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The same kind of needle and machine are involved," she says. "Of course, it hurts as much as any other tattoo. Abelman already had several traditional tattoos, so she knew what to expect. Unfortunately, the made-to-fade ink doesn't lessen the pain of getting a tattoo.
#EPHEMERAL TATTOOS BEFORE AND AFTER SKIN#
The exact ingredients are top secret, but Sakhai reveals the black ink is composed of "medical-grade bioabsorbable and biocompatible polymers " with "high-quality pigments." Over time, the ink breaks down and the particles become small enough to be eliminated by the body, leaving your skin tattooless once again. Shah and Pierre tapped their Ph.D.s in chemical engineering for the lengthy development process.
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"It works just like any other tattoo ink, so artists will use their actual machine and equipment." Instead, Sakhai and the rest of the crew refer to Ephemeral's tattoos as "made-to-fade." How Ephemeral Tattoos WorkĮphemeral's revolutionary ink took more than six years and 50 formulations to create. "Our ink is real tattoo ink that's applied by real tattoo artists," Sakhai says.
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The Ephemeral team does not want you to confuse them with "temporary tattoos," however. They asked him one question that would soon change the future of tattooing: "Why are tattoos permanent?" Over the next six years, the trio (and later CEO Jeffrey Liu, who was brought onto the team in 2020) thoroughly researched the answer to that question and created a brand-new alternative with the opening of Ephemeral, a tattoo studio in Brooklyn, specializing in tattoos that disappear after about 9 to 15 months. While in college, Sakhai met future cofounders, Vandan Shah and Brennal Pierre.
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