

The immune system should respond by removing them - or at least trying to. After all, getting a tattoo means putting foreign particles in the body. Normally, the body’s immune cells would react to being pricked and injected with ink. So things can get messy as ink is injected into the dermis.
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Ouch! Finally, this part of the skin receives the area’s blood supply. The dermis also is home to nerve endings, so you can feel each needle prick. That’s what makes this thick layer of skin the ideal spot for installing a permanent image. If tattoo ink were placed there, it would last only about a month before disappearing.īut cells of the dermis don’t replace themselves in the same way. The epidermis is always growing new skin cells and shedding old ones. This layer of skin lies beneath the epidermis, the outer layer that we see. When a tattoo is done right, that ink winds up in the dermis. Tattoo ink is injected into the dermis - the thick middle layer of the skin. When a person gets a tattoo, a needle injects ink into the skin, over and over and over again. If you hate getting shots, then tattoos aren’t for you. The rub: Until someone gets a tattoo, there’s no way to know if they will be someone who benefits or instead be harmed. In people who heal well, getting a tattoo may prime their germ-fighting immune systems for action - and in a good way. Still, research now indicates tattoos aren’t bad for everyone. It can be done, but it’s a long and painful process. Many people get inked on a whim - and later want that permanent art removed. And not everyone is as thoughtful as Annabelle Townsend when selecting their design. Other people may have trouble getting certain medical tests after a tattoo. Some people react badly to the inks - substances that aren’t meant to go on or in the body. This body art might appear cool, but it can pose risks. As tattoos have become more common, scientists have begun to study their health impacts. Researchers estimate that about four in every 10 young adults aged 18 to 29 have at least one tattoo. Townsend is one of many young adults sporting inked body art. She saved up for years to pay for her sleeve. All those hours in the tattoo shop also didn’t come cheap.
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That’s because her arm needed time to heal between sessions. “It took four sessions - 13 hours total - over a few years to completely finish it,” she says. Turning her design into body art took a major commitment of both time and money. Annabelle Townsend spent years designing the three-quarter-length sleeve that adorns her arm. “Every component was picked for a reason,” she says, including Big Ben, musical notes and one of her favorite quotes. (A tattoo sleeve, like the sleeve of a shirt, covers the arm.) “I drew it over and over until I had perfected it.” Townsend wanted the tattoo to be a collection of many things that were meaningful to her. “I designed the entire thing over a few years,” she says of the three-quarter sleeve that now adorns her right arm. celebrated her eighteenth birthday with a trip to the tattoo shop.
