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Yotattoo

How is a tattoo done?

If you’re fascinated with the look of a tattoo, it’s obvious that you’re soon going to wonder how such beautiful hand artistry is performed. And then, perhaps you have heard of an injection and several other terms related to tattoos.

The first thing of interest is how the skin holds the design the artist draws. The design is held by the outermost layer of skin or the epidermis. But your epidermis constantly gets replenished as and when you are exposed to the sun, or when you get a scratch or cut. But this is bad news for your tattoo, so the tattooist goes way past the epidermis to the layer just below it, called the dermis.

The dermis doesn’t change as much as the epidermis, so any design on it is permanent. If the tattooist goes far too deep into the subcutaneous layer that lies below the dermis, the emerging pattern will be vague as these inner layers don’t hold the ink and instead of absorbing it, slough it off.

How the tattoo machine works: This is a motor attached to a tube in which lies a bar and a needle arrangement at one end. When the motor pushes the needle up and down, it makes 3,000 punctures per minute. It doesn’t run too deep but just as far as the dermis and ink runs into the hole from the tip of the machine into the punctured skin or hole. When the various ink dots on your skin come together, they make up the pattern.

Homemade tattoos: Homemade tattoos are usually done with single needles that leave very small dots and hundreds of punctures, each with a steady hand for a clear line. If a part of your skin where the tattoo is being done gets infected during the healing time, it leaves behind blotchy white areas where the ink heals. You will have to have that area touched up later.

Once the ink is completely punched into the skin, the tattoo is complete. This means that the ink is now permanently in the dermis layer of the skin, and will stay with you for life. If you want to remove it at some stage, bear in mind that it is about three to four times more expensive than getting a new one done, and very often, this leaves behind some amount of scarring.

You can also choose to have a mehendi pattern drawn on your hands or feet. They will last you a few weeks and you can choose patterns such as flower arches, henna web, flower net, paisley designs, flowery trails, lucky lotus, chains of leaves, etc.

This is how a tattoo is done, so think well before getting a tattoo done for yourself. A mehendi pattern, worn only by women, is short-lived and allows for many designs on and off but a tattoo binds you down to it. So, think about it.

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