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LiveScience
LiveScience
Abby Wilson

SHOCKING: How are traumatic tattoos made and do you have one - What They Never Told You

Young man doodles on his jeans and his arm with an ink pen.

Usually, we get tattoos on purpose. But some injuries leave us with a different type of mark known as a "traumatic tattoo" — and these tattoos have nothing to do with needles or ink. So what exactly are traumatic tattoos?

Traumatic tattoos are formed when everyday materials, like graphite, dirt or gravel; or metal pieces, like shrapnel, become lodged beneath our skin, leaving a visible (and often long-lasting) mark.

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