Ever since I learned that I have a nickel allergy, I’ve been much more aware of what goes into tattoo inks and I’m a bit troubled by it. I was never deluded into believing tattoo ink was 100% safe. Obviously, we all accept some level of risk by permanently injecting foreign substances into our bodies, but in some cases it seems like a lot more than a “risk.”
For example, I have a tattoo appointment scheduled next year and I just learned that the artist will be using Intenze Dark Red. I did some research on the pigments used in this color: Pigment Red 210 and Pigment Orange 13. Pigment Red 210 is Napthol-based, which is actually a good thing considering that Napthol is considered to be safer than many of the other red pigments. Pigment Orange 13 is another story though. It contains azo dyes (banned in Europe) and o-Dianisidine, which is a known carcinogen. Known human carcinogens must be specifically listed in the MSDS, but o-Dianisidine has only been proven to be carcinogenic in non-human animals, which is the loophole that allows Intenze and other manufactures to hide it behind a color index number. It is described as being “reasonably anticipated” to be carcinogenic to humans though. Well, we have never proven that cigarettes cause cancer either, but any sensible person knows this to be true.
I’m a bit torn here between my love of tattoo art and a concern for my health. 🙁 It would be great if the US was as proactive with regulating what goes into inks as Europe.
if it makes you feel any better tattooed people have no higher incident of cancer than the non-inked…….over the 10,000 yars people have been putting homeade inks into their skin very few problems have occured………..that old dermal layer of ours must be pretty inert…….I dont think it is effected by much
biggest problem I see now is alergic to contents of red ink, reaction to aftercare products with zinc in them (alot!) and believe it or not laytex alergy (that sucks because how do you avoid laytex gloves when getting tattooed?)
my advice, I would worry about your know alergies and what might effect them but just dont read the fine print on the rest of the contents, your not going to like alot of them
what is kind of scary is, you get 10-12 hours of work done in a long hard session, tons of packed color, you begin to heal and your lymph nodes swell up under your arm the size of a tangerine…………yoiu just have to take my advice and know you will heal ok, its a reaction and it is fairly normal………the nodes are involved with the bodys draining of infections, especially skin infections, so yes they are royally pissed off I have given my body such a large piece of trama to heal……..doesnt feel normal………but it happens
I can’t even imagine how rough a 12 hour session would be. D:
3 was long enough and my body wasn’t having any more.
my advice, I would worry about your know alergies and what might effect them but just dont read the fine print on the rest of the contents, your not going to like alot of them
Well I’m a very health-conscious person, so I can’t really turn a blind eye to what I’m putting in my body. I don’t smoke, rarely drink, don’t eat fast food, and workout 5 days a week. But I’m not an alarmist either and I’m not going to hole myself up in a bubble based on what “might” happen 20 years from now. I’m just bothered by the inclusion of known carcinogens in some inks, particularly when it’s hidden behind a TS/CI number. I’m a strong advocate for FDA regulation of tattoo inks, similar to the regulation used in Europe. I suppose I just want to be aware of what’s in the inks so I can make an educated decision.
now me too, no booze, no drugs, dont smoke, powerlifter, lift all the time, try and eat good, some junk
but you and I have to realize, the inks now are 100 times better than the old inks and we will have to assume some level of risk, you are a tatooed rebel right? ……….but based upon what has happened to the last 10 million people tatttooed I am going to assume you will be ok
but sure, doing your due dillagance before allowing just any old ink into your bidy isnt a bad idea. Some artists are very choosy about what they use……….some just use what packs in best for their style
PS Ive been over 15 hours before, you gotta do what you gotta do, no one said it was going to be easy, if it was easy everyone would have a bodysuit
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