Semi-Permanent Tattoo Ink

Have you ever considered getting a tattoo, but then changed your mind because you didnt want it when youre 80 years old? Well, that may not be the case anymore. Joel Mejias has been a tattoo artist for 13 years. He takes great pride in his work, but acknowledges that tattoos are only for the person who is sure of what they want inked into their skin. But what if you could get a tattoo that you could change your mind about, and get it zapped with just one laser treatment? Thats what Brown University scientist Dr. Edith Mathiowitz has come up with: a permanent, but removable, tattoo ink. "The idea in this new ink is to take safe pigments in different colors and different soluabilities, and encapsulate them in safe polymers," Mathiowitz says. Polymers are tiny molecules that are microscopic. "The result is having a new tattoo that can be implanted the same way theyre applying tattoos and can stay there forever in a safe way, because the pigment is really contained in the capsule," she says. Change your mind about it? One laser treatment and... "The capsule will burst, rupture, then the body will remove the pigment over time," Mathiowitz says. "Im not a tattoo person, but I think if I wanted to experiment and I said well, if I dont like it its just like changing hair color," says consumer Natalie Masura. "I dont like it, I dont like the idea. We never felt the need to give someone a scar that will disappear, it just makes absolutely no sense," Mejias says. Mejias says hes not interested in the new ink. He says if people dont want something permanent, they shouldnt get a tattoo. Like it or not, the new removable tattoo ink is expected to make it to market in the next several months. Photo Credit: Courtesy: USMC