Friday, May 2, 2014

What is in tattoo ink?!?!

whats in tattoo ink?!?!

Manufacturers of inks and pigments are not required to reveal the contents. A professional who mixes his or her own inks from dry pigments will be most likely to know the composition of the inks. However, the information is proprietary (trade secrets), so you may or may not get answers to questions.
Most tattoo inks technically aren't inks. They are composed of pigments that are suspended in a carrier solution. Contrary to popular belief, pigments usually are not vegetable dyes. Today's pigments primarily are metal salts. However, some pigments are plastics and there are probably some vegetable dyes too. The pigment provides the color of the tattoo. The purpose of the carrier is to disinfect the pigment suspension, keep it evenly mixed, and provide for ease of application. I have recently discovered some tattoo ink manufactures are putting their MSDS ingredient sheets up on their sites! Intenze has theirs online and I found a few from Alla Prima too.


Black
Iron Oxide (Fe3O4)
Iron Oxide (FeO)
Carbon
Logwood
Natural black pigment is made from magnetite crystals, powdered jet, wustite, bone black,and amorphous carbon from combustion (soot). Black pigment is commonly made into India ink.
Logwood is a heartwood extract from Haematoxylon campechisnum, found in Central America and the West Indies.


 Brown
Ochre
Ochre is composed of iron (ferric) oxides mixed with clay. Raw ochre is yellowish. When dehydrated through heating, ochre changes to a reddish color.
 Red
Cinnabar (HgS)
Cadmium Red (CdSe)
Iron Oxide (Fe2O3)
Napthol-AS pigment
Iron oxide is also known as common rust. Cinnabar and cadmium pigments are highly toxic. Napthol reds are synthesized from Naptha. Fewer reactions have been reported with naphthol red than the other pigments, but all reds carry risks of allergic or other reactions.
 Orange
disazodiarylide and/or disazopyrazolone
cadmium seleno-sulfide
The organics are formed from the condensation of 2 monoazo pigment molecules. They are large molecules with good thermal stability and colorfastness.
 Flesh
Ochres (iron oxides mixed with clay)

 Yellow
Cadmium Yellow (CdS, CdZnS)
Ochres
Curcuma Yellow
Chrome Yellow (PbCrO4, often mixed with PbS)
disazodiarylide
Curcuma is derived from plants of the ginger family; aka tumeric or curcurmin. Reactions are commonly associated with yellow pigments, in part because more pigment is needed to achieve a bright color.
 Green
Chromium Oxide (Cr2O3), called Casalis Green or Anadomis Green
Malachite [Cu2(CO3)(OH)2]
Ferrocyanides and Ferricyanides
Lead chromate
Monoazo pigment
Cu/Al phthalocyanine
Cu phthalocyanine
The greens often include admixtures, such as potassium ferrocyanide (yellow or red) and ferric ferrocyanide (Prussian Blue)
 Blue
Azure Blue
Cobalt Blue
Cu-phthalocyanine
Blue pigments from minerals include copper (II) carbonate (azurite), sodium aluminum silicate (lapis lazuli), calcium copper silicate (Egyptian Blue), other cobalt aluminum oxides and chromium oxides. The safest blues and greens are copper salts, such as copper pthalocyanine. Copper pthalocyanine pigments have FDA approval for use in infant furniture and toys and contact lenses. The copper-based pigments are considerably safer or more stable than cobalt or ultramarine pigments.
 Violet
Manganese Violet (manganese ammonium pyrophosphate)
Various aluminum salts
Quinacridone
Dioxazine/carbazole
Some of the purples, especially the bright magentas, are photoreactive and lose their color after prolonged exposure to light. Dioxazine and carbazole result in the most stable purple pigments.
 White
Lead White (Lead Carbonate)
Titanium dioxide (TiO2)
Barium Sulfate (BaSO4)
Zinc Oxide
Some white pigments are derived from anatase or rutile. White pigment may be used alone or to dilute the intensity of other pigments. Titanium oxides are one of the least reactive white pigments.