Services | Tattoos |
---|---|
Website | ephemeral.tattoo |
Ephemeral is a corporate chain of tattoo studios that has raised millions from venture capital investors. Their tattoos were supposed to fade in 9 to 15 months. [1] [2] [3] In February 2023, the company updated the timeframe, saying that 70% of tattoos will fade within two years. [4] The company was founded by five students at New York University, [5] [6] two of whom invented Ephemeral’s ink. [7] In 2021, the company raised 20 million of venture capital funding. [2]
Ephemeral’s ink is made of bioabsorbable polymer particles that are supposed to break down over time, eventually degrading enough to be eliminated by the immune system. [8]
In September 2023, Ephemeral announced that they are closing all of their studio locations within the month. [9]
Customers have complained that their Ephemeral tattoos do not fade, [1] even after fifteen to nineteen months. [10] In response to these concerns, ink co-inventor Brennal Pierre [7] stated:
"As a researcher, I expect these things. We come up with what we think is an average in what the data has shown us, and that’s what we present. But when you put it out in the wild, different things happen." [10]
Dr. Roy Grekin, director of the Dermatologic Surgery and Laser Center at UC San Francisco stated he wasn’t surprised to hear that different people experienced different fade times with Ephemeral tattoos. [10]
Co-founder Joshua Sakhai stated:
"After the ink fades away, there is a possibility that the skin’s pigment may look lighter or darker in the area. This is a result of the tattoo process itself. Ephemeral tattoos, just like permanent ones, cause trauma to the skin, and this slight difference in pigmentation is a result of the skin’s healing process."' [11]
In 2015, Ephemeral won first place in the $200K Entrepreneurs Challenge [12] and in 2016, Inc. (magazine) named the company the Coolest College Startup. [5] [13]
A tattoo is a form of body modification made by inserting tattoo ink, dyes, and/or pigments, either indelible or temporary, into the dermis layer of the skin to form a design. Tattoo artists create these designs using several tattooing processes and techniques, including hand-tapped traditional tattoos and modern tattoo machines. The history of tattooing goes back to Neolithic times, practiced across the globe by many cultures, and the symbolism and impact of tattoos varies in different places and cultures.
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Permanent makeup, also known as permanent cosmetics, derma-pigmentation, micro-pigmentation, semi-permanent makeup and cosmetic tattooing, is a cosmetic technique which employs tattoos as a means of producing designs that resemble makeup, such as eye-lining and other permanent enhancing colors to the skin of the face, lips, and eyelids. It is also used to produce artificial eyebrows, particularly in people who have lost them as a consequence of old age, disease, such as alopecia areata, alopecia totalis, chemotherapy, or a genetic disturbance, and to disguise scars and hypopigmentation in the skin such as in vitiligo. It is also used to restore or enhance the breast's areola, such as after breast surgery, or to give an illusion of more hair volume to the scalp.
Vyvyn Lazonga is a tattoo artist who began her career in Seattle in the early 1970s and was trained by Danny Danzl. She was the first woman to work for herself in the industry, not her husband or another male shop owner. She worked in San Francisco and was tattooed by Ed Hardy in the 70s. She won the award for Best Tattooed Female in 1978 for his work. Later she was fortunate enough to meet Horiyoshi II at one of Lyle Tuttle's parties before returning in 1989 to open her studio in Seattle.
Tattoo inks consist of pigments combined with a carrier, used in the process of tattooing to create a tattoo in the skin. These inks are also used for permanent makeup, a form of tattoo.
Cover-up tattoos are those done over one or more previous tattoos, scars, or skin conditions.
A skin pen is type of pen applied to skin to create an image. These kinds of pens are frequently used by surgeons before proceeding with surgery for either medical purposes or cosmetic surgery. They are also often used in tattoo parlours before applying the actual permanent ink.
Jagua tattoo is a temporary form of skin decoration resulting from the application of an extract of the fruit Genipa americana, also known as jagua. This fruit has been used for body ornamentation and medicinal purposes in many areas of South America for centuries. It has recently been introduced in North America and Europe as an addition to henna body art, also called mehendi, mehandi, or mehndi in India.
Sailor tattoos are traditions of tattooing among sailors, including images with symbolic meanings. These practices date back to at least the 16th century among European sailors, and since colonial times among American sailors. People participating in these traditions have included military service members in national navies, seafarers in whaling and fishing fleets, and civilian mariners on merchant ships and research vessels. Sailor tattoos have served as protective talismans in sailors' superstitions, records of important experiences, markers of identity, and means of self-expression.
Tattoos hold rich historical and cultural significance as permanent markings on the body, conveying personal, social, and spiritual meanings. However, religious interpretations of tattooing vary widely, from acceptance and endorsement to strict prohibitions associating it with the desecration of the sacred body.
The process or technique of tattooing, creating a tattoo, involves the insertion of pigment into the skin's dermis. Traditionally, tattooing often involved rubbing pigment into cuts. Modern tattooing almost always requires the use of a tattoo machine and often procedures and accessories to reduce the risk to human health.
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Microblading is a tattooing technique which uses a small handheld tool made of several tiny needles to add semi-permanent pigment to the skin. Microblading differs from standard eyebrow tattooing, a form of permanent makeup, as each hair stroke is created by hand with a blade that creates fine slices in the skin, whereas eyebrow tattoos are done with a tattoo machine. Microblading is used on eyebrows to create, enhance, or alter their appearance in shape and color. It deposits pigment into the upper region of the dermis, so it fades more rapidly than traditional tattooing techniques. Microblading is often referred to as eyebrow embroidery, eyebrow feathering, microstroking, 3D eyebrows, nanoblading or hair-like strokes.
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Blackout tattoos are a type of tattoo that involves tattooing an area of the body completely black. Although many people get blackout tattoos as a standalone piece, they are also a method of covering up unwanted tattoos.