The number of people that have gotten tattoos in the past decade has grown exponentially, whether they regret it or not. In addition, the trend is becoming much more popular in American adults under the age of 55.
But there may be a huge chance that despite the many health and safety protocols in place when people get tattooed, people don’t realize that the main component of a tattoo – the ink – is actually highly unregulated in the United States. For most people, this isn’t a problem. But there is a new study that looks at the oversight in mislabeling and the possible concerns over the ingredients that are actually in the ink.
According to the principle investigator in the study, and assistant professor of chemistry at Binghamton University, State University of New York, John Swierk, PhD, “I think right now our most important finding is just how unreliable the labeling is on tattoo inks.”
Despite the fact that ink manufacturers in the United States don’t need to report their ingredients, most of them do. According to Dr. Swierk, “To date, we’ve found very few inks that are correctly and completely labeled. Some of the omissions probably aren’t that serious, but in other cases the reported pigments do not match what is in the bottle, and that’s more of a concern.”
The research results were presented at the August 24 ACS Fall 2022, which is the fall meeting of the American Chemical Society (ACS), which was a meeting held in person during August 21 to 25. There was also on-demand access to this meeting during August 26 to September 9.
Tattoo Ink Has Same Pigments in Textiles and Paints
Originally, the investigators planned to look at what happens when laser light is used to remove tattoos. But when they realized that there is not too much information about how tattoo ink is made, they decided to analyze more popular brands.
Dr. Swierk and his team of undergraduates in his laboratory interviewed some tattoo artists to better understand what they knew about the ink they used on their customers. Many of the artists were quick to identify the brands they like, many weren’t familiar with the actual ink content.
In a statement, Dr. Swierk shared, “Surprisingly, no dye shop makes pigment specific for tattoo ink. Big companies manufacture pigments for everything, such as paint and textiles. These same pigments are used in tattoo inks.” He also added that there is no local or federal agency that regulates ink contents for themselves.
Some Ink Ingredients Cause Allergic Reactions In People
Tattoo inks have two main parts, the pigment and the carrier solution. Swierk and his team used a variety of techniques that were developed to closely look at the particle size and molecular composition. What they found was the presence of certain ingredients not listed on some labels. One example was where ethanol was not listed, but the analysis of the chemicals in the ink showed that it was present in the ink. According to some research, ethanol is known to cause skin irritations and contact dermatitis in some people.
Some Ink Particles Can Get Through Cell Membrane
Dr. Swierk goes on to say, “Every time we looked at one of the inks, we found something that gave me pause. For example, 23 of 56 different inks analyzed to date suggest an azo-containing dye is present.” According to Joint Research Centre – a company that provides independent scientific advice to the European Union, while many azo pigments don’t cause health issues when they are chemically intact, ultraviolet light or bacteria can degrade them until they become a nitrogen-based compound that becomes potentially carcinogenic.
Moreover, scientists also looked at 16 ink samples using electron microscopy, where around half had particles that were smaller than 100 nanometers. Swierk explained, “That’s a concerning size range. Particles of this size can get through the cell membrane and potentially cause harm.”
So Are Inks Harmful to Humans? More Research Is Required
While research is ongoing, investigators have plans to get their research peer-reviewed once they are done. Eventually, the findings will also be available on the website, What’s in My Ink?, which is aimed to help consumers better understand what risks there are when it comes to different tattoo ink.
Swierk shares, “With these data, we want consumers and artists to make informed decisions and understand how accurate the provided information is.”
Swierk also explains that their findings aren’t meant to prove that these inks are necessarily harmful to human health. But he says, “Outside of allergic reactions, at this point we don’t know what if any hazards the inks might pose.”
While Swierk says that there are clear lines when it comes to the proper sterilization procedures and good aftercare of tattoos that can help prevent infection afterwards, he also shares that “It’s important to work with an artist who is following best practices for safe tattooing. Those artists are also usually plugged into the wider community and aware of what inks are causing problems or seem to be of low quality.”
What are the Health Risks of Tattoos
Aside from the possibility of getting an infection from a tattoo, there are other health concerns to consider before getting inked.
Penn Medicine tells potential tattoo customers to ‘Think Before You Ink’ due to the following possible risks:
- Allergic Reactions – Some people can get an allergic reaction to the dyes used to tattoo. If you tend to have regular allergic reactions, be sure to check with an allergist before getting inked.
- Hepatitis – Hepatitis is a disease that can be spread through sharing needles. Be sure to choose a tattoo artist and tattoo parlor that have a strict policy about cleanliness, sanitation, and using the proper equipment, new gloves, and new and clean needles every time they tattoo.
- MRI Complications – MRI scans, or magnetic resonance imaging, is a test that creates images of structures within the body using a large magnet, radio waves, and a computer. Albeit quite rare, some instances of people with tattoos have had complications such as swelling, redness, and even first or second degree burns. In fact, red ink in particular could interfere with the accuracy of the MRI results as well.
- Cancer – Although there is no evidence proving that tattoos can cause skin cancer, some experts think that particular ingredients in ink could be linked to cancer. Black ink is one concern due to its high level of benzo(a)pyrene, which the American Cancer Society says has been listed as a carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC).
The Bottom Line
In the end, the most important thing about getting inked is to do the proper research, understand your body, and search for the right tattoo parlor and artist that has impeccable rules on safety and cleanliness when tattooing.
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