OMFG!, that is realy creepy.

By the way, that doesn’t make third grade burns in your skin? 0_o

Posted at 5:01 pm on Jul 5th, 2008 by DriX

that is so fantastically ridiculous and dangerous… not that the laser is terribly dangerous; more for the incredibly fast print head. the video reminds me of “Starship Troopers”, i love it. it’s probably not deep, i wonder if they heal up after a few months.

make a small one, get it FDA approved! it’s the wave of the future!

Posted at 5:04 pm on Jul 5th, 2008 by emilio

Now that’s f*****g hardcore!

Of course it still seams kind of stupid, just a geekier version of burning a tattoo into your skin with a hot paper clip.

Posted at 5:25 pm on Jul 5th, 2008 by Wolf

Besides the fact that it is totally stupid, (dunno why im thinking about cordless drill piercings while watching this) electric circuit board tatoo would look quite interesting

Posted at 5:36 pm on Jul 5th, 2008 by HE3r0

So… how long does that actually last? I bet if the FDA studied it, it would show that it gives everyone cancer.

Posted at 5:39 pm on Jul 5th, 2008 by redleader

O M G thts the f***in best idea ever … ever !!
hmmm tht is soo tempting t do, my friend owns one of these marvelous contraptions, i think i may b paying him a visit ! lol … FREE TATOOS !!!!
ill let u no how it goes !! :S hopefully my hand will still exist ! … rephrase … hopefully my hand will still be on my arm !!!!!!!!
t3Kn1K

Posted at 5:39 pm on Jul 5th, 2008 by t3Kn1K

skin cancer???

Posted at 6:05 pm on Jul 5th, 2008 by Aaron

who is crazy enough to burn pictures like these shown here into their skin without being tremendously sure about whether they lasted only a few weeks…

I’d surely not like to spend the rest of my life with that instructables-robot on my arm…

on the other hand, if it only lasts short, it could be a funny alternative, (with the right cooling), it surely looks way more alien than ink-tattoos…

Posted at 6:52 pm on Jul 5th, 2008 by pascal

why would the FDA have to approve it? a laser cutter or a tattoo gun is not a food item or a drug and thus does not have to be regulated through the FDA. I may be wrong but i am fairly sure that i am not. Unless somebody can show otherwise.

I think thats a great idea. I have a tattoo and planing to get more in the future. I think that this would be fun to at least try once.

Posted at 8:03 pm on Jul 5th, 2008 by jarhead jay

It works like suntan lotion ; not so much but same idea .

You put the lotion on and bake in the sun ; now you
got a outline of what you made . go’s away in a few months

laser tattoo work in the same way
it burns your skin with 2nd degree burns
after a like 3-6 months it gos away .
skin heals it self and the old flakes off
; NOW if you use ink while you do it your looking
at 9 months to 1 1/2 years till it fades .
long term usage of inks IS bad for you .
The ink was NOT made for humans and contains
harmful poisons

Posted at 11:44 pm on Jul 5th, 2008 by david henderson

I don’t really think that can cause you cancer, that isn’t due exposure to UVR?

Well, i already have burned several times with tips of solders and others things… and is not really forever.

Really cool.. just… meaby to painful XD.

Posted at 12:04 am on Jul 6th, 2008 by Sdlion

@henderson

I’m not sure this is the same sort of thing. The mechanism by which skin tans, and the process by which it burns are probably very different, ie, i don’t think a tan is just a light burn. Your probably right about how long the scar will last, though that might vary quite a bit, depending on the depth of the burn.

Posted at 2:52 am on Jul 6th, 2008 by Wolf

sooo, IS IT permanent or now?

Posted at 11:53 am on Jul 6th, 2008 by rasz

im about 75% sure this ant good for your skin …. but idd get one if i had a laser cutter (hint hint cough hvhaxor@gmail.com cough)

Posted at 2:41 pm on Jul 6th, 2008 by alex mccown

Anyone who works with lasers has done this on purpose or accident. I have worked with lasers for years and when we are bored we will burn a design or two on our hands.
it only burns the epidermis layer of skin on the hand if the power settings are correct. Depending on the depth of the burn, it can last for a few days to a week.

Posted at 11:53 am on Jul 7th, 2008 by wetsmellydog

i think its a perfect solution to not using a needle.
one less step in possible introduction to contamination.
and besides, remember the movie “STARSHIP TROOPERS” ?
They got Laser Tats while on shore leave !!!

Dude, If you could create a complete sterile environment that would give you a Laser Tat. You could make a fortune !!! Strap the body part(arm or leg) down and introduce a positive air environment AND then utilize some sort of harmless natural pigment into the mix.

And I too believe the FDA would not have jurisdiction on this. But you know lawyers are biting at the bit on this one.

Posted at 2:21 pm on Jul 8th, 2008 by troy nall

i’m Q branch from instructables. it’s a neat project, someone always has to be the first to try new things, some work, some don’t. this idea may actually have commercial use though. unlike the sewing machine tattoo that someone suggested and that i tried. sorta bent the needle when it hit bone, and removing the thread was the worst. don’t do this, i only did it because tetranitrate didn’t do it.

Posted at 2:49 pm on Jul 8th, 2008 by Q branch

it would only cause skin cancer f it was in the UV spectrum, this is a Co2 laser, and puts out IR light. will make you go blind, and a stronger laser might kill you if something goes wrong, or might at least cut off your hand.

Posted at 2:52 pm on Jul 8th, 2008 by Q branch

It CAN produce cancer because it’s a burn. No matter the type of laser, if you DESTROY the protection against UV (from sunlight, not the laser itself), exposed BURNED AND THEREFORE UNPROTECTED skin absorbs the UV, even in cloudy days. Why I know this? Because a friend had severe electrical burns, and the doctor ORDERED him to use very high factor sun protection AND DO NOT sunbath in a year. This, after the burned skin were apparently healed. And, amateurish use of industrial lasers can too easily burn something more than the three existing skin capes. Just think of the recent incident in Russia, they damaged PERMANENTLY the eyes of 30 youngsters in a party with a RECREATIVE laser. But hey, if it looks cool, what’s the matter if the arm drops by itself in a couple years?

Posted at 4:08 pm on Jul 17th, 2008 by Frank

bien…ehh…..sabeis español??no??pues traducid esto: SOIS UNOS GILIPOLLAS!!!!

Posted at 7:22 pm on Jul 17th, 2008 by andresin

qué subnormal

Posted at 5:48 am on Jul 18th, 2008 by t-FI

Yes this could lead to skin cancer. Anything that damages cells and causes them to need to regenerate could possibly lead to cancer. Even when your cells are slowly dying naturally this can lead to cancer, although it isn’t as likely. Damaging your skin like this will lead to more cells needing to be produced and a higher chance of caner simply because there are more chances. Think of each cell as a chance, and with this while you might not be increasing the percentage chance on a cell by cell basis (what most carcinogens do) it is giving it more opportunities to happen.

Posted at 4:10 am on Jul 25th, 2008 by bobk

more like loser tattoos

Posted at 9:15 pm on Nov 16th, 2008 by chuck

Is it painful?

Posted at 12:48 am on Nov 26th, 2008 by Tattoo and Piersing

nerdXcore

Posted at 12:07 pm on Jan 20th, 2009 by arthur

to jarhead jay. any products that emit electromagnetic radiation are regulated by the fda including things like tv’s(crt types), dvd/cd drives, wireless routers, etc.. and yes, lasers too :)

Posted at 3:40 pm on Jan 20th, 2009 by Jebedia

i find it amusing watching the red spot around the burns move across his hand/arm with the laser

Posted at 7:00 pm on Jan 20th, 2009 by dubya

@ jebedia
You are confusing the FDA and the FCC (federal communications commission) which regulates all things radio and such.

Crazy idea, laser tattoo. Welcome to the 21st centure !

Posted at 2:54 am on Jan 21st, 2009 by gen

Hi i’m a medical engineer, and i have some experience on the use of medical lasers. So i would like to make some comments.

First the amount of damage that a laser does on the skin depends on the wavelength of the laser and its power output.

Second the type of damage is first-second-third degree burn and can get up to evaporation of tissue.

Third what you see at the picture is probably a second degree burn with evaporation of the skin surface cells. Whether it will leave a scar depends on the power output of the laser that the guy used i.e how deep the radiation got. If the damage is too deep the skin healing process creates scar tissue.

fourth whether the guy will get skin cancer depends on the laser wavelength AND how many times he will repeat the process on the same area.

(sorry for my bad English)

Posted at 6:14 am on Jan 21st, 2009 by kab0upas

i drew some things on my hand using an arc to burn the skin out of boredom once, the end product looked basically the same as this, everything went away after a few weeks

Posted at 9:44 am on Jan 21st, 2009 by DRK!

gen, trust me, i deal with the forms every day. i’m a u.s. customs broker. anything that emits radiation requires not only fcc docs, but also an fda radiation declaration form http://www.fda.gov/opacom/morechoices/fdaforms/FDA-2877.pdf
check it out if you don’t believe me

Posted at 8:21 pm on Jan 21st, 2009 by jebedia

last night i dreamt that i got a laser tattoo that would fade after a while, only i got it 3 or 4 times in the same spot and then developed cancer.

the reason for the cancer was because of the laser combined with burning of skin. and somehow it was connected to nintendo wii.

ooo, it’s a prophecy!

Posted at 8:12 am on Feb 1st, 2009 by me

Thats nuts. I was also reading the other day about tattoos that monitor gluclose blood. Tattoos are getting pretty crazy.

Posted at 6:42 pm on Mar 4th, 2009 by Matt

Someone needs to get that underage kid into a mental hospital. There are actual laser tattoo machines. Why did this child do this? Where are his parents/guardian(s)/childsitter(s)? That is frickin ridiculous.

Posted at 10:39 pm on Mar 8th, 2009 by wtj?