Have you ever wondered how tattoos work? How the ink permanently stays onto your skin, why people say it hurts so bad? Well i’m going to put your mind at ease.

Many people who get tattoos get them for sentimental value, remembrance, a symbol or gesture as a part of their life and journey. Some people also think of their body as a canvas. Somewhere to speak without actually speaking, a place where you leave your markings of something you’ve overcome, or something you enjoy.

According to TechCrunch co-founder Anthony Lam explains that “a standard tattoo remains permanent because the dye molecules are too big for the bodies immune system to clear them up.” Which is why it takes laser surgery to remove an unwanted tattoo.

Laser surgery is an expensive, long, dreadful, and painful experience. Laser currently is the only way to remove tattoos. According to ScienceAlert laser is the process in which the laser pulverizes the ink that is trapped into the skin to break, allowing the body to carry them away by disposing them out.

A crew of entrepreneurs had a competition held at New York University in 2015 where they won $200K worth of funding to develop an ink that’s not permanent. “Ephemeral was born through a personal experience of mine” said CEO Seung Shin. Shin said he always wanted a tattoo but his parents were against it because it was permanent. Later he did get a tattoo, but then decided to create an ink that’s no longer permanent.

Ephemeral said an average size tattoo would cost from $50-$100 US. The product won’t be available until 2017, if it’s approved. The idea is that after a year, the ink and tattoo begins to fade.

If you ask me this is a great way for people to try new things, without having to be regretful. If someone does get a tattoo that they’re ashamed of, it’ll be gone within a year. No spending $200-$500 per treatment  to remove your shame, when you could tough it out for a year for free. It may seem like a long time, but it’ll fly by.

There are two different types of machines the tattooists use- the most common is a coil, there’s also rotary machine. Most people who don’t really care about tattoos don’t know that it’s not a single needle, for lining there’s three types- a set of three needles, five needles, and nine needles depending on how thick the line is going to be. There’s also the shading needles grouped into nine, fifteen, or twenty-five depending on spacing in the tattoo.

Tattoos aren’t painless, but they definitely aren’t the worse. There’s so many different meanings, and so many different designs being created daily. Having a tattoo, doesn’t make you a bad person. Tattoos are art. Art is one of the most creative and beautiful things on the planet. Tattoos have meaning, a story, and the body is it’s blank piece of paper.