Market survey on toxic metals contained in tattoo inks

Cancer Risk In Tattoos: A Review

“…Surveyed tattoo inks were composed of several metallic salts, some found at high concentrations and others at low or trace concentrations.The traditional classification, based on the rule that one colour equals one metallic salt (ie. red=mercury, blue=cobalt, green=chromium, purple=magnesium etc), which is still mentioned in some textbooks and reviews is too restrictive and definitely out-of-date 5,6 . European market studies have shown that most of the current commercially available tattoo compounds are azo pigments or polycyclic compounds, classified by their chemical constitution.…”

“…The trauma induced by the procedure (puncturing the skin) has typically been identified as one of the main causes. Tattoo pigments do not remain inert in the dermis; an inflammatory reaction occurs over the lifetime of the bearer, in an attempt to degrade all foreign material 5 . Chronic ultraviolet sun exposure has been suggested as another potential factor for skin carcinogenesis in tattoos.…”

“…Unfortunately, most studies have focused on black and red inks. To our knowledge, except for the presence of metallic salts, the presence of potential carcinogenic components in other colours has not been investigated 5,6, . Finally, there might be other undetermined factors, such as a genetic predisposition and viruses in the skin, with potential role in carcinogenesis associated with tattoos.…”

National survey of health in the tattoo industry: Observational study of 448 French tattooists

“…Furthermore, hypersensitivity reactions to tattoo color and chronic dermatoses of the tattoo area are also possible [6]. Besides, for the past years, concerns have been raised by the obscure market of ink manufacturing as metallic salts, potential carcinogenic or pro-carcinogenic compounds, and more recently nanoparticles have been found in tattoo inks in various toxicological studies [7][8][9][10][11][12].…”

A Rare Case of Pseudoepitheliomatous Hyperplasia of the Skin Arising in a Tattoo Site

“…It is observed that white, black, green, blue, and yellow inks rarely cause allergic reactions, while red inks are the most reactive in this regard, due to inclusions of various metals, i.e. aluminium, iron, silicon, titanium, calcium, mercury, cadmium, as well as organic azo colorants (5,(11)(12)(13)(14)(15)(16).…”