So I understand that my xSIID is at about 5mm below the surface of the skin and tattoo needles go about that depth so getting a tattoo over the implant is dangerous. However, I’ve been looking into semipermanent tattoo inks and I was wondering if any one else has used them to mark their implants. Also, if anyone has any ideas on how to permanently tattoo without the needles that’d be dope.
Edit: anybody tried stick and poke tattoos?
re: stick and poke
That may work, but still presents a risk. A tattoo machine could jab a glass implant with enough force to crack it, but a stick and poke could still scratch the surface of the glass and create a place for biofilms to grow and allow infection. It’s your body, so do what you want. It’s just better to be informed.
No way - otherwise a tattoo on the fingers would end inside the bone 
The depth of a tattoo varies depending on the skin thickness, but the pigments should end up inside the middle layer of the skin, the dermis - that’s at most about 1-2 mm deep, usually less. Implants are usually placed underneath the skin (that’s why you can sometimes see little veins runnig over healed implants, especially flexies or silicone subdermals). So well, theoretically, a tattoo needle shouldn’t reach an implant - but it can happen, if the tattoo artist pokes a bit too deep.
Yep, but not above an implant. I think it’s similar - you can poke too deep with a needle, no matter if you guide it by hand or with a machine. The main difference is the speed - you have a lot more control when doing it by hand, compared to the 1000 - 7000 moves per minute a machine does. So while it might be possible, there is a risk still. Basically what @Satur9 said
Depending on the design you want, it might be a viable option to stretch the skin a bit, so it’s no longer directly above the implant while poking… might work for simple designs.
I’d be careful with those, no matter if implantee or not - some contain not-so-healthy stuff (ah, who am I to judge… ), and most important, they tend to fade very irregularly. There was some hype about “bio-tattoos” and such which were meant to just vanish after 5 years or so, and most of them didn’t, at least not fully…
Okay, so stick and poke is still a little sketch and semipermanent inks are unhealthy in the long term? Anyone know the safety of BodyMark or For Now ink?
This is something I’ve been toying with in my head to try and figure out how to combine an xSIID or two with a tattoo for a cool effect. After reading this thread it looks like the plan of attack should be to get the tattoo, get the implant, and then once healed, see if you can get the injection site re-tatted (if it’s even needed) since the implant should be far enough from that to not be a concern.
RE: Ink - I’m afraid I can’t help there (I don’t want to leave this thread hanging on the last question)
I think getting a standard tattoo over an implant is a bad idea in general because 2 mm is not something I trust someone from not accidentally going past. I mean if they hit it for a second there’s a decent chance of the glass capsule shattering. It’s probably better to get the tattoo first and then splint the implant while it heals.
My google-fu might be too bad, but I just find pencil-like stuff with those names - so, basically pens to draw a design on your skin that last for some days or weeks. Did you mean that or am I too stupid to find it? 
The pens I found are based on Jagua, a plant-based blueish dye that looks pretty safe and was used by South-American indigenous cultures for coloring of their skin. So I guess it’s fine to draw designs on your skin with that, though I’d not poke myself with it - if that was your intention. I think I might be getting something wrong here
edit: for anyone who cares, I found a little study about the toxicity of that plant extract:
Theyre brand names for semipermanent tattoo ink that is meant to be topical. For Now is Inkbox’s brand and BodyMark is BIC’s. I wouldn’t poke it either but I have access to a print shop and I could cut a vinyl stencil for it. I was thinking I’d stencil it over the implant once or twice a month when it fades too much.
Ah okay, those were the ones I found as well - I think topical application sounds quite okay, safety-wise. If I read the study correctly, jagua itself is pretty harmless, so it just depends on the other stuff they put inside their pens (or on their stencils).
This question has been asked a few times, and you’ve had so great answers above
Here’s a little more to consider
If I was in your situation, this is what I would do
“not a reccomendion, simply what I would do”
Remove implant
Get tattoo
Reinsert implant
The time between is up to you, but I know how I would do it…
OR
Can you incorporate a void/ negative space into your design?
OR
Does your implant move?
can it be pushed out of the way? or is it fully encapsulated?
Where’s your commitment 
Here’s an alternative, It’s pretty subtle, But I quite like the whole concept
READ MORE 
I mean I’d rather not risk breaking it or causing problems and I don’t care enough to remove it and then reimplant. If I can get a topical solution to this or a solution that doesn’t include jabbing a needle concerningly close to the implant that would be sick but otherwise it’s fine. I’ll just live with it like this. I also like the idea of being able to tweak the design before I actually implant it.
I have the answer, and it ticks ALL your boxes
Semi permanent
No needles
No chance of damaging implants
Can go over an implant
get yourself some sticker Tattoos
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I think I’m gonna go with Jagua gel and see what I can do with it before I figure out something more permanent or upgrade the chip and need to reimplant anyways.
Even though it’s been linked to by our resident AI, I just want to say that any definitive discussion about depth of anything is highly suspect. Every individual body is different as well as each healing process. One person could have 1 mm tissue between surface of the skin and implant surface, and in another location or in the same location on the other side of the body have a different amount of tissue between. It’s so subjective and at the mercy of almost random chance when it comes to the installation procedure and how things are done and how people’s bodies heal that any claims of depth need to be extremely broad to be remotely accurate, rendering the whole thing moot. Anywhere from 0.5 mm to 5 mm could be the case.
Heh you should have a keyword (like how xSIID and NExT work) for your dangerous disclaimer similar to what’s posted to the store page under each dangerous item.
I had a hand-poked tattoo done by a friend of mine directly over my implant, done in the woods by the campfire too. Not like me to do something like that (first tat) but glad I had it, everything was fine with it.
Well, I have had a very large hand tattoo over 2 implants and it would never have gone near it. Tattoos are not very deep. Implants should be deep enough to be out the way 
Message me if you want more assurance
Peter
