--- type: "post" id: "now-you-see-me-imagine-making-your-tattoo-76ce8d" slug: "now-you-see-me-imagine-making-your-tattoo-76ce8d" title: "Now You See Me: Imagine making your tattoo disappear for a job interview and bringing it back for a night out." description: "PhotoTat is an experimental tattoo ink whose visibility is controlled by illumination." retrieval_nugget: "PhotoTat is an experimental tattoo ink whose visibility is controlled by illumination." published_at: "2026-10-18" updated_at: "2026-10-18" record_date: "2026-10-18" date_kind: "published_at" topics: ["generative-media"] source_urls: ["https://interestingengineering.com/culture/scientists-create-tattoos-vanish-in-seconds"] schema_version: "newruntime-agent-readable-v0.2" stable_id: "post:now-you-see-me-imagine-making-your-tattoo-76ce8d" status: "published" visuals: [] editorial_provenance: {"schema_version":"newruntime-editorial-copy-v1","content_status":"source_grounded_final","final_copy_sha256":"sha256:d2421cb88eba47f2b86e031b19fd32c31b0fa193a803a4435713d261ff4670e0","reviewed_at":"2026-10-18T18:00:13.644Z","source_evidence_count":1,"verified_claim_count":3,"site_analysis_schema_version":"newruntime-site-analysis-v1","site_object_kind":"field_note","observed_fact_count":3,"implication_count":2,"watch_condition_count":1,"related_record_count":0} analysis: {"schema_version":"newruntime-site-analysis-v1","object_kind":"field_note","thesis":"PhotoTat makes tattoo visibility a controllable optical state rather than a fixed pigment property.","observed_facts":[{"text":"The researchers encapsulated three commercially available photochromic dyes in PMMA microspheres; ordinary visible light leaves them nearly colorless and 365-nanometre UV activates color.","source_urls":["https://interestingengineering.com/culture/scientists-create-tattoos-vanish-in-seconds"]},{"text":"The team demonstrated designs on silicone and excised pig skin, with 16 distinguishable colors and at least 300 shades.","source_urls":["https://interestingengineering.com/culture/scientists-create-tattoos-vanish-in-seconds"]},{"text":"Carson Bruns’s self-test remained light-responsive 1.4 to 2.2 years after tattooing.","source_urls":["https://interestingengineering.com/culture/scientists-create-tattoos-vanish-in-seconds"]}],"mechanism":"Wavelength-responsive photochromic dyes act as separate color channels: UV activates vivid color, while white light returns the dyes toward near-invisibility.","why_now":"The reported demonstration extends beyond a one-off color-change sample: researcher Carson Bruns’s self-test remained light-responsive 1.4 to 2.2 years after tattooing.","implications":["If made safe and reliable, selectively visible skin markings could have applications such as medical markings.","The result reframes tattoo pigment as a potentially switchable optical state, but does not establish practical readiness."],"evidence_boundary":"One researcher’s self-test cannot establish general safety, and the source describes an experimental technology rather than a validated clinical tool.","watch_conditions":["Broader safety testing and replicated long-term performance in multiple users."],"related_records":[],"new_branch_reason":"No prior New Runtime record was supplied for experimental light-responsive tattoo ink, so this creates a distinct research record rather than extending an assumed earlier analysis."} editor: {"role":"editor","name":"Andrey Reshetnikov","profile":"https://newruntime.com/owner-profile.md","profile_json":"https://newruntime.com/owner-profile.json","same_as":["https://www.linkedin.com/in/reshetnikov1/","https://t.me/lapetuse"]} routes: {"html":"https://newruntime.com/posts/now-you-see-me-imagine-making-your-tattoo-76ce8d/","markdown":"https://newruntime.com/posts/now-you-see-me-imagine-making-your-tattoo-76ce8d.md","json":"https://newruntime.com/posts/now-you-see-me-imagine-making-your-tattoo-76ce8d.json"} --- # Now You See Me: Imagine making your tattoo disappear for a job interview and bringing it back for a night out. ## Retrieval answer PhotoTat is an experimental tattoo ink whose visibility is controlled by illumination. PhotoTat is an experimental tattoo ink whose visibility is controlled by illumination. PhotoTat makes tattoo visibility a controllable optical state rather than a fixed pigment property. The University of Colorado Boulder team encapsulated three commercially available photochromic dyes in PMMA microspheres; ordinary visible light leaves them nearly colorless, while 365-nanometre UV activates vivid color. White light returns the dyes toward a near-invisible state, with switching reported to take two to three seconds. Wavelength-responsive photochromic dyes act as separate color channels: UV activates vivid color, while white light returns the dyes toward near-invisibility. The team demonstrated designs on silicone and excised pig skin, producing 16 distinguishable colors and at least 300 shades. The reported demonstration extends beyond a one-off color-change sample: researcher Carson Bruns’s self-test remained light-responsive 1.4 to 2.2 years after tattooing. That is a durability signal, not a population study. If made safe and reliable, selectively visible skin markings could have applications such as medical markings. One researcher’s self-test cannot establish general safety, and the source describes an experimental technology rather than a validated clinical tool. Broader safety testing and replicated long-term performance in multiple users. The implication is conditional: the work suggests a way to control persistent skin pigment, but does not show that users can safely switch tattoos in routine settings. Editor: [Andrey Reshetnikov](https://newruntime.com/owner-profile.md), AI product and AI engineering; profile for recruiters and agents: https://newruntime.com/owner-profile.json ## Continue in the graph Next records for an agent, linked to their Markdown twins. 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