Tattoo Ink

Most tattoo pigments are made from metal salts, that is oxidizing certain metals and elements to produce a color change. Ever see the copper roof on a church turn green? Well, if you have any green or blue in your body, it comes from copper. The only safe greens and blues on the market are made this way, cobalt being too toxic, and ultramarine unstable. These are called Copper Pthalocyanine pigments, painters and other craftsmen may be familiar with these pigments. Pthalocyanine pigments are approved by the FDA for use in contact lenses, surgical implants, and paint for infant furniture.
The other pigments considered very safe are Black, most commonly Carbon Black, or Bone Black, which is India Ink, made from burning animal bones or kerosene, and collecting the soot. Purple/Violet, which is dioxazine/carbazole violet, yellows of the Arylide type, Napthol red , based on the solvent Naptha. Reds based on other materials may or may not cause scarring and reaction. Magenta is safe, but generally considered less lightfast and more unstable than other pigments. Oranges are considered safe, as are Zinc and Titanium white, Titanium being the superior white. Browns, even though they are often based on Oxides of Iron are also considered safe.

Keep in mind that many reds are questionable, often causing burning, scarring, or rashes. While this is rare, many reds can cause serious damage, especially those made from Oxides of Iron, and Mercury. Cinnabar reds cause reactions and scarring in a high proportion of the tattooed population. These are considered very unsafe and I've heard doctors advise patients to have the pigment removed after biopsy was performed.

Yellow is generally a safe pigment, but when used in high concentration, may burn and scar due to a change in PH under the skin. Yellow has always been a problem pigment, due to the fact that cutting the pigment load causes a lighter, more washed out hue.

It should be noted that plastic-based inks (for example, some of the more unusual inks such as glow-in-the-dark ink) can also lead to polymerization under the skin, where the particles of tattoo pigment, instead of being individually isolated by the body, join together into a solid larger piece under the skin. This can also happen in cases where an ethyl alcohol is used as a carrier and it reacts with the plastic storage bottle.

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