cipherX applies painless permanent tattoos with dissolving microneedle patches

a permanent tattoo applied like a patch

At a Shoreditch launch on July 23rd, 2026, London-based skin technology company CipherX will invite visitors to receive a permanent tattoo from a patch. Its Microdot Tattoo system trades the familiar buzz of a tattoo machine for hundreds of microscopic structures, each carrying pigment into the skin before dissolving.

The patch stays in place for about fifteen minutes, and the image grows darker over the following 24 to 48 hours.

The current format keeps the tattoos deliberately small, with each design confined to a 15-millimeter circular canvas. Carbon black motifs include a bold star and a tiny chair, while custom artwork remains limited to selected releases.

Customers choose a design online, then redeem it at a CipherX pop-up, where trained staff prepare the skin and position the single-use patch with a dedicated handheld applicator.

CipherX replaces the conventional tattoo machine with a single-use microneedle patch | images © CipherX

from tattoo machine to microdot patch

Once the patch is aligned, the applicator presses its microscopic points through the upper layers of skin in a single motion. Each microdot combines biodegradable material with tattoo pigment, turning the patch into both an image carrier and a delivery system.

It remains secured to the body while the structures dissolve, and leaves the pigment behind in a fixed arrangement. Microneedle tattoo patches have appeared in academic research since at least 2022, but the team at CipherX is turning the principle into a manufactured consumer product.

Although the first image appears as soon as the patch is removed, it can look pale during the opening hours. The marks deepen over the next two days and visually merge into a continuous form.

CipherX describes the experience as pain-free, while its public guidance also mentions temporary redness or mild irritation. Aftercare involves petroleum jelly and avoiding prolonged water exposure for the first 48 hours.

the dedicated applicator positions the patch and applies pressure in one motion

a permanent image built from microdots

For CipherX, the pixel offers a useful model for translating digital artwork into a permanent image on skin. A file becomes a field of pigment-filled microdots, then a disposable patch whose microscopic points reproduce the pattern on the body. This gives the tattoo a strange material sequence. It moves from screen to mold, then from patch to skin.

By shifting much of the image-making process into software and manufacturing, the system changes the familiar relationship between a wearer and the tattooing process. A conventional tattoo develops through the movement of a hand across skin. Here, the design arrives prearranged, and the applicator controls alignment and pressure through one repeatable action. CipherX received the Red Dot Best of the Best award for the applicator in 2026.

each patch remains on the skin for around fifteen minutes

a personal question becomes a skin technology company

Materials scientist and designer Ferdinand Kohle began exploring the idea in late 2020 while studying Innovation Design Engineering at the Royal College of Art and Imperial College London. ‘ I was interested in tattoos but found conventional tattooing inaccessible because of my needle and blood phobia, ‘ he explains.

His technical background gave the question a practical direction: could dissolving microneedles move permanent pigment into skin through a single application?

After Kohle founded CipherX with clinician and researcher Karl-Anton Harms, tattooing became the first commercial use for a wider skin technology platform. The company is also exploring cosmetic treatments and medical marking, alongside drug delivery and health sensing.

For now, Microdot Tattoos remain available through approved pop-ups and trained practitioners. Home application sits further along the company’s roadmap, where the patch could move tattooing beyond the studio and into retail spaces or live events.

hundreds of pigment-filled microdots form each permanent image

the tattoo darkens and becomes more visible over the following two days

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cipherX currently offers small carbon black graphics through selected pop-ups

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current designs fit inside a fifteen-millimeter circular canvas

Microdot Tattoos form the first commercial application of CipherX’s wider skin technology platform

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project info:

project: Microdot Tattoos

company: CipherX | @cipherx.tech

founders: Ferdinand Kohle and Karl-Anton Harms

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