Well it’s a really good question, in fact how do tattoos stay around forever!? There are certain cells that live in the skin called macrophages (“big-eaters”). They eat up the colour in tattoos, and the live in the skin long-term, this is why our tattoos are permanent.
Actually there is a recent study saying that the ink from the tattoos gets released when the macrophages die, but then it gets eaten again by the new macrophages.
Some molecules in tattoo inks can activate the immune system and cause inflammation. It’s not really surprising because you are injecting a foreign substance into the body, and it’s the immune system’s job to get rid of it…
Yes, the study Francis mentions is very interesting and there were some really cool pictures of the macrophages with tattoo ink inside of them! This mechanism explains why tattoos get less defined over time.
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