Tattoo Ink: What You Should Know About It

Tattoo inks remain visible in the skin for a lifetime. For some, however, this can be questionable. Read here what you should look for in tattoo inks.

When tattooing, needles pierce the tattoo ink deep into the middle layer of the skin, the dermis. The medicine portal Netdoctor describes the dermis as a layer that nourishes the overlying epidermis with glands and blood vessels. These upper layer of skin consists mainly of keratinized skin cells that gradually peel off. The surface of the skin is renewed about every four weeks. If the tattoo color were only superficially in the epidermis, the tattoo would not be permanent.

Tattoo studios use tattoo inks for decorative tattoos on the body. But permanent make-up also works predominantly with such colors. With this type of tattoo, for example, the tattoo replaces an eyebrow pencil or emphasizes the lip contour. You can usually have something like this done in a cosmetic studio.

Attention: One Henna tattoo is a skin painting. Use the henna paste to paint ornaments on the skin. The painting fades as soon as the skin surface is renewed.

Tattoo ink with partly questionable pigments

Tattoo inks are mainly made up of pigments. These pigments can be roughly divided into two groups.

1) Inorganic pigments:

• Colours – Often black or white tattoo inks are based on this type of pigment. But it can also be red colors, for example.
• Components – soot or metal oxides.
• Health concerns – PAH connections or loads caused by Heavy metals. PAK, as an abbreviation for Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, are chemical compounds found in soot. They arise, for example, when wood or oil burn to soot. Some of the compounds are suspected of causing cancer. The Federal Office for Risk Assessment (BfR) found PAH compounds in black tattoo paint, sometimes in worrying concentrations. According to the BfR, critical metals such as lead, mercury and arsenic were only found in small quantities. Attention is required when you on You are allergic to nickel: The metal can be contained in the colors.

2) Organic pigments:

• Colours – Colorful tattoo inks
• Components – Usually the pigments either belong to the group of Azo dyes or to the polycyclic pigments.
• Health concerns – The BfR is critical of the azo compounds. The Bavarian State Office for Health explains that these pigments can release decomposition products. These chemical compounds split off from the pigment are suspected of being carcinogenic. They only emerge over time. Some conditions, such as enzymes in the body or UV rays from sunlight, favor this process. Attention: Laser beams can also release these dubious fission products. For example, if you want to remove your tattoo, the laser treatment required for this may have consequences for your health.

Will blue and green tattoo colors be banned soon?

In a Risk assessment from September 2020, the BfR points out a presumed risk with two pigments. The pigments blue 15: 3 (CI 74160) and green 7 (CI 74260) are suspected of causing cancer.

Both pigments are banned in hair colors. The green pigment must also not come into contact with the eyes, as would be the case, for example, with eye shadow. The prohibition for these uses was made in the Cosmetics Ordinance. Usually follows the Tattoo Inks Ordinance with their list of prohibited cosmetics regulations.

According to objections from the tattoo scene, there is an exception for these two pigments. For the time being, tattoo inks can use these blue and green pigments. According to the BfR, the available studies are not conclusive for a risk assessment for tattoos. Further investigations should bring clarity. Only then should a final risk assessment also be made for tattoo inks.

There are more chemicals in tattoo inks

The pigments are in tattoo inks with a carrier liquid mixed. It ensures that the tissue around the puncture is evenly colored. The carrier liquid mainly contains thickeners and preservatives.

Preservatives: The BfR found, among other things, preservatives in the tattoo inks, which are generally regarded as questionable. Some of the samples examined contained substances such as isothiazolinones, Benzoic acid (E210), salicylic acid or phenol. In skin care and food, for example, these chemicals are known to cause allergic reactions. Isothiazolinones are only found in very low concentrations in skin care products in the EU authorized. phenol can lead to chemical burns. It is also suspected of damaging the genetic makeup and thus promoting cancer.

The investigations by the BfR showed that some of the ingredients are listed too imprecisely. For some samples, the information turned out to be incorrect. In addition, the investigation was able to detect germs and bacteria in some of the samples.

Tattoo ink can leave marks all over the body

The tattoo ink always remains a foreign body in the skin. After the tattoo, the body reacts with its usual defense reaction. He tries to make the foreign substances harmless. The body can resort to two strategies: it encloses the foreign body with new tissue or tries to transport it away.

• In the first case, small ones are formed Tissue knot under the skin. The BfR speaks of so-called foreign body granulomas.
• In the second case, tattoo ink can enter the lymphatic system in the body reach. The lymph is something like the garbage disposal of the organism. The unloading point are the lymph nodes, which are located in different places in the body. From there, the substances could also get into the bloodstream and, in principle, into every organ in the body. The BfR reports that the lymph nodes of tattooed people were colored accordingly. Long-term studies have yet to answer whether tattoo ink causes damage to the health of the lymph nodes, and if so, which ones. More here:

The knowledge magazine spectrum reported that Nanoparticles may be included in tattoo inks. These particles also seem to migrate in the body. Due to their tiny size, they can go straight from the skin into blood vessels. The general effect of nanoparticles on an organism is still largely unexplored. The BfR emphasizes that possible connections with skin cancer and tattoos have not yet been researched.

What to look for in tattoo ink

The tattoo colors should be checked particularly carefully. But the BfR still sees a need here. The Tattooing Agent Ordinance does list prohibited substances, but from the BfR’s point of view, such a list is not sufficient. They demand a positive list for tattoo inks, in which all harmless ingredients are mentioned. The Consumer advice center adds that only a few of the tattoo colors have a health assessment. They emphasize that the existing list of prohibited substances therefore does not offer any security.

The Bavarian State Office for Health reports that the situation has improved since the first investigation by the BfR in 2009. The amount of questionable content in tattoo inks fell in a renewed random check in 2016. The number of complaints fell, especially with the potentially carcinogenic azo pigments.

What should you look out for if you want to get a tattoo? The consumer advice center explains that responsible studios give you a list of tattoo inks and their ingredients:

• The name and address of the manufacturing company should be clearly legible on the colors.
• Other important information on the tattoo inks is the batch number and best before date, as well as the maximum shelf life after the ink is opened.

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