Ticklish? Try getting a tattoo

This article in New Scientist reports that researchers have found skin that has been tattooed is less sensitive to touch than normal skin.

Scientists at the University of Northern Colorado conducted a study of 54 people in which they measured skin sensitivity using a device called an aesthesiometer. (I wonder where I can get one.) This device has two probes that are placed on the skin. The probes are moved apart and people are asked whether they can feel 1 or 2 probes. The smaller the distance between the probes, the more sensitive the skin. You can try this same experiment with two pins or sharp pencils.

Anyway, in the study the skin where people had tattoos was much less sensitive than the places where they didn’t have tattoos. Suggesting that something about the tattooing process makes skin less sensitive. So if you find that you are really ticklish like the Right Brain, maybe you should get a tattoo. But be careful. Once you have a tattoo, nothing short of laser surgery will remove it. Tattoo fade creams like Wrecking Balm aren’t really effective no matter what their advertising says but covering creams are.