While it's currently only available in red, this new Magic Ink will make tattoos disappear and reappear on light-activated command.

If you've ever wanted to hide your tattoos in certain circumstances, but don't want to wear long-sleeves or trousers, there's a new ink in development that could help with that.

It's called Magic Ink and it's sold by a company called Hyperskin, but consumers are limited to just the colour red at the moment.

Speaking on the science behind the ink and how it is activated and deactivated on the skin was Miriam O’Duill, Associate Professor of Organic Chemistry at Nottingham University, who likened the technology to transition glasses.

She explained to Newstalk Breakfast: "So they've developed these tattoos that are virtually invisible under your skin until you shine a small UV light torch on it for about two or three minutes, and then they start to appear.

"They stay visible until you decide to switch them back off again, which you can do with a small white light torch.

"Now, the way this works is that the dyes used in these tattoo inks are light switchable molecules, the so-called photochromic dyes.

"The energy in the UV light is enough to trigger a chemical change, a structural change, in the molecule that also changes its colour.

"These dyes have been used for years now in transition glasses. So sunglasses that change colour as you step from a dark room into the bright sunlight outside."

While there might be concerns about this ink and its toxicity in the body, Ms O’Duill explained that the researchers formulated the ink in a way so it never interacts with the body.

She shared: "They've encapsulated it in a polymer called polymethyl methacrylate, PMMA, and that's a polymer that has been approved for medical use in the body.

"[It's used in] things like bone cement or dentures, for example. So because the dye never interacts with the body, it should be safe to use.

The red ink is already approved and on the market, for $100 for a 2ml vial, which is around €90. That means it's around 100 times more expensive than regular tattoo ink.

The team has already developed three new colours, yellow, blue and magenta, but they haven't been approved yet.

In fact, Ms O'Duill added that the blue ink currently degrades "after about 10 to 100 on off cycles" and once it's degraded, you're left with a "permanent purple colour".

Main image: Tattoo artist Pic: Alamy Stock Photo