Tattoo application uses a mechanized needle to puncture the skin and inject ink into the dermis or second layer of skin just below the epidermis. Since the process involves damaging the skin, the body responds with white blood cells which attempt to absorb the foreign particles and dispose of them in the blood stream.

How painful is a tattoo actually?

Tattooing involves repeatedly piercing your skin's top layer with a sharp needle covered with pigment. So getting a tattoo is generally always painful, though people may experience different levels of pain. ... The most painful places to get tattooed are those with the least fat, most nerve endings, and thinnest skin.

Why do tattoos last forever?

Tattoos last forever because the human body thinks it is under attack when someone draws on it. The body's complex processes that keep our skin free from infection are the same ones that allow ink to live forever in our skin. ... Anything drawn onto the skin would gradually flake or get washed off.