Commercial and homemade tattoo inks alike can contain a wide variety of ingredients. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration rarely exercises its authority to regulate the pigments in tattoo ink, though it sometimes restricts the use of certain substances, and manufacturers and tattoo artists are not required to reveal the ingredients in their ink. However, many basic ingredients are widely used, and you should consider their risks and benefits before getting a tattoo or attempting to mix your own ink.
Carrier Solutions
Tattoo ink actually consists of two main components: a pigment to give the ink its color, and a carrier solution to contain the pigment. The carrier solution helps to keep the pigment evenly distributed to ensure a consistent hue and intensity. As a liquid suspension, it also makes the pigment much easier to inject beneath the skin and place precisely to create intricate designs. According to the Healthy Skin Association, common carrier solutions include purified water, ethyl alcohol, witch hazel, glycerin, Listerine and propylene glycol, all of which either reduce or actively prohibit the risk of infection or contamination.
Black Pigments
Traditional monochrome tattoos are still very popular, making black one of the most common colors of tattoo ink. Black pigment typically consists of magnetite crystals, carbon, powdered jet, bone black, wustite or logwood extract. These ingredients cover the range of typical pigment sources, including metal salts, traditional minerals, vegetable dyes and modern organics and plastics. However, according to a study published in the Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology in 2009, few cases of adverse reactions to tattoo ink, including allergic responses, have been linked to black pigments.
Brown or Flesh Tone Pigments
Brown and flesh tone tattoo inks derive their pigments from ochre, or ferric oxides that are sometimes mixed with clay. Although naturally yellow in color, ochre develops a reddish hue when heated and dried.
Red, Orange and Yellow Pigments
While the "warm" colors of red, yellow and orange are similar in hue, they derive from a wide variety of ingredients. Red pigment can consist of cinnabar (mercury sulfide) and cadmium red (both known to be toxic), iron oxide (otherwise known as common "rust") or napthol, which has a lower incidence of adverse reactions. Orange pigment is made from disazopyrazolone, disazodiarylide or cadmium seleno-sulfide, which are fairly stable organic substance. Yellow pigment is made from curcuma (found in ginger plants such as tumeric), cadmium yellow, ochres, disazodiarylide or chrome yellow.
Green, Blue and Violet Pigments
The "cool" colors of green, blue and violet also derive from a variety of sources. Green pigments are generally metallic or mineral in nature and are sometimes formed by mixing yellow and blue pigments. Sources of green pigments can include chromium oxide, ferro- and ferricyanides, lead chromate, malachite, monoazo pigment and phthalocyanines. Blue pigments include azure and cobalt blue, cobalt aluminate and copper phtalocyanine, which the FDA considers safe enough for use in infant products and contact lenses. Violet pigments include manganese ammonium pyrophosphate, dioxazine/carbazole, quinacridone and aluminum salts. Note that some violet pigments may tend to fade and shift in hue after long exposure to sunlight.
White Pigments
White pigments can be used in isolation to create white tattoo ink, or they can lighten the shade of another color. White pigments are often based on lead carbonate, barium sulfate, titanium dioxide or zinc oxide.
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