After A Painless Tattoo? London Startup CipherX Says It Has The Answer

• CipherX says its Microdot Tattoo Patch can apply a permanent tattoo with little to no pain in around 15 minutes.
• The current system is limited to small black designs that fit within a 15mm circle and must be applied by trained CipherX staff.
• No Australian launch has been announced, and the patch would still need to satisfy local skin-penetration, tattoo-ink and infection-control rules.

Anyone who says tattoos don’t hurt is either lying, showing off or has forgotten what several hours in the chair feels like. But CipherX thinks it has found the answer to painless tattoos.

The London biotech start-up is selling what it describes as the “world’s first painless permanent tattoo”, using a single-use patch covered in microscopic structures that carry pigment into the upper layers of the skin. It’s essentially a permanent, high-tech version of those temporary water tattoos you’d slap on at kids‘ birthday parties or at the occasional festival. You know who you are.

Instead of sitting through the buzz of a tattoo machine, trained staff press the patch onto your skin with a handheld applicator, leave it in place for around 15 minutes, peel it away, and hey presto, you have a tattoo. At first, it appears faintly on the skin before darkening over the following 24 to 48 hours.

For anyone who wants permanent ink without the needle, blood or sting, the appeal is obvious. Just don’t arrive expecting a full back piece. Oh, and with applications currently limited to CipherX’s London store and pop-up events, you’ll probably need a plane ticket depending on where you call home.

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How Does The Microdot Painless Tattoo Patch Work?

The CipherX patch replaces the conventional tattoo needle with microscopic structures made from biodegradable materials and tattoo pigment.

Applied in a stamp-like motion, the Microdots enter the upper layers of the skin, deposit pigment and dissolve as the tattoo develops. CipherX says the hands-on application takes around five minutes, with the patch remaining in place for another 15. The full guided appointment lasts about 25 to 30 minutes.

There’s no home kit for now, and every Microdot Tattoo must be applied by trained CipherX staff at its London flagship or pop-up events.

Each patch is intended for single use and treated with gamma irradiation to reduce the risk of microbial contamination before application. CipherX also screens customers for allergies, skin conditions and other factors that may rule them out, including pregnancy, breastfeeding or a compromised immune system.

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What Can You Actually Get?

Prices start at £50 (roughly AUD$96), with the current library including hearts, stars, a cross and a single straight line, among other small designs. The catalogue might not seem all that impressive at first, but it makes more sense once you see how small the available canvas actually is.

Every design is black and must fit inside a circular canvas measuring 15mm across. CipherX says simple forms with little shading produce the clearest results. Custom options are only available through selected releases, so you won’t be walking out the door looking like a Yakuza boss.

But as a first tattoo experience, a heart or a smiley face in under 30 minutes doesn’t sound half bad.

That being said, you’re also fairly limited in where you can position the tattoos. CipherX excludes the face (sorry, no teardrops), neck, hands, wrists, ankles and several other sensitive or high-movement areas. If you change your mind afterwards, the tattoo still needs to be removed with a laser or covered like any other permanent tattoo.

So anyone looking for different colours, scale, shading or elaborate designs built around their body should probably keep their tattooist’s number handy.

Is It Actually Painless?

CipherX is confident enough to write “No pain” across its website. But elsewhere, the phrasing is a little softer, describing the experience as involving “minimal discomfort”. Definitely the safer description until more people have tried the system outside its controlled launch setting.

The Microdots are smaller than one millimetre and only penetrate the upper layers of the skin, rather than repeatedly working over the same area with a conventional tattoo needle.

As someone whose skin usually needs a few passes before the ink settles properly, I can tell you that repeatedly working over the same area is where the pain starts to build, and usually when my tattooist asks, “Do you need a break?”

That doesn’t exactly make the whole process consequence-free, either. CipherX says temporary redness, tingling or mild irritation can occur. Infection, allergic reaction and scarring are also possible, even with the pre-tattoo check, although the company describes serious reactions as uncommon.

Aftercare is also significantly less involved than many traditional tattoos, but it’s not like you don’t have to do anything. Customers are told to apply petroleum jelly, avoid soaking the area for 48 hours, keep it out of direct sunlight and avoid clothing or jewellery that may rub against it.

The “painless” promise will naturally appeal to curious first-timers and anyone apprehensive about needles. But if we’re reading the CipherX fine print correctly, these smaller permanent tattoos can still cause a bit of discomfort even under controlled conditions, so your mileage may vary.

Is This Still Technically Tattooing?

CipherX hasn’t arrived on the scene with its Microdot patch and a mandate to end traditional tattoo artists. Far from it. Founder Ferdinand Kohle is thinking beyond the technology itself, telling Hypebeast he’s interested in collaborating with tattoo artists on future designs that work within the system’s limitations.

“The sweet spot is these smaller iconographic tattoos,” said Kohle. “A sleeve is definitely not what we’re going for.”

Its limitations are clear for now because a traditional tattooist does more than deposit pigment into your skin. They adjust line weight, placement and scale, respond to how the skin behaves and tell clients when a design is unlikely to age well.

With a fixed size and limited catalogue, CipherX turns that interaction into a more controlled transaction. You select a design, a trained operator aligns the patch and the technology handles the application.

The process may be more straightforward, but removing the artist also removes the conversation, judgement and collaboration that can make getting tattooed personal.

The Aussie Behind The Award-Winning Design

The CX Tattoo Applicator received a Red Dot: Best of the Best award for 2026, recognising the design behind the tool used to apply each Microdot Tattoo. Dutch microneedle specialist uPATCH developed the applicator’s internal components, while CipherX created the exterior design and overall user experience.

Better still, one of the founders is an Aussie. CipherX chief technology officer and co-founder Karl-Anton Harms trained at Monash University and worked at The Alfred Hospital in Melbourne before taking his research into microneedle delivery systems to Imperial College London.

So while the first Microdot Tattoos are being applied in West London, part of the technology behind them started in Melbourne.

Can You Get Painless Tattoos In Australia?

Not yet. CipherX currently operates through its London flagship and selected UK pop-ups, with no word on an Australian launch or wider international rollout.

But that’s easier said than done down under. Launching the Microdot Tattoo in Australia would involve more than just shipping over the applicator. Tattooing and microneedling are regulated through state and territory skin-penetration and infection-control laws, while tattoo pigments fall under Australia’s industrial-chemicals framework.

In NSW, businesses carrying out skin-penetration procedures must notify their local council and follow hygiene, premises and equipment requirements. In Queensland, skin needling that implants a cosmetic substance is treated as a higher-risk personal appearance service, alongside tattooing.

The needles may dissolve, but the regulatory obligations would not.

CipherX has removed plenty of the usual friction from getting tattooed. The system is quick, quiet and aimed at people who would rather not spend an afternoon listening to a machine work through their skin.

“Painless” or not, you still need to be comfortable with the rest of the deal: black ink only, a restricted 15mm canvas and someone else’s limited design library.

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