Innovation and digital journalist Anicet Mbida presented a new painless tattoo technique on the French morning show Bonjour ! La Matinale TF1. Inspired in part by children's transfer decals, the technology allows users to apply permanent tattoos without a tattoo artist or pain.
The process begins by selecting a design from a catalog of about ten models. Each small one-centimeter design comes on a self-adhesive patch placed onto an applicator for skin transfer. Inside the patch, hundreds of tiny microneedles contain black ink. The needles are so small that users feel almost nothing when they pierce the skin.
After about 15 minutes, the needles disappear and release the ink beneath the skin, leaving a real permanent tattoo. The process costs about 50 euros, takes a quarter of an hour, and is painless.
Patch limits and future availability
Mbida said the technology does not pose a threat to professional tattoo artists and will not replace them. Patch tattoos are restricted to a single color, black, and have a slightly pixelated appearance around the microneedles that differs from professional artwork.
The ultimate goal of the technology is to make the patches available on the internet for home application. However, Mbida cautioned that home use raises hygiene concerns and joked about the risk of someone waking up after a night of drinking with a tattoo on their forehead. He stated that he hopes the technique remains strictly regulated and performed in shops rather than at home.
