This blog has forced me to get a real crash course in the tattoo world. As I have mentioned on many occasions I am not against tattoos I simply prefer people to get educated on the subject before submitting to such a permanent procedure. And then if they decide they no longer want the tattoo I think they should be able to remove it for a minimal cost and no pain if at all possible.

I have so much information on tattoo inks that it would take several posts to include it all. First and foremost I will say that from a chemistry perspective tattoo inks are not inks at all, they are pigments in a carrier solution. Huh?Simply put it is kind of like adding water to finger paints. However in this case the pigments are typically metal, plastic, or vegetable based while the carrier portions is more than likely some alcohol solution.

There are two considerations the first is the potential toxic nature of the ‘inks’ and the other is the fact that there is no regulation of ink composition. While your tattoo artist is a dynamic artist, he/she is probably no a chemist. You should be concerned here because many tattoo artists mix their own inks. Is this occurring in a sterile environment? Highly unlikely.

It would seem that many more people would come down with illnesses related to tattoos but it just does not seem to be the big of a deal. Well consider this, the human body is resilient on many levels and does a pretty good job of keeping us healthy. Still the issue here is the prolonged exposure to the impure or toxic components of tattoo inks. So what happens in year 5, 10, or 20? As for the recent wave of tattoo enthusiasts it may be too soon to tell. Some have found out the hard way that they are in fact allergic to materials in the inks. What do you do when you are allergic to something that is under the skin. Even the process of removal has the potential to make you even sicker as the inks are now passed through the lymph node system and expelled…

There will be a much more in depth post on tattoo inks forthcoming but I would encourage you to talk to your tattoo artists about the inks they use and where they come from. Ask them about the environment where they are stored and if there is a standard for sterilization.

Perhaps this is another reason tattoo removal is on the rise like never before.