Well, can the skin with a tattoo get tanned? To answer the question, it's worth understanding which layer of the skin the tattoo machine is staining. After all, the dye enters the dermis, the inner layer of the skin. But, staining the skin, the pigment melanin is contained in the epidermis, the surface layer of the skin. Therefore, the tattooed area can tan☝🏻 This often looks like a partial blurring of the tattoo.