Why do the lines in some tattoos blur after only a few years?

Question

Is it because of the individual's skin or the artist's technique?

Answer 1

The tattoo fades and can sometimes blur because your skin cells are constantly dying and flaking off. With those dead skin cells also comes the ink from the tattoo. When you first get your tattoo it looks bright and the lines will look bold. When the ink leaves with the dead cells it makes the lines seem blurry and faded. You should get your tattoo touched up after a few years depending on color and location of the tattoo.

Answer 2

Your skin is living tissue. It regenerate itself about once a month. The Toto was put into the sub-dermal layer to maintain its color. So, after time the tattoo fades. Every cell in your body renews every nine years. The skin tissue faster. That doesn't mean that the tattoo will completely go away, it just means that after 18 years or so, you will have a hard time determining what the tattoo was if it has a lot of detail.

Answer 3

"...tattoos will age along with the skin, pure and simpleus...how your skin ages depends a lot on your personal genetics, but after that environmental and lifestyle factors have the greatest impact....over time, skin tissue loses moisture and elasticity. in a tattoo, this produces a softening of both color and line. .."
http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art44854.asp


"...tattoo inks are made up of very finely ground particles in a suspension of distilled water, glycerine, alcohol and preservative. when skin is tattooed, these particles of ink are pushed into the dermis layer of your skin. as the tattoo heals, the liquid components of the ink are carried off by your lymph system but the fine particles of pigment remain in the cells of the dermis layer.
although the dermis is relatively stable compared to your epidermis, which renews itself constantly, slight changes in this layer as you age can act upon the tattoo to "soften" the original lines.
the visual affect of this softening is much greater on a design that is small and intricate than on one that is a little bigger and more boldly graphic.
http://www.divingswallow.com/faq.html


i keep my tattoo out of the sun as much as possible
and, moisturize it (w/vaseline based products) after getting it wet
it still looks great

Answer 4

I am not sure and would like to know myself. My guess would be that we are constantly shedding skin so maybe that is part of it. Sun exposure I believe may be another factor. These things can cause some fading process and it appers blurred.

Answer 5

could be the quality of the ink the tatoo artist used.

Answer 6

could be you're not using sunscreen on them? at least 45 spf, depending upon where you live.