There are generally no side effects. However, some redness and swelling at the site can be seen, resolved with ice application.
Earlier, tattoos were primarily used for religious reasons (often used by followers of Buddhism and Hinduism to express religious ideas), but now it has become a fashion statement. Today, many people are decorating their bodies with images that reflect their personality. At same time, we also often hear about allergic reactions to tattoo inks. Can getting tattoos harm your skin and cause other side effects?
There is no regulation for tattoos in many countries, and hence the components in the inks and their potential side effects remain largely unknown. Now, scientists at Binghamton University have exposed the chemical composition of some tattoo inks.
Even when tattoo inks include an ingredient label, often the lists are inaccurate, said the researchers who analyzed around 100 popular brands of tattoo inks during their project. The team, led by John Swierk, also found small particles in the inks that could be harmful to cells.
The study results were presented at the fall meeting of the American Chemical Society (ACS).
Swierk and his team asked tattoo artists if they knew the composition of the inks they use on their customers. While they could tell the name of the brand they preferred, they didn't know much about the composition of tattoo ink.
According to Swierk, dye companies do not make a specific pigment for tattoo ink. They make pigments for everything, including paint and textiles, and the same pigments are used in tattoo inks as well, he said.
Swierk stressed the urgent need for regulating the contents of tattoo inks and making a license mandatory for tattoo artists to operate for safety reasons.
According to the researchers, tattoo inks contain two components: a pigment and a carrier solution.
The pigment in the tattoo inks could be a molecular blue pigment or white solid compound (titanium dioxide) or a combination of the two compound types (light blue ink). The carrier solution is added to make the pigment more soluble so that it can reach to the middle layer of skin. Sometimes, the solution contains an anti-inflammatory ingredient, as stated by the researchers.
Swierk's team used different techniques, such as Raman spectroscopy, nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and electron microscopy to examine the particle size and molecular composition of tattoo pigments.
The chemical analysis showed the presence of ingredients like ethanol in some inks that aren't listed on the product labels. They also found azo pigments in some inks. These pigments may not be harmful to health when they are chemically intact, but bacteria or ultraviolet light can degrade them into a nitrogen-based compound that is considered a potential carcinogen, the expert noted.
Further, analysis through electron microscopy revealed the presence of particles smaller than 100 nm in some inks used for tattoos.
This is concerning, said Swierk as "particles of this size can get through the cell membrane and potentially cause harm."
