📸 A tattoo at 280× magnification — where art meets science.
This striking image shows the exact moment a tattoo needle pierces human skin, captured under a scanning electron microscope (SEM) at 280× magnification by Anne Weston of the Francis Crick Institute.
The photo reveals the skin’s outermost layer — the stratum corneum, made of keratin-rich corneocytes — and the tiny puncture created by the needle. Beneath it lies the dermis, where tattoo ink settles permanently.
According to the Mayo Clinic, tattooing works by injecting pigments into this second skin layer. Because the dermis doesn’t shed cells like the epidermis does, the ink remains locked in place for life — explaining why tattoos don’t fade away like a scrape or a tan.
The SEM technique uses an electron beam rather than visible light, producing high-resolution, topographical images of microscopic landscapes. It’s similar to how radar maps the seafloor or LiDAR scans terrain — only here, the “terrain” is human skin under the shock of art in progress.
A perfect blend of biology, physics, and body art, this image reminds us that even a centuries-old tradition still has fascinating science beneath its surface.
Source: Anne Weston, Francis Crick Institute
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