What makes tattoos permanent? - Claudia Aguirre

Zakaj so tetovaže trajne? - Claudia Aguirre

Translator: Nika Kotnik Reviewer: Matej Divjak

Tattoos have often been presented

Tetovaže so v popularnih medijih pogosto predstavljene

in popular media as either marks of the dangerous and deviant

kot znak nevarnih in deviantnih

or trendy youth fads.

ali kot modna muha mladih.

But while tattoo styles come and go,

A čeprav različni stili tetovaž pridejo in grejo,

and their meaning has differed greatly across cultures,

in se njihov pomen med kulturami močno razlikuje,

the practice is as old as civilization itself.

je ta praksa stara toliko kot civilizacija sama.

Decorative skin markings have been discovered in human remains

Dekorativne okraske na koži so opazili v človeških ostankih

all over the world,

po celem svetu,

with the oldest found on a Peruvian mummy dating back to 6,000 BCE.

najstarejše so našli na peruvijski mumiji iz leta 6000 pr. n. št.

Ampak, ste se kdaj spraševali, kako tetoviranje dejansko poteka?

But have you ever wondered how tattooing really works?

You may know that we shed our skin,

Morda veste, da se koža lušči,

losing about 30-40,000 skin cells per hour.

izgubimo približno 30-40.000 kožnih celic na uro.

That's about 1,000,000 per day.

To je približno 1.000.000 na dan.

So, how come the tattoo doesn't gradually flake off along with them?

Kako torej, da se tetovaža ne olušči postopoma skupaj z njimi?

The simple answer is that tattooing involves

Preprost odgovor je, da tetoviranje prenese pigment globje v kožo,

getting pigment deeper into the skin

than the outermost layer that gets shed.

kot je zunanja plast, ki se olušči.

Throughout history, different cultures

Skozi zgodovino so različne kulture uporabljale različne načine tetoviranja.

have used various methods to accomplish this.

But the first modern tattooing machine

A prva moderna naprava za tetoviranje

was modeled after Thomas Edison's engraving machine

je bila oblikovana po napravi za graviranje Thomasa Edisona

and ran on electricity.

in jo je poganjala elektrika.

Tattooing machines used today

Moderne naprave za tetoviranje

insert tiny needles, loaded with dye, into the skin

v kožo zapičijo drobne igle, napolnjene z barvo,

at a frequency of 50 to 3,000 times per minute.

50 do 3000-krat na minuto.

The needles punch through the epidermis,

Igle prodrejo skozi epidermis,

allowing ink to seep deep into the dermis,

da črnilo lahko prodre globoko v dermis,

which is composed of collagen fibers, nerves, glands, blood vessels and more.

ki je sestavljen iz kolagenskih vlaken, živcev, žlez, krvnih žil in še česa.

Every time a needle penetrates, it causes a wound

Vsakič, ko žila prodre v kožo, ustvari rano,

that alerts the body to begin the inflammatory process,

ki opozori telo, da naj začne z vnetnim procesom

in pokliče celice imunskega sistema na mesto rane, da popravijo kožo.

calling immune system cells to the wound site

to begin repairing the skin.

And it is this very process that makes tattoos permanent.

Prav ta proces naredi tetovažo trajno.

First, specialized cells called macrophages

Kot prvo, specializirane celice, imenovane makrofagi,

eat the invading material in an attempt to clean up the inflammatory mess.

pojedo tuj material, da bi počistile vnetno zmešnjavo.

Ko te celice potujejo skozi limfatični sistem,

As these cells travel through the lymphatic system,

some of them are carried back with a belly full of dye into the lymph nodes

gredo nekatere s polnim trebuhi barve v bezgavke,

medtem ko druge ostanejo v dermisu.

while others remain in the dermis.

With no way to dispose of the pigment,

Ker barve ne morejo odstraniti,

the dyes inside them remain visible through the skin.

je barvilo v njih vidno skozi kožo.

Some of the ink particles are also suspended

Nekateri delci črnila so prav tako ujeti v gelu podobnem matriksu dermisa,

in the gel-like matrix of the dermis,

while others are engulfed by dermal cells called fibroblasts.

medtem ko druge pogoltnejo dermalne celice imenovane fibroblasti.

Sprva je črnilo odloženo tudi v epidermisu,

Initially, ink is deposited into the epidermis as well,

but as the skin heals, the damaged epidermal cells are shed

a ko se koža celi, se poškodovane epidermalne celice oluščijo

and replaced by new, dye-free cells

in jih nadomestijo nove celice, brez barvila,

with the topmost layer peeling off like a heeling sunburn.

najbolj zgornja plast pa se odlušči kot sončna opeklina.

Blistering or crusting is not typically seen with professional tattoos

Žulji in kraste se pri profesionalnih tetovažah ponavadi ne pojavljajo

and complete epidermal regeneration requires 2-4 weeks,

in popolna obnova epidermisa traja 2-4 tedne,

during which excess sun exposure and swimming

takrat se izogibamo izpostavljenosti soncu in plavanju, da preprečimo bledenje.

should be avoided to prevent fading.

Dermalne celice pa ostanejo na svojem mestu dokler ne umrejo.

Dermal cells, however, remain in place until they die.

When they do, they are taken up, ink and all, by younger cells nearby,

Ko umrejo, jih pogoltnejo, skupaj s črnilom, mlade celice blizu njih,

so the ink stays where it is.

zato črnilo ostane, kjer je.

But with time, tattoos do fade naturally

A s časom tetovaže zbledijo zaradi odziva telesa na tuje pigmentne delce,

as the body reacts to the alien pigment particles,

slowly breaking them down to be carried off

ki jih počasi razkraja, da jih lahko odnesejo makrofagi imunskega sistema.

by the immune system's macrophages.

Ultraviolet radiation can also contribute to this pigment breakdown,

Ultravijolično sevanje prav tako prispeva k razkrajanju pigmenta,

though it can be mitigated by the use of sunblock.

čeprav lahko to upočasni uporaba zaščite pred soncem.

A ker so dermalne celice relativno stabilne,

But since the dermal cells are relatively stable,

much of the ink will remain deep in the skin for a person's whole life.

bo večina črnila ostala globoko v koži celo življenje.

But if tattoos are embedded in your skin for life, is there any way to erase them?

A če so tetovaže za vedno v vaši koži, jih lahko kako izbrišemo?

Technically, yes.

Načeloma, ja.

Today, a laser is used to penetrate the epidermis

Danes uporabljamo laser, da prodremo skozi epidermis

and blast apart underlying pigment colors of various wavelengths,

in razbijemo spodaj ležeče pigmente z različnimi valovnimi dolžinami,

black being the easiest to target.

pri čemer je črno najlažje naciljati.

The laser beam breaks the ink globules into smaller particles

Laser razgradi skupke črnila v manjše delce,

that can then be cleared away by the macrophages.

ki jih nato lahko odstranijo makrofagi.

But some color inks are harder to remove than others,

A nekatere barve črnila je težje odstraniti kot druge

and there could be complications.

in lahko se pojavijo zapleti.

For this reason, removing a tattoo is still more difficult than getting one,

Zato je odstraniti tetovažo težje, kot jo je narediti -

but not impossible.

a ni nemogoče.

So a single tattoo may not truly last forever,

Zato morda posamezna tetovaža ne bo v resnici trajala večno,

but tattoos have been around longer than any existing culture.

a tetovaže obstajajo dlje kot katerakoli obstoječa kultura.

And their continuing popularity means that the art of tattooing is here to stay.

Njihova naraščajoča priljubljenost pomeni, da umetnost tetoviranja ne bo izginila.