Tattoo Ink and Cross Section of Skin Layers

Human skin is made of three major layers - epidermis, dermis, and hypodermis. When tattoo designs are created, tattoo ink pigments or dyes made of various substances are inserted deep within the epidermis and dermis of the skin.

The Epidermis is the outer layer of visible skin. The epidermis is the thinnest section of layers and ironically is also the main barrier of protection of the human body.  Skin is the thinnest on eyelids at .05 mm and the thickest on palms and soles at 1.5 mm.

The Dermis is the middle section of skin underneath the epidermis, that is a complex structure and matrix made of blood vessels, hair follicles, oil glands, elastin, fibroblasts and collagen.

The epidermis is actually made of 5 mirco layers of skin (4 layers plus extra layer on palms and soles totals 5).  Approximately every 27 days the old epidermis replaces itself with a new one through a process known as skin cell renewal or cellular turnover.

New skin cells originate in the deepest layer of the epidermis and as cells are created they become crowded and are forced and pushed upward to the next layer. As cells move up through each higher layer, they become pressed and flatten, then finally die as they reach the outer layer of the epidermis and shed off.

Even the layer of old, dead skin serves an important purpose as the tough outer protective barrier. When it this barrier of dead cells sheds off naturally or is manually removed (skin exfoliation) the skin cell process speeds up in order to create another dead layer of tough protection.  (relevant to many tattoo fade creams, chemical removal and other tattoo removal methods.)

You may be confused and wondering why tattoos are so permanent and do not fade naturally with skin cell turnover.

Well, the reality is tattoos eventually are effected by cellular turnover, and do fade away overtime. The reason tattoos are so “permanent” is due to the type of ink used and how the ink is put into the skin.

skin cross section image of tattoo ink in skin Tattoo ink is a foreign substance that does not exist in the human body. When tattoo ink or any other foreign substance enters the body, the body quickly rushes in to fight against potential infection or danger.

When tattoo ink is injected deep into the skin, the body reacts to defend itself by stimulating emergency collagen and fibroblast production to rush in and surround the invader. As a result, tattoo ink becomes encapsulated by the skin's tough matrix fibers and remains dormant within the skin.

Overtime the sun and other environmental factors begin to breakdown the structural integrity of the skin's matrix, thus the signs of skin damage and aging appear.

Amateur and homemade tattoos are usually tattoo designs that fade in appearance. The reason for this is the tattoo ink is not professionally injected with proper equipment and technique thus does not entirely penetrate the deepest layer of epidermis, thus is subjected to naturally cellular turnover and breakdown.

On the other hand, professional tattoo designs are much harder to remove during tattoo removal with many methods because they are so deep within the cellular tissue of the skin and are more protected.