The tattoo trade involves relatively few tools, but the quality of those tools--such as needles and ink--is as important as the high level of expertise needed to use them well. Because it rests under the surface of the skin and because tattoo recipients expect it to be permanent, tattoo ink is unlike other types of ink. According to Christa De Cuyper and Maria Luisa Cotapos in “Dermatologic Complications in Body Art,” historical tattoo ingredients included minerals, plant extracts, soot, carbon and ochre. In recent times, though, these ingredients have changed.
Pigment
Tattoo pigment is usually composed of mental or plastic particles that “reflect light in a certain way to create various colors,” says Jeanne Nagle in the book “Tattoo Artists.” In the book “Inked,” Carey Hart and Bill Thomas indicate that the most commonly used color in the tattoo world is black and explain that the black tattoo pigment is created from the soot of animal bones. Black tattoo pigment also includes pitch and tar.
De Cuyper and Cotapos list the substances in various tattoo pigments. Red pigment contains mercury sulphide—or cinnabar—and cadmium selenide. Cadmium sulphide creates yellow pigment. Blue pigment contains cobalt. White pigment contains lead carbonate, zinc oxide and titanium dioxide. The ingredients for other colors include ferric oxide, lead carbonate, titanium dioxide, manganese, manganese oxide, chromium oxide, hydrous chromium oxides, chromium sesquioxide, sienna, brazilin, carmine, cochinilla red, santalin and indigo.
Carrier
Tattoo pigments are solids, and as such, they must be suspended in a “carrier” for transfer under the skin. Nagel explains that carriers cannot overpower pigments, lest the resulting mixture become too runny. The most common substances used as carriers are purified water, glycerin, alcohol and witch hazel. Tattoo ink can come premixed, but some tattoo artists choose to mix their own pigments, which can be risky. Sterilization is particularly challenging, given that heating the substances composing tattoo pigments can make them toxic.
Additives
Tattoo pigments require additives to retain stability. These include thickening agents and chemicals that render the pigment and carrier mixture homogenous. Tattoo artists or manufacturers may include other additives to help make the ink stick to the tattooing needle, according to De Cuyper and Cotapos.
The authors also note that some artists add preservatives such as benzoic acid to circumvent contamination and local anesthetics to ease the pain of the tattooing process. Tattoo artists may also use Listerine or vodka as thinning agents.
References
- “Inked”; Carey Hart and Bill Thomas; 2008
- “Dermatologic Complications With Body Art: Tattoos, Piercings and Permanent Makeup”; Christa De Cuyper and Maria Luisa Cotapos; 2010
- “Tattoo Artists”; Jeanne Nagel; 2008
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