Ingenious Tattoo Ink Designed to Disappear from Skin After a Year

Many people love the idea of having a tattoo but are unsure of what they'd want on their body for the rest of their life. Tech startup Ephemeral is currently developing a way to wear an inked design for an extended period of time without the eternal commitment. Their solution uses a process akin to traditional tattooing, but will last only about a year before it begins to fade.

Conventional body art is made permanent because the dye molecules are too big for our immune systems to eliminate. Ephemeral incorporates this same idea, but they’ve developed smaller molecules and encapsulated them in a protective coating that will eventually break down after the 365-day mark. If you want the tattoo removed sooner, a special solution could be applied that will instantly remove it.

Ephemeral is still testing their product with the hopes of making it to market in the fall of 2017. Once available, it’ll offer a fantastic way to test drive a permanent design—chances are, if you still like it after a year, it’s a good bet you’ll continue to enjoy it in the future.

Above photo credit: Ephemeral Tattoos

Photo credit: Monkey Business Images/Shutterstock

Photo credit: TechCrunch

Ephemeral: Website | Facebook
via [Mental Floss, TechCrunch]

Sara Barnes

Sara Barnes is a Staff Editor at My Modern Met, Manager of My Modern Met Store, and co-host of the My Modern Met Top Artist Podcast. As an illustrator and writer living in Seattle, she chronicles illustration, embroidery, and beyond through her blog Brown Paper Bag and Instagram @brwnpaperbag. She wrote a book about embroidery artist Sarah K. Benning titled 'Embroidered Life' that was published by Chronicle Books in 2019. Sara is a graduate of the Maryland Institute College of Art. She earned her BFA in Illustration in 2008 and MFA in Illustration Practice in 2013.
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