ink?
No matter if your tattoo is home made or professionally applied, if the ink is in the correct layer of skin both would feel very similar.
Unless of course your are referencing a Polynesian style tattoo that is applied with sharp sticks by hand, these are much more painful than modern tattoos made with a machine.
3 sheena // Jan 11, 2008 at 11:46 am
thanks curtis really appreciate your help on this score.no i did’nt mean a polynesian tattoo just an ordinary needle and some indian ink i hope they do both feel the same getting my first proper one next friday and can’t wait the only way i can describe how i’m feeling is a nervous excitement,i just hope i don’t pass out i will be having plenty of water so hopefully all should be well.so i take it that a needle and some ink are pretty much the same as one done by a perfessional.sheena
4 Curt // Jan 11, 2008 at 4:32 pm
I think that you may find the gun a little less painful, it has a tendency to numb the area being tattooed, especially when shading.
Good luck with you’re new tattoo!
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