What is a tattoo? A plain definition

People use the word tattoo all the time, but if you are thinking about your first one, it helps to have a clear definition. A clear definition tells you what you are agreeing to, what the process involves, and why artists and health agencies talk about tattoos the way they do. This post gives a plain definition and then walks through what follows from it.

A plain definition

Encyclopaedia Britannica defines a tattoo as a permanent mark or design made on the body by the introduction of pigment through ruptures in the skin. There are three parts to that sentence, and each one matters.

The first part is that the mark is permanent. It is not meant to wash off, peel off, or wear away in a few days. The second part is pigment. A tattoo is made with colored material, and that material is what you see once the skin has healed. The third part is the way the pigment gets there, which is through ruptures in the skin. The skin is opened in a controlled way, and the pigment is placed inside it.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration uses a related word, intradermal, to describe this kind of tattoo. Intradermal means within the skin. In its fact sheet on tattoos and permanent makeup, the FDA treats the inks used in intradermal tattoos as cosmetics. Put together, a tattoo is a design that sits inside the skin, not on top of it.

Why the pigment has to go inside the skin

Think about what happens to anything placed only on the surface of your skin. Marker, paint, face paint and stickers all sit on top. Water, soap, clothing and time remove them. A mark that stays for years has to be placed where those things do not reach every day. That is the practical meaning of putting pigment through the skin.

This is also why a tattoo is not the same as drawing on yourself. The process has to open the skin, which is why cleanliness and sterile equipment are part of every serious conversation about tattooing. We come back to that below.

What "permanent" means in practice

Permanent does not mean unchanging. The FDA notes that tattoos may fade over time, and that the body and popular styles change as the years go by. That is one reason some people become unhappy with a tattoo and start asking about removal.

Plan for permanence by thinking in years, not weeks. Ask yourself whether you will still like this design in ten years. Ask whether the placement suits your work, your clothes and your plans. Ask whether the size is right, and whether the design would still read well if its lines soften a little with time. These are not trick questions. They are the practical questions that follow from a definition built on the word permanent.

It also helps to separate the idea from the first sketch. An idea can be strong and still need work before it becomes a good design. Good designs are usually worked out with the artist, who can tell you how a drawing will behave on skin. Give yourself room to change the design before the day of the appointment, and treat a pause to think as a normal part of the process.

What a tattoo is not

It helps to know the neighbors of the word tattoo so you do not mix them up.

A temporary tattoo is a different product. The FDA describes temporary tattoos as fading within several days. Because a temporary tattoo is not made by placing pigment through the skin, it does not fit the definition above.

Henna is also different. The FDA says henna is approved only as a hair dye, not for use on skin, and it raises concerns about products sold as black henna. A separate post covers those in more detail.

Scarring by design is another practice. Britannica notes that the word tattoo is sometimes applied loosely to the deliberate making of scars, which is called cicatrization. That is not tattooing in the strict sense, because pigment is the point of a tattoo.

Why safety is part of the definition

Because a tattoo is made by opening the skin, health agencies pay attention to it. The FDA lists several risks. Unsterile equipment or contaminated ink can pass on infections, including staph infections and diseases such as HIV and hepatitis. Allergic reactions are described as rare, but they can be hard to treat, and they can appear in tattoos that are years old. The FDA also names granulomas and keloids as possible problems, with a higher keloid risk for people who are prone to them.

None of this is a reason to be afraid of tattoos. It is a reason to treat the first appointment as a real decision and to ask questions. If you have a health concern, such as a skin condition or a tendency to scar, talk with your doctor before you book. And if you ever need an MRI, the FDA says you should not avoid a recommended scan because of a tattoo. Tell the radiologist or technologist about your tattoos instead.

Questions to bring to your first conversation

A good first conversation is mostly questions. You might ask how the artist would approach your idea, how the design will look in a few years, what the process looks like from start to finish, and what to expect during healing. You might also ask how the shop handles clean equipment and single-use items, since that is part of the safety picture described above.

Bring a clear idea of where you want the tattoo and how large you want it, but stay open to advice. An artist who explains why a change would help your design is giving you useful information, not taking over your idea.

Write your questions down before you go, because it is easy to forget them once you are in the room. It also helps to bring any reference images you like, even if they only show a mood or a style. References give the artist something concrete to respond to, and they make it easier to talk about what you like and what you do not.

Putting the definition to work

A tattoo is a permanent mark made by placing pigment through the skin. Each part of that definition leads to a practical step. Because it is permanent, you plan for the long term. Because it uses pigment, you can ask about the ink. Because it goes through the skin, you ask about cleanliness and local rules. Keep those three steps in mind and you will walk into your first appointment knowing what a tattoo is and what you are asking for.