Going back to that “slice of cake,” the melanocytes are in the “strawberry filling,” but the tanning pigment floats up to the… uh... frosting layer. When this happens, it ends up on top of your tattoo ink and causes the colors to appear dull. Your whites, yellow and greens will all have a browner shade to them. Your skin is actually producing a tinted layer that dulls and distorts your tattoo colors.