Why tattoos are permanent

Tattoos appear under a microscope as tiny granules of colour (pigment). These granules are located in a skin cell known as a macrophage. Macrophages normally remove foreign objects (for example, bacteria) from the body. The pigment, grit or carbon powder that has caused the tattoo ‘freezes’ the macrophage cell so that it can’t do its job. As a result, the pigment remains in the skin and the tattoo becomes permanent.