New tattoo ink means "4ever" needn't be permanent
We're not really sure how that late night of Red Bull-fueled coding wrapped up at a sketchy tattoo parlor, but needless to say we were beyond regretful when we woke up the next morning with "1337" emblazoned in huge black numbers on the back of our neck. Unfortunately for our bad-ass reputation and the integrity of our sensitive neck skin, tattoo removal was and still is an expensive, imperfect procedure; it can take up to 12 painful sessions and $5,000 to get that damn ink out, and even then, there's a possibility of permanent, disfiguring scars. So you can imagine our bitterness delight when we learned of a new type of removable ink from a New York-based company called Freedom-2 that, while it won't do anything to hide our shame, promises to help other remorseful human canvases remove their mistakes with only one simple laser treatment. This revolutionary ink -- only available in black for now -- is encapsulated in microscopic polymethylmethacrylate beads (the same synthetic material used to make surgical glue) that fall apart when exposed to laser energy, after which the body's natural ability to expel foreign particles kicks in and does the rest. Freedom-2's CEO, Martin Schmieg, predicts that his company's ink should only add about $50 to the cost of an average tattoo -- a small price to pay to ensure that you don't have to live with your ex's name on your bicep for the rest of your life. Like we said before, this technology comes just a little too late for our neck, but you better believe that once they begin manufacturing this ink in cyan, we're gonna be first in line to get the ol' Engadget "e" tatted right smack in the middle of our forehead.
[Via Book of Joe]
