Tattoo Inks Are An Unknown Quantity

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Article Title:

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Tattoo Inks Are An Unknown Quantity

Article Description:

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Tattoo ink manufacturers are not required by law to list

their ingredients. Many tattoo artists mix their own

formulas and consider their mixtures " trade secrets " .

These tattoo inks are actually pigments suspended in a

variety of carrier solutions. Some are made from ABS plastic

for the vibrancy of the colors, some are vegetable dyes, but

the vast majority are made from metal salts. The main

concern with the pigments is what is in them besides the

carrier solutions and the dyes.

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1050 Words; formatted to 65 Characters per Line

Distribution Date and Time: 2009-08-13 10:00:00

Written By: Dexter Alto

Copyright: 2009

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Tattoo Inks Are An Unknown Quantity

Copyright © 2009 Dexter Alto

Healthy Skin Association

http://healthyskinassociation.org/

Tattoo ink manufacturers are not required by law to list their

ingredients. Many tattoo artists mix their own formulas and

consider their mixtures " trade secrets " . These tattoo inks are

actually pigments suspended in a variety of carrier solutions.

Some are made from ABS plastic for the vibrancy of the colors,

some are vegetable dyes, but the vast majority are made from

metal salts. The main concern with the pigments is what is in

them besides the carrier solutions and the dyes.

Tattoo shops that do not adhere to strict safety precautions may

be exposing their customers to a wide variety of infections as

the artist dips the needle in an infected person and then back

into the ink container, then into a new customer's skin.

Fortunately most shops are aware of these dangers and take all

precautions established by local and state health departments.

Pigment Toxicity

Some pigments can cause an allergic reaction between the ink and

skin. If available, look at a MSDS sheet to determine what the

possible reactions might be. The reactions can result in photo

sensitivity of the tattoo to natural and artificial light or even

scarring. The glow in the dark inks, or those that react to black

light, can be harmless, radioactive or toxic. The ABS plastic

based pigments can prove very difficult to remove should the

client choose to have the tattoo removed at a later date. Most

inks pose no threat or visible reaction to the skin, but the lack

of regulations make some inks risky, be sure to use a reputable

artist who will not mind explaining the components of the ink

used in your tattoo.

Pigment rs

The job of the carrier is to keep the pigment from clumping and

in a fluid consistency, inhibit contamination and ease the

injection of the ink into the skin. The safest and most common

carriers are ethyl alcohol, glycerin, purified water, propylene

glycol, witch hazel, and listerine. In the " old days " it was

not uncommon to use various forms of alcohol, usually denatured,

and other toxic liquids, chemicals or contaminated water.

Tattoo Pigment Being Injected into the Dermis:

* BLACK: made of iron oxides, carbon, or logwood. " Natural

black pigment is made from magnetite crystals, powdered jet,

wustite, bone black,and amorphous carbon from combustion (soot).

Black pigment is commonly made into India ink. Logwood is a

heartwood extract from Haematoxylon campechisnum, found in

Central America and the West Indies. "

* BROWNS, FLESHTONES: made of ochre. " Ochre is composed of iron

(ferric) oxides mixed with clay. Raw ochre is yellowish. When

dehydrated through heating, ochre changes to a reddish color. "

* RED: made of cinnabar, cadmium red, iron oxide, or napthol.

" Iron oxide is also known as common rust. Cinnabar and cadmium

pigments are highly toxic. Napthol reds are synthesized from

Naptha. Fewer reactions have been reported with naphthol red than

the other pigments, but all reds carry risks of allergic or other

reactions. "

* ORANGE: made of disazodiarylide, disazopyrazolone, or cadmium

seleno-sulfide. " The organics are formed from the condensation

of 2 monoazo pigment molecules. They are large molecules with

good thermal stability and colorfastness. "

* YELLOW: made of cadmium yellow, ochres, curcuma yellow, chrome

yellow, or disazodiarylide. " Curcuma is derived from plants of

the ginger family; aka tumeric or curcurmin. Reactions are

commonly associated with yellow pigments, in part because more

pigment is needed to achieve a bright color. "

* GREEN: made of chromium oxide ( " Casalis Green " or " Anadomis

Green " ), Malachite, Ferrocyanides, Ferricyanides, Lead chromate,

Monoazo pigment, Cu/Al phthalocyanine, or Cu phthalocyanine.

" The greens often include admixtures, such as potassium

ferrocyanide (yellow or red) and ferric ferrocyanide (Prussian

Blue). "

* BLUE: made of azure blue, cobalt blue, or Cu-phtalocyanine.

" Blue pigments from minerals include copper (II) carbonate

(azurite), sodium aluminum silicate (lapis lazuli), calcium

copper silicate (Egyptian Blue), other cobalt aluminum oxides and

chromium oxides. The safest blues and greens are copper salts,

such as copper pthalocyanine. Copper pthalocyanine pigments have

FDA approval for use in infant furniture and toys and contact

lenses. The copper-based pigments are considerably safer or more

stable than cobalt or ultramarine pigments. "

* VIOLET: made of manganese violet (manganese ammonium

pyrophosphate), quinacridone, dioxazine/carbazole, and various

aluminum salts. " Some of the purples, especially the bright

magentas, are photoreactive and lose their color after prolonged

exposure to light. Dioxazine and carbazole result in the most

stable purple pigments. "

* WHITE: made of lead white (lead carbonate), titanium dioxide,

barium sulfate, or zinc oxide.

" Some white pigments are derived from anatase or rutile. White

pigment may be used alone or to dilute the intensity of other

pigments. Titanium oxides are one of the least reactive white

pigments. "

Tattoo Science

Electric tattoo guns create thousands of puncture wounds in the

skin so that the tattoo pigment can be injected to form the

tattoo. The ink particles are effectively trapped by a network of

connective tissue in the fibroblasts, a type of cell found in

connective tissue that produces fibers such as collagen. It is

not known for sure, but fibroblasts may last the lifespan of the

individual receiving the tattoo.

This entire process causes damage to the epidermis and the dermis

and become blended together as a result of the pulverization of

the junction of the two layers. The body responds by bleeding up

through the skin as a result of the severed capillaries. The

immune system responds by swelling to shut down the blood flow.

The immune response cells then begin cleaning up by flushing the

ink through the lymph system. At first the ink is dispersed in

the upper areas of the skin, but within 1 to 2 weeks it gathers

into a more concentrated area as new tissue begins to form around

the ink and traps it in the dermal fibroblasts. After a month the

two layers of skin have reformed to trap the ink and within 3

months the tattoo ink is completely surrounded by connective

tissue that holds the ink in place, although over time it will

begin to subside deeper into the dermis, or second layer of skin.

Final Thought

What all this means is be sure to think long and hard before

getting a tattoo. Find out who runs the cleanest shop in the area

and make sure the design is something you are willing to live

with for the rest of your life.

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Dexter Alto is a Certified Laser Specialist with an interest

in the science of tattoo application and the removal of

specific tattoo pigments. Mr. Alto has seen first hand

the effectiveness of different tattoo removal methods on

a variety of different pigment types. He is a contributor

to: http://healthyskinassociation.org/