To our Ephemeral customers,
While opening six studios and tattooing 10,000 of you, we’ve been blown away by this community’s shared passion for creativity and limitless self-expression. Because of you, Ephemeral continues to be able to offer the world the first and only real tattoo without a lifetime commitment - the only tattoo that is made-to-fade.
Today, we’re sharing several updates to our product, education and policies. These changes reflect the promise that you’ll love your Ephemeral and that, irrespective of where you fall within the fade range, your Ephemeral will 100 percent fade away.
FADE VARIABILITY
Ephemeral ink was designed to fade in about 9 to 15 months, as determined by both pre-launch case and clinical studies. Our tests included a diversity of participants, controlled for tattoo design, tattoo placements and varied skin type, as measured by the Fitzpatrick scale (a numerical classification schema for human skin color).
Since our public launch in 2021, our team of chemical engineers has made a number of improvements to Ephemeral ink to implement your requests and feedback. We’ve increased tattoo ink transfer to the skin leading to better tattoo vibrancy (for darker and clearer tattoos), expanded the number of body placements we can tattoo (such as ribs or ears), increased tattoo design complexity (leading to richer shading and finer lines) and shortened tattoo healing times.
These improvements in tattoo vibrancy, placement, design and healing have led to more options, meaning more variability in fade durations by individuals.
Based on active customer fade monitoring and our ongoing Ephemeral Labs program (a testing environment for friends and family), we now expect based on the most popular tattoo design and placement choices that 70 percent of all Ephemerals will disappear in under two years and others longer. What’s unchanged is that 100 percent of all Ephemeral tattoos disappear.
Now, with this data, we’re also expanding how we set customer expectations on fade durations with more specificity as to how certain tattoo design and body part placements can lead to longer or shorter fade times:
Shading: Densely shaded tattoos take longer to fade than those with sparse shading and shading overall has the biggest impact on fade times.
Linework: Fine line tattoos tend to fade faster than tattoos with thicker lines.
Placements: Tattoos on the wrist tend to fade slower, while tattoos on the rib and sternum area tend to fade faster.
As we grow our community, we will continue routinely studying how all variables can impact fade durations and make these available in our design guides to empower each of you to customize your Ephemerals to suit your preferences.
REGRET NOTHING GUARANTEE
We are introducing the Regret Nothing Guarantee to reflect our commitment to customers and our promise of awesome tattoos and to simplify the considerations you have to make:
At Least a Year: If your Ephemeral lasts less than a year, we guarantee a complimentary replacement tattoo. This minimum tattoo longevity is a significant milestone that didn’t seem possible eight years ago. Our earliest prototypes lasted days, then weeks, and eventually months. Along the way, we heard your feedback on tattoo longevity needing to be commensurate with the price. By improving on best tattoo practices and how well ink transfers to the skin, we’ve increased the vibrancy of our tattoos, meaning they can last longer.
Maximum Fade Duration: While fade times vary, your Ephemeral will 100 percent fade away. To minimize ambiguity, we promise your money back if your tattoo lasts longer than three years.
Best-in-Class Tattoo Quality: We believe you will love your Ephemeral the moment you leave our Studios. if there’s an opportunity to make it even better, whether by adding a small detail or perfecting a line, we’re happy to do so within 60 days of your appointment with a complimentary touch-up.
Click here to learn more about the Regret Nothing Guarantee
When we set about creating Ephemeral Tattoo in 2014, we were building a product for ourselves, a founding team inspired by shared upbringings that discouraged risk taking and expressive individuality. My own tattoo journey started when my Mom insisted I could never get a real job with a tattoo and culminated with 20 of my own Ephemerals and her getting her very own Ephemeral (a rose over her shoulder!) last summer.
Every day, we hear stories like this from each of you. Stories of how Ephemeral allows you to spark a change in your life, to wear a tattoo that respects your religious beliefs, to bond with your bestie, to commemorate a life moment or to just try out a new look. These stories are why we exist - to help create a world of limitless self-expression.
There are many exciting milestones ahead as our product continues to evolve and our offerings expand - new tattoo colors, the potential for fade time options (think 6 month tattoos vs 5 year tattoos), and more body placements. You have been instrumental in building our brand and community, so I hope to hear your feedback on what we should prioritize along with more of your stories.
If you would like to speak with a member of our team directly about your fade experience please contact fade@ephemeral.tattoo and we will be happy to discuss, learn from your experience, and make sure you have the type of experience we expect to give our customers.
Thank you for continuing to let us be a part of your creative journey.
Published Feburary 3, 2023