“Well, I have to ask you something,” the tattoo artist said, blinking at me, “Why did you choose it?” this Any particular tattoos? ”
She was standing over the man sitting next to me in the waiting room at Ephemeral Tattoo in Brooklyn, iPad in hand. Projected on the small screen was a large, cartoon-like portrait of Chris Kirkpatrick (yes, that’s right). that *NSYNC’s Chris Kirkpatrick) asked me to have his upper thighs inked. “Oh, he’s coming to town this weekend and he thought it would be interesting,” the man replied. I join in the collective laughter.
In theory, the idea of having pop culture tattoos, or someone else’s face, period, etc. tattooed on your body may seem risky. (What if you meet this person and they disappoint you? What if they turn out to be a genuine badass?) But what if the design isn’t permanent? A “temporary” tattoo The latest in made-to-fade technology means it’s no longer a pipe dream. The ink is designed to slowly degrade over time, and from 10 months to a year it will completely disappear.
Here’s how it works: The proprietary ink is comprised of tiny particles and is made from medical-grade bioabsorbable and biocompatible polymers containing high-quality pigments routinely used in food, cosmetics, and other products. , the company’s CEO Jeffrey Liu previously told POPSUGAR, something that shrinks over time. Like dissolvable seams, your body will release them naturally.
Simply put, this is a real tattoo without any fuss. So that’s exactly what I was looking for.
As you know, I too have had the experience of using ink that I no longer needed. (They say getting a tattoo with your partner is the kiss of death. This is why Winona and Johnny or Tyga and Kylie ended so badly. I say that to a drunk girl in love. (Tell me about it.) This assumes a semi-permanent design. It sounds extra appealing.
So I booked an appointment with artist Marissa Boulay, sat next to the world’s most passionate *NSYNC fan, and got to get my first made-to-fade tattoo. Here’s how it all goes and how temporary ink fades over time.
How to choose an ephemeral tattoo
In my opinion, there were only two logical routes to choosing a custom fade tattoo. One, like our friends at the studio, we get the wildest designs we can come up with. (I remember the artist saying, “Honestly, I’m surprised more people don’t get crazy tattoos like this.”) We compared and considered options such as: The second is to use the appointment as a “trial run” for the tattoo you already want, to see the scale and how it looks on certain parts of your body before making it permanent.
I went with route number 2. My biggest fear was that the tattoo would look mottled or uneven after a few months. And I didn’t want to be left with specks of (pigmented) regret like I had in the past. So I chose a small design for the hidden part of the body (left ribcage) that I wanted – a single line silhouette representing the female figure. Of course, which path you choose is up to you.
What to expect during the ephemeral tattoo process
What happens during a temporary appointment is similar to what happens during a regular tattoo appointment. Share your design ideas with an artist in advance via a convenient online survey, then come to our studio (mine was in Brooklyn, but we have three other studios in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Atlanta). Lying in a leather tattoo chair under a ring light.
All tattooists are vetted and certified, often from well-known studios around the city. Each is trained in shading techniques such as stippling, hatching, and etching, perfect for made-to-fade ink. Like any artist, they each have their own unique tattoo “style,” so if you have a particular aesthetic in mind, you might want to check out the brand’s Instagram.
Other than that, pretty much everything else works as usual, from tattoo guns to equipment. The obvious difference is the ink, which is currently only available in black. In my opinion, the bigger difference was the pain level. Please let me explain.
Are ephemeral tattoos painful?
Let me preface this by saying that pain is relative, and how painful a tattoo is depends not only on the location of the tattoo, but also on your tolerance. My pain tolerance is nowhere near what Batman’s exosuit can withstand, but I’ve always considered it pretty high. And I think temporary tattoos are more painful than regular tattoos.
Bouley said that because ephemeral ink has a slightly lighter pigment, artists need to apply the tattoo to the skin at a slower pace. Also, Just a little Harder. “We just want to make sure it shows up,” she says. This meant it was a little more painful than my other tattoos, but still bearable.
Ephemeral tattoo aftercare
Immediately after my session, they applied a hydrocolloid bandage to my tattoo. Similar to commercially available acne patches that use the same technology, this one is meant to drain fluid during the healing process. As instructed, he kept it on for two days (you can leave it on for up to four days if you wish), fighting the urge to clean it off when he saw the outline of the tattoo turn blue.
Bouley says that the healing process for temporary tattoos takes longer than regular tattoos (up to a week for the peeling process to complete and an additional four to six weeks for full healing), but most That said, proper tattoo aftercare is necessary. It’s similar no matter where you go. Still, the team at Ephemeral will send you a free kit to your home to keep your new ink clean and healthy.
How long do ephemeral tattoos last?
The brand says the temporary tattoos will last between nine to 10 months to a year, but Bouley said that everyone’s skin physiology is different, so some people’s ink wears off more quickly than others. It is said that it will disappear. However, it is generally estimated that the ink will run out completely after one year. We found that the design maintained saturated pigment until the fourth month, at which point the color began to gradually fade.
Ephemeral tattoo before and after: 6 months
It was about six months in when I first started noticing that my tattoo was starting to fade. However, I will admit that the process has been slow and steady. It is said that ink tends to fade faster in places where there is a lot of friction or contact with other materials, such as on clothing. I don’t wear bras very often (if I do at all) and the tattoo is on my ribcage, so only time will tell how long it will last. Luckily, it’s in a hidden location, so the slow fade isn’t too noticeable.
Ephemeral tattoo before and after: 1 year, 6 months
It’s been a full year and a half since I got my first temporary tattoo. The ink has faded considerably, but you can see it’s still there, like a shadow of its former design.
With perfect clarity, I was relieved when it started to fade. After giving the tattoo a cold, hard look, I decided that the design looked a bit similar. . . phallic. The part that was supposed to be a woman’s arm turned out to be a far cry from her own arm, and she wanted to remove it from her body as soon as possible.
The good news is that that’s the best part of getting a temporary tattoo. You can experiment without fear of the consequences. (Siri, play “No Strings Attached” by *NSYNC.)
