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Tattoo inks consist of pigments combined with a carrier, and are used in tattooing.

Tattoo inks are available in a range of colors which can be thinned or mixed together to produce other colors and shades. Most professional tattoo artists purchase inks pre-made (known as pre-dispersed inks), while some tattooers mix their own using a dry pigment and a carrier.^[1]

Tattoo ink is generally permanent, tattoo removal is difficult, painful, and depends on the material used. A recently developed ink InfinitInk is comparatively easily removable. Unsubstantiated claims have been made that some inks fade over time, yielding a "semi-permanent tattoo".

Contents 1 Ingredients 1.1 Regulations 1.2 Pigment bases 1.3 Carriers 2 Health concerns 3 Aging 4 Other tattoo inks 4.1 Glow in the dark ink and blacklight ink 4.2 Removable tattoo ink 4.3 Black henna 5 Ancient Roman recipe 6 Notes 7 References

[edit] Ingredients

[edit] Regulations

In the United States, tattoo ink is classified as a color additive, and is thus not subject to regulation by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA);^[2][3] Some tattoo parlors have incorrectly claimed that their inks have such an approval.^[4] Although the pigments are not regulated, the FDA and medical practitioners have noted that many ink pigments used in tattoos are “industrial strength colors suitable for printers’ ink or automobile paint.”^[3][5]

In California, Proposition 65 requires that Californians be warned before exposure to certain harmful chemicals;^[6] tattoo parlors in California must warn their patrons that tattoo inks contain heavy metals known to cause cancer, birth defects, and other reproductive harm.^[6]

[edit] Pigment bases

Manufacturers are not required to reveal their ingredients or conduct trials, and recipes may be proprietary. Professional inks may be made from iron oxides (rust), metal salts, plastics or plant sources.^[7] Homemade or traditional tattoo inks may be made from pen ink, soot, dirt, blood, plant sources or other ingredients.^[3][8]

Heavy metals used for colors include mercury (red); lead (yellow, green, white); cadmium (red, orange, yellow); nickel (black); zinc (yellow, white); chromium (green); cobalt (blue); aluminium (green, violet); titanium (white); copper (blue, green); iron (brown, red, black); and barium (white). Metal oxides used include ferrocyanide and ferricyanide (yellow, red, green, blue). Organic chemicals used include azo-chemicals (orange, brown, yellow, green, violet) and naptha-derived chemicals (red). Carbon (soot or ash) is also used for black. Other compounds used as pigments include antimony, arsenic, beryllium, calcium, lithium, selenium, and sulphur.^[6][8]

Tattoo ink manufacturers typically blend the heavy metal pigments and/or use lightening agents (such as lead or titanium) to reduce production costs.^[8]

[edit] Carriers

A carrier acts as a solvent for the pigment, to “carry” the pigment from the point of needle trauma to the surrounding dermis. Carriers keep the ink evenly mixed and free from pathogens, and aid application. The most typical solvent is ethyl alcohol or water, but denatured alcohols, methanol, rubbing alcohol, propylene glycol, and glycerine are also used. When an alcohol is used as part of the carrier base in tattoo ink or to disinfect the skin before application of the tattoo, it increases the skin's permeability, helping to transport more chemicals into the bloodstream.

[edit] Health concerns

A variety of medical problems, though uncommon, can result from tattooing.

Medical workers have observed rare but severe medical complications from tattoo pigments in the body,^[9] and have noted that people acquiring tattoos rarely assess health risks prior to receiving their tattoos.^[10]

[edit] Aging

Please help improve this article by expanding it. Further information might be found on the talk page. (February 2009)

Inks react with light, both leading to fading over time and allowing laser tattoo removal. The study of the medical effects of light is deemed photomedicine.

They may also disperse over time, losing definition.

[edit] Other tattoo inks

[edit] Glow in the dark ink and blacklight ink

Both blacklight and glow in the dark inks have been used for tattooing. Glow in the dark ink absorbs and retains light, and then glows in darkened conditions; blacklight ink does not glow in the dark, but reacts with UV light producing a glow.

The safety of such inks for use on humans is widely debated in the tattoo community, and the results are variable.

The ingredients in Crazy Chameleon Blacklight ink (one brand of blacklight ink) are listed as: (PMMA) Polymethylmethacrylate 97.5% and microspheres of fluorescent dye 2.5% suspended in UV sterilized, distilled water.

[edit] Removable tattoo ink

While tattoo ink is in generally very painful and laborious to remove, tattoo removal being quite involved, a recently introduced ink called InfinitInk has been developed to be easier to remove by laser treatments than traditional inks.

[edit] Black henna

Health Canada has advised against the use of "black henna" temporary tattoo ink which contains para-phenylenediamine (PPD), an ingredient in hair dyes. Black henna is normally applied externally in temporary Mehandi applications, rather than being inserted beneath the skin in a permanent tattoo.

Allergic reactions to PPD include rashes, contact dermatitis, itching, blisters, open sores, scarring and other potentially harmful effects.[1]

[edit] Ancient Roman recipe

The Roman physician Aetius created a recipe for tattoo ink. [2]

One pound of Egyptian pine bark

Two ounces of corroded bronze, ground with vinegar

Two ounces of gall (insect egg deposits)

One ounce of vitriol (iron sulphate)

Mix well and sift. Soak powder in 2 parts water and 1 part leek juice. Wash the skin to be tattooed with leek juice. Prick design with needles until blood is drawn. Rub in the ink.

[edit] Notes

1. ^ Tattoo Ink Carrier Chemistry: The Liquid Part of Tattoo Ink, Anne Marie Helmenstine, Ph.D.
2. ^ Tattoos: Risks and precautions to know first, Mayo Clinic, retrieved 19 October 2009
3. ^ ^{a b c} Think Before You Ink: Are Tattoos Safe?, FDA, retrieved 19 October 2009
4. ^ How Safe are Color Additives?, FDA, retrieved 19 October 2009
5. ^ Engel E, Santarelli F, Vasold R, et al. (2008). "Modern tattoos cause high concentrations of hazardous pigments in skin". Contact Dermatitis 58 (4): 228-33. PMID 18353031. 
6. ^ ^{a b c} Metal Toxicity: Tattoos: Safe Symbols?, Environmental Health Perspectives, retrieved 19 October 2009
7. ^ Tattoo Ink Chemistry, retrieved 19 October 2009
8. ^ ^{a b c} Poon, Kelvin Weng Chun (2008), In situ chemical analysis of tattooing inks and pigments: modern organic and traditional pigments in ancient mummified remains, University of Western Australia 
9. ^ Antal AS, Hanneken S, Neumann NJ, et al. (2008). "Erhebliche zeitliche Variationsbreite von Komplikationen nach Tätowierungen". Der Hautarzt 59 (10): 769-71. PMID 18773181. 
10. ^ Möhrenschlager M, Worret WI, Köhn FM (2006). "Tattoos and permanent make-up: background and complications". MMW Fortschr Med. 148 (41): 34-6. PMID 17190258. 

[edit] References

• Health Canada website
• About.com article on tattoo inks