What makes tattoos permanent? - Claudia Aguirre

為何紋身不會消失？— 克勞迪亞·阿吉雷 (Claudia Aguirre)

譯者: ruby chang 審譯者: Regina Chu

Tattoos have often been presented

大眾媒體經常介紹刺青

in popular media as either marks of the dangerous and deviant

像是危險和另類的標誌

or trendy youth fads.

或是時髦的年輕時尚。

But while tattoo styles come and go,

但當紋身風格變來變去時，

and their meaning has differed greatly across cultures,

不同的文化會有著 非常不同的含意

the practice is as old as civilization itself.

這項民俗和文明社會的歷史一樣悠久

Decorative skin markings have been discovered in human remains

在世界各地，都有發現人類遺骸

皮膚上都有裝飾的圖騰

all over the world,

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

最早的發現可追溯到

西元前 6000 年的秘魯木乃伊

But have you ever wondered how tattooing really works?

但你有沒有想過 刺青到底是怎麼刺的？

You may know that we shed our skin,

你應該知道我們的皮膚會脫落

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

皮膚細胞大概每小時 會死 3 到 4 萬

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

也就是一天約 1 百萬

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

那麼為什麼刺青 不會隨著皮膚細胞脫落？

簡單來說，因為刺青的顏料 不是刺在會脫落的皮膚表層

The simple answer is that tattooing involves

getting pigment deeper into the skin

than the outermost layer that gets shed.

而是刺進皮膚的更深層

Throughout history, different cultures

縱觀歷史，不同的文化 有很多種不同的刺青方法

have used various methods to accomplish this.

But the first modern tattooing machine

第一個現代紋身機器

was modeled after Thomas Edison's engraving machine

是以湯瑪士愛迪生的雕刻機為藍本

and ran on electricity.

以電力驅動

Tattooing machines used today

現代用的紋身機

insert tiny needles, loaded with dye, into the skin

細微針頭吸取墨水刺進皮膚

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

以每分鐘刺 50 到 3000 下的頻率

The needles punch through the epidermis,

針頭刺穿皮膚表層

allowing ink to seep deep into the dermis,

讓墨水滲進真皮層

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

那是由膠原纖維

神經

分泌腺

血管等組成的

Every time a needle penetrates, it causes a wound

每一次針頭刺下都會造成傷口

that alerts the body to begin the inflammatory process,

讓身體產生發炎反應

calling immune system cells to the wound site

免疫系統的細胞開始修復受傷的皮膚

to begin repairing the skin.

And it is this very process that makes tattoos permanent.

就是這樣的過程 讓紋身永遠留在皮膚上

First, specialized cells called macrophages

一開始

一種名叫巨噬細胞的特殊細胞

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

吃掉入侵物質 企圖消炎

As these cells travel through the lymphatic system,

這些細胞遊走淋巴系統

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

一部分細胞帶著染料進入淋巴結

while others remain in the dermis.

其他的留在真皮層

With no way to dispose of the pigment,

這樣顏色就不會跑掉

the dyes inside them remain visible through the skin.

皮膚上就可看到留下的色素

一些墨水顆粒會懸浮在 真皮的凝膠狀基質

Some of the ink particles are also suspended

in the gel-like matrix of the dermis,

while others are engulfed by dermal cells called fibroblasts.

其他的會被名為纖維原細胞的 真皮細胞吞噬

Initially, ink is deposited into the epidermis as well,

其實，色素也應該沉積在表皮層

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

但當皮膚癒合 受損的表皮細胞脫落

and replaced by new, dye-free cells

換成沒有染色的新細胞

with the topmost layer peeling off like a heeling sunburn.

脫落後，表皮淺層看起來會像曬傷

Blistering or crusting is not typically seen with professional tattoos

專業的刺青比較不會起水泡或結痂

and complete epidermal regeneration requires 2-4 weeks,

表皮再生過程需要約 2-4 周

during which excess sun exposure and swimming

期間，避免褪色 不要過度曬太陽或游泳

should be avoided to prevent fading.

染色的真皮細胞在死之前都會留著

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

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

而死後 周圍的年輕細胞會接收其顏色

so the ink stays where it is.

所以顏色仍會留下

But with time, tattoos do fade naturally

但紋身仍會隨著時間變淡 身體會對外來的顏料顆粒做出反應

as the body reacts to the alien pigment particles,

slowly breaking them down to be carried off

免疫系統的巨噬細胞 會慢慢將顆粒打散帶走

by the immune system's macrophages.

紫外線也會打散顆粒

Ultraviolet radiation can also contribute to this pigment breakdown,

though it can be mitigated by the use of sunblock.

雖然擦防曬乳就可以避免紫外線

但因真皮細胞相對穩定

But since the dermal cells are relatively stable,

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

大部分一輩子都會留在 較深層的皮膚內

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

如果紋身一輩子都不會褪 那我們有辦法消除它嗎?

Technically, yes.

技術上來說， 可以

Today, a laser is used to penetrate the epidermis

現今，雷射可以穿透表皮層

and blast apart underlying pigment colors of various wavelengths,

並打散不同波長的顏料

black being the easiest to target.

黑色最容易消除

The laser beam breaks the ink globules into smaller particles

激光束破壞帶有色素的細胞 變成較小的顆粒

that can then be cleared away by the macrophages.

巨噬細胞會清理帶走這些顆粒

但有些顏色就比較難清除

But some color inks are harder to remove than others,

and there could be complications.

方法就會複雜一些

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

所以消除紋身會比刺上身難的多

but not impossible.

但也不是不可能消除

So a single tattoo may not truly last forever,

所以紋身並非永恆不滅

but tattoos have been around longer than any existing culture.

紋身歷史比任何文化歷史都長

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

它的普及代表著 刺青藝術已被大眾接受