Tattoo Ink: Advanced: Part 1

Tattoo Ink: Advanced: Part 1: 

Tattoos are extremely popular, however, we are concerned people really don’t know what is being placed in their bodies. 

This article will explore what is in your tattoo ink and the possible consequences. 

What is tattoo ink? 

Tattoos contain a lot of metallic salts and organic dyes. You would be surprised to find out what exactly is in your ink. 

Tattoo ink is made of largely insoluble nanoparticles and microparticles. The insolubility of these particles is what makes tattoo ink last for decades under the skin. Inks also contain soluble particles and contaminants, such as foreign bodies and bacteria. 

What is in my ink? 

On the whole lack of labeling or correct information on tattoo ink labeling is a big problem: (1)

It is almost impossible for the tattoo industry in any given country, or across the world for that matter, to control the ingredients and safety of tattoo ink as the industry is already internationally established, albeit somewhat scattered and discombobulated. Countries may try to enact legislation which enforces strict guidelines on ink manufactured within their borders, however, nefarious operators would be able to avoid such guidelines by purchasing their ink from any one of the multitudes of suppliers on the worldwide market. 

There are various publications outlining the types of pigments and ingredients which make up popular inks. 

Various bodies have studied the makeup of ink in recent years. We have collated the research performed by The Council on Health and Disease Prevention (“the Council”), and Leonardo Marini, Beatrice Bocca et al. and have complied the findings in the table below: (2)

Table 1: 

Colour	Ingredients and Elemental composition	QX MAX Laser wavelength for treating pigments	Other wavelengths used in clinics without the QX MAX
Black	Ingredients: India ink, carbon, iron oxide, logwood extract, magnetite, graphite, ash  Elements: Aluminum, Iron, sulfur, oxygen	1064nm	1064
White	Ingredients: Titanium dioxide, zinc oxide, corundum Elements: Titanium, aluminum	1064nm
Red	Ingredients: Mercury sulphate, cadmium selenide, Sienna (red ochre, ferric hydrate and ferric sulphate), azo dyes, hematite Crimson red: Elements: Silica, carbon, oxygen, magnesium Fire red: Elements: Aluminum, chlorine, sulfur, carbon, oxygen,  Devil’s red: Titanium, aluminum, silica, carbon, oxygen.  Lotus red: Titanium, aluminum, carbon, oxygen Cerise: Titanium, aluminum, iron, carbon, oxygen	532nm	532nm
Flesh	Iron oxides	1064nm
Yellow	Cadmium sulphide, ochre, cur cumin yellow, azo dyes, limonite, anthraquinone Lemon yellow: Elements: Titanium, aluminum,  carbon, oxygen s2`
Brown/. Orange	Ochre Venetian Brown: Elements: Aluminum, silica, iron, oxxygen Florida Orange: Elements: Carbon, oxygen	1064nm	755nm and 1064nm
Violet	Magnanese violet, indigold	532nm
Green	Chromium oxxide, hydrated chromium sesquioxide, malachite green, lead chromate, ferro-ferric cyanide, cur cumin green, phythalocyanine dyes. Permanent green: Aluminum, copper, chlorine, carbon Emerald Green: Titanium, aluminium, chromium, chlorine, carbonoxygen Parrot green: Titanium, aluminium, chromium, chlorine, carbonoxygen Misty green: Titanium, aluminium, chlorine, carbon oxygen	650nm	755nm and 695nm
Blue	Cobalt aluminate, phthalocyanine, ferric ferrocyanide, cur cumin green, phthalocyananine dyes. Sky blue:Titanium, aluminium, copper, chlorine, carbon, oxygen. Blue green: Aluminium, copper, chlorine, carbon, oxygen Misty blue: Titanium, aluminium, chlorine	585nm	755nm and 695nm

The Council also performed physical inspections and microbial studies in opened and unopened tattoo ink stock bottles. Surprisingly, 6 of the 58 stock bottles (10%) were contaminated with bacteria and 1 of 6 samples (17%) of open stock bottles were contaminated. The bacteria found in the samples included those considered pathogenic in humans as well as non-pathogenic environmental bacteria: (3)

31% of manufacturers only provided the brand name on the packaging of their ink. 42% of manufacturers claimed their ink was sterile. There was no information in respect of content, sterility, risks or expiry date. 28% of the seals on unopened inks were leaking. 54% of labeled inks indicated a use by date of 2 to 3 years after manufacture: (4)

So, all in all, the information about the purity and makeup of tattoo ink appears to be a little concerning. Before you get too concerned about the make up of ink and what it may be doing to your health, it is worth remembering that any connection between tattoos and cancer are so low as to be judged coincidental by the medical profession. 

If, however, you were looking to remove some of your colourful ink, it is definitely worth doing your homework when it comes to treatment providers. 

If you have black or red ink, your selection of service providers for removal will be large. This is because all as all Q-Switched Nd:YAG lasers used to treat tattoo ink should have the 1064nm and the 532nm wavelengths. The 1064nm wavelength treats black ink, whilst the 532 treats red ink. 

Where your selection of tattoo removalist becomes a little more complicated is when you have a tattoo which is colourful, with say, blue, green, yellow, tan or pink inks in it. Most tattoo removalists will be able to treat the black ink particles in these tattoos,  however, they do not have a powerful enough laser or alternative wavelengths in their machine to treat whites, blues, greens, pinks and the like. 

These treatment providers either have to restrict the colours they can treat or they have to use an additional laser or lasers to treat colourful ink. The most common are the Ruby laser and the Alexandrite laser. Care needs to be taken when being treated with these machines. Firstly, they are their own specialist laser and hence your laser operator needs to be familiar with and conversant with all the features and risks inherent with using each laser. This requires specialist knowledge. Such knowledge is usually not found in beauty store chains. Particular care must be taken when using these lasers as they have been known to leave scars and pigmentation changes. 

City Tattoo Removal is different because we are a one-stop shop for all your tattoo removal requirements. We can treat all common tattoo inks, including black, red, navy, brown, red, pink, yellow, tan, light green, dark green, light blue. We use Fotona’s QX MAX laser which is one of the best lasers in the world for tattoo removal. The QX MAX is one of the only lasers in the world which can treat all common tattoo inks. 

If you have a tattoo you want to remove, you can’t go past the professionalism and results you will get at City Tattoo Removal. Call Tash on 3003 0358 or email contact@citytattooremoval.com.au to book your consultation or removal appointment today!

Check our our website at:

www.citytattooremoval.com.au

You can also find us on:

Facebook: @citytattooremovalbrisbane

Instagram: @citytattooremoval

Endnotes: 

(1) The Council on Health and Disease Prevention “Tattoos - Health, Risks and Culture: With an Introduction to the “Seamless Prevention; Strategy”, Jorgen Serup et all p95.

(2) Leonardo Marini: www.prime-journal.com/tattoo-removal-using-a-multilayer-q-switched-laser/\

Re particle size: Beatrice Bocca et al “Size and metal composition characterization of nano- and Microparticles in tattoo inks by a combination of analytical techniques’, https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2017/ja/c6ja00210b/unauth#!divAbstract.

(3) The Council on Health and Disease Prevention “Tattoos - Health, Risks and Culture: With an Introduction to the “Seamless Prevention; Strategy”, Jorgen Serup et all p95 to 100.

(4) he Council on Health and Disease Prevention “Tattoos - Health, Risks and Culture: With an Introduction to the “Seamless Prevention; Strategy”, Jorgen Serup et all p95 to 100.