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The harmful side effects of tattoos are known, but are often ignored. Many simply assume that tattooing is safe due to its popularity. Others just don’t do their research before being injected with matrices, plastics, and paints. Many feel that since tattoo parlors are regulated, the ink should, but that is not true. Also present is the potential for infection with life-changing infections. The greatest health risk is due to heavy metal poisoning from tattoo ink. There are things that everyone should know before getting a tattoo. I will endeavor to inform you of the main risks.

Risks

The risks associated with tattoos can be described as skin-related diseases, end-organ diseases (liver, kidney, brain), and heavy metal poisoning. There are ways to avoid these tattoo effects and I will share them with you. But first, let’s look at some statistics.

According to Statistic Brain (2016),

• Americans spend a whopping $ 1,655 million on tattoos a year.

• Americans with at least one tattoo number 45 million people.

• The percentage of people who regret getting a tattoo is 17%.

• The percentage of Americans who remove a tattoo is 11%.

Why do people get tattoos?

These statistics are staggering numbers to me. It is surprising that so many people want to risk their health for the art of skin. People are motivated to get tattoos for a variety of reasons ranging from wearing skin art, remembering a loved one, or looking sexy or dangerous. Motivation is not important for today’s topic, but I just wanted to give you some background.

The dangers of tattoo ink carriers

What are the dangers of tattoo ink carriers? Supports are used to keep ink, plastic or paint evenly distributed during application and inhibit the growth of pathogens (bacteria / viruses). Please understand that these ingredients are not regulated for use in tattoos by the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) in most states.

• Ethyl Alcohol – Rubbing Alcohol is for external use and should not be injected into the skin. It can cause dryness and irritation of the skin and negatively affect the nerves.

• Glycerin: is glycerol sugar and alcohol and can cause increased urination and diarrhea.

• Listerine – is a mixture of menthol alcohol, methyl salicylate, thymol (from thyme oil) and eucalyptol (liquid derived from eucalyptus oil). May cause skin irritation and localized allergic reactions.

• Propylene Glycol: It is the main ingredient in antifreeze that can damage the liver and kidneys.

The dangers of tattoo ink

That was just the carriers. What’s in each ink color? Many of these inks have ingredients that you shouldn’t even apply to your skin, let alone inject into the lower layer of your skin. The epidermis is the outer layer of skin that is made up of dead skin cells and acts as a bandage for the entire body. It protects us from bacteria and viruses. The dermis is the living skin under the epidermis. Things that are injected into the dermis can be carried by the bloodstream to all parts of the body. This is why we get infections when we cut or scrape our skin. The protective epidermis is damaged.

What’s in the ink? Most inks contain acrylic resin (plastic molecules), but they also contain other ingredients. They are listed below by color based on Helmenstine (2017) and my own research.

• Black ink – Iron oxide (rust), charcoal, or charcoal – This is probably the least dangerous ink. The amount of iron oxide must be inadequate to cause iron toxicity. Ask the tattoo artist to use purified water as a carrier.

• Blue ink: copper, carbonite (azurite), sodium aluminum silicate (lapus lazuli), calcium copper silicate (Egyptian blue), cobalt and aluminum oxides and chromium oxides. Copper can lead or contribute to heavy metal poisoning. Aluminum has been shown to be attributed to Alzheimer’s disease and gastrointestinal disorders.

• Brown ink – iron oxide and iron ocher clay – probably as safe as black ink and for the same reasons.

• Green ink: Chrome and malachite oxide, lead chromate and the synthetic compound phthalocyanine Cu are used and only the first two are considered moderately safe. Lead chromate is derived from lead, which is toxic even in low doses. Cu Phthalocyanine is an unregulated copper compound and can cause skin irritation and respiratory irritation.

• Orange ink: disazodiarylide and / or disazopyrazolone, and cadmium sulfate produce orange ink. The first two are considered safe, but cadmium sulfate is considered toxic and possibly cancer-causing.

• Purple – Manganese Violet, Quinacridone, and Dioxazine, the former is considered safe. Quinacridone is an FDA approved food coloring, but it has caused localized skin reactions.

• Red: cinnabar, cadmium red, iron oxide, and naphthol-AS pigment are the various components of red ink. Most consider it the most toxic color of tattoo ink. Cinnabar is derived from mercury sulfate and is devastating to the nervous system. Cadmium red is a known carcinogen. Naphthol-AS pigment is used in red paints.

• Yellow: cadmium sulfate, ocher, turmeric yellow, chrome yellow and some are safe and some are not. Cadmium sulfate is derived from lead and is toxic. Yellow derived from the spice of turmeric or yellow from turmeric is considered safe. The problem with yellow is the volume that must be used to provide a vibrant yellow color, so local skin irritation often occurs.

• White: titanium dioxide, lead white, barium sulfate, and zinc oxide (the things you smear on your nose at the beach). Titanium dioxide has caused cancer in laboratory animals. Lead white is considered a human carcinogen. Barium is derived from the metal barium and is used in barium swallows for gastrointestinal tests, but when injected it can cause skin irritation.

• Glow-in-the-dark ink: made up of compounds that are toxic and, in some cases, radioactive. Again, this is not regulated in most states.

Some of these compounds can be considered safe, but testing still needs to be done. Some of these compounds are toxic and can cause heavy metal poisoning, as copper, lead, cadmium, chromium, arsenic, and aluminum leak into the bloodstream. Aluminum inks can also accelerate the onset of Alzheimer’s disease.

Some of these inks cause cancer and have known mutagenic properties (cause mutations and birth defects) according to Genser (2007). The FDA should regulate these inks, but in most states they are not. However, most states have started regulating tattoo parlors and at least that’s a start.

Regulation of tattoo parlors has greatly reduced the rate of serious infections. The use of disposable needles has had a great impact. In the past, in unregulated tattoo parlors, the risk of contracting hepatitis B and C, HIV, tetanus, herpes, staph and syphilis was a real threat. Regulations and single-use disposable needles have eliminated this risk (provided regulations are followed).

Another major concern with the art of tattooing is the fact that life-saving MRI scans cannot be performed in certain cases. This is because the metals in the ink cause severe burning pain in the patient. This has led many radiology departments to refuse to perform MRIs on tattoo patients, according to Grenser (2007). This could cause a misdiagnosis or failure to diagnose.

There are safe tattoo inks that are willing to reveal your tattoo formulas. There are many more dangerous tattoo inks that are not regulated. Many manufacturers refuse to disclose the formula as confidential confidential information. Media used to distribute ink evenly can also be potentially unsafe. Both inks and carriers are not regulated by the FDA and regulation of tattoo art is the responsibility of each individual state.

Conclution

Tattoo at your own risk. Tattoos can be safe or dangerous depending on your preparation for the tattoo. Talk to the tattoo artist. Ask them what transportation solution they use. Ask them the composition of their ink. Choose your colors based on which the colors are least toxic. Make sure the tattoo artist’s store has an active certificate from the Health Department. Ask them for their sanitation score from the Department of Health. If you think you should get a tattoo, do your research and make an informed decision. I personally recommend that you do not get a tattoo. There are too many risks of minor irritations and persistent side effects such as cancer, scars, granulomas, infection, toxicity, and infections, according to Mishra (2013). I don’t think it’s worth the risk, but it’s your body. Please study and make an informed decision.