Tattoos and Toxicity

Tattoos and Toxicity: How safe is your pigment?

In the age of the tattoo boom, popularity and interest in the art form has spawned more artists and supply companies than the industry ever could imagine. Like any other grass-roots industry, mass production has diluted more traditional forms of learning the craft, such as an oral tradition passed down through generations of tattooists.

With so few Old-Timers left, and even fewer willing to provide any tangible information on the tattoo process, many younger artists have jumped in blindly, believing that if they are ordering a product off the shelves, it must be a safe high quality product.

When you ask an artist what is in the pigment he uses, you’ll usually get a stock reply, such as “vegetable dye”. There are very few permanent, safe vegetable dyes on the market made for any artistic uses. This lack of knowledge on the part of tattooists has , to many clients’ dismay, caused sometimes irreparable damage to skin.

Most tattoo pigments are made from metal salts, that is oxidizing certain metals and elements to produce a color change. Ever see the copper roof on a church turn green? Well, if you have any green or blue in your body, it comes from copper. The only safe greens and blues on the market are made this way, cobalt being too toxic, and ultramarine unstable. These are called Copper Pthalocyanine pigments, painters and other craftsmen may be familiar with these pigments. Pthalocyanine pigments are approved by the FDA for use in contact lenses, surgical implants, and paint for infant furniture. While no pigments are regulated by the FDA for use in tattooing, these are widely accepted as safe, and I have not heard of one reaction in 11 years of tattooing.

The other pigments considered very safe are Black, most commonly Carbon Black, or Bone Black, which is India Ink, made from burning animal bones or kerosene, and collecting the soot.  Purple/Violet, which is dioxazine/carbazole violet, yellows of the Arylide type, Napthol red , based on the solvent Naptha. Reds based on other materials may or may not cause scarring and reaction. Magenta is safe, but generally considered less lightfast and more unstable than other pigments. Oranges are considered safe, as are Zinc and Titanium white, Titanium being the superior white. Browns, even though they are often based on Oxides of Iron are also considered safe.

Keep in mind that many reds are questionable, often causing burning, scarring, or rashes. While this is rare, many reds can cause serious damage, especially those made from Oxides of Iron, and Mercury. Cinnabar reds cause reactions and scarring in a high proportion of the tattooed population. These are considered very unsafe and I’ve heard doctors advise patients to have the pigment removed after biopsy was performed.

Yellow is generally a safe pigment, but when used in high concentration, may burn and scar due to a change in PH under the skin. Yellow has always been a problem pigment, due to the fact that cutting the pigment load causes a lighter, more washed out hue.

Another concern in pigment toxicity has nothing to with the pigment at all, but more with the carrier, or liquid suspension. Most suspension is attained (dissolved) using alcohols and glycerides. The safest modern pigments being carried by Alcohol (methyl or ethyl) glycerine, and other glycols. Witch Hazel and Listerine may also be used. These products are FDA approved for human use in a variety of products, including foods, candies, antiseptics, and in the case of ethyl alcohols general rowdiness and drunken debauchery. I personally mix my own pigments with drinking vodka and glycerides and glycols.

Here’s the flipside….. propylene glycol is safe, ethylene glycol is antifreeze, this may kill you. Certain alcohols are denatured and these may burn you and cause general skin irritation…..now the clincher….some pigment manufacturers ship pigment in “aqueous suspension” i.e. the liquid is included. The ingredients of aqueous suspension are legally protected by non-disclosure agreements on the part of the chemical companies, which means we do not have a right to know what the liquid is made from.

Many pigments on the market smell musty, an indication of aldehyde compounds being present. Most of you may be aware of formaldehyde, or even glutaraldehyde, which exist only to denature (kill) proteins. Aldehydes are also known Carcinogens. Rumours have abounded in recent years of pigment suppliers adding Formaldehyde to their ink. We now know that Formaldehyde present in the ink is caused by a reaction between the plastic bottles and the Ethyl Alcohol carrying the pigment. Imagine what a disinfectant can do to your skin. These may be present in some pigments, and can hurt you. The most disgusting and reputed cases are commonly described as ditches, where the subcutaneous layer of skin is eaten away by the chemicals and the skin sinks, causing a reverse scar wherever the suspect pigments lay. I have also smelled strong ammonia odors from other pigments and being a skin irritant, I think ammonias are unsafe.

Due to the fact aldehydes and some solvent may be present in some tattoo ink, leads to another concern: polymerization of the pigment. Polymers are plastics and can and will have tendency to bind with each other and become a plastic solid under the skin. One symptom of polymerization has come to be known in the industry as “Deep Pore Syndrome” when the polymerization occurs ,it leaves pores and follicles as little islands in the plastic. Seen it before? I have lots of times, it’s not so much a reaction or irritation as it is a modification….plastics suck! So don’t keep very large bottles of Ethyl pigment around, or use glass containers.

By no means, do I mean tattooing is unsafe. However I do believe it may be unsafe in the wrong hands. While I do believe most tattooists to be concerned, conscientious, and caring individuals, I must say that the oral tradition of tattoo is dead. Many of today’s artists think nothing of buying off the shelves as they would paint, canvas, or any other artist’s supplies. So choose your artist wisely and hope he/she is well informed.

Any and all questions are welcomed. Though I have little knowledge of the human body, being a tattoo guy and all, I am very interested to find who may have had chemical reactions and possibly help them in the search for a solution. My first advice is always visit a qualified dermatologist should problems arise. But if you do contact me, you may be armed with some information to inform your doctor, should he/she have any questions. My only agenda is to keep tattooing safe, and to provide any possible information that can keep my art safe and alive.