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Analytical Chemistry

Some tattoo inks in Europe contain banned pigments

Researchers also found inaccuracies in some ink ingredient labels

by Krystal Vasquez
October 3, 2024 | A version of this story appeared in Volume 102, Issue 31

 

A new study that analyzed 10 inks commonly used in Europe found that 9 of them were out of compliance with the European Union’s Registration, Evaluation, Authorization, and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) regulation (Analyst 2024, DOI: 10.1039/D4AN00793J).

A colorful tattoo on a person's arm.
Credit: Shutterstock
Nine tattoo inks were found to be noncompliant with the European Union's Registration, Evaluation, Authorization, and Restriction of Chemicals regulation.

Under REACH, makers of tattoo inks and permanent makeup are required to list the products’ ingredients and reduce or eliminate compounds that could pose a risk to human or environmental health. For example, REACH recently banned two pigments common in blue and green inks, pigment green 7 and pigment blue 15:3, that the EU had also previously banned in hair color.

Of the nine noncompliant inks, the researchers determined that five had minor discrepancies; these inks did not contain any banned pigments, but their labels didn’t list all their ingredients. But four inks contained the banned pigment green 7, and two contained a variant of pigment blue 15. The researchers were unable to conclusively determine using their main method of analysis, Raman spectroscopy, whether the variant was the banned pigment blue 15:3.

Discrepancies in tattoo ink ingredient lists are not unique to Europe. Earlier this year, the same researchers analyzed 54 inks used in the US and found that 45 contained a pigment or additive not listed on the ingredient label.

In the European study, the researchers voice concern over the number of inks that have discrepancies between their ingredients and their labels. They also note that accurate labeling and reliable testing methods will become increasingly important as tattoo inks become more regulated.

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