TESTINGTATTOOINK WHATAREWEINJECTINGINTO OURSKIN?

ByFrancescaNegri

Tattoos are a celebrated art form, a medium for self expression, and a way to pay homage to personal memories. As more and more people throughout the 21st century continue to adorn their skin with permanent illustrations, scientists are asking what elements exactly are tattoo pigments composed of? And how safe is this ink for us in the longrun?

John Swierk, a Ph.D. and chemistry professor at Binghamton University, recentlyledaresearchteamtoinvestigatethecomponentsoftattooinkby performing analysis on the nation’s most popular brands. The team discovered that there are no pigments specifically manufactured for tattoo inkmeaningthatthepigmententeringyourskinisthesameasthatusedfor dyingpaintandtextiles.

Swierk’sresearchersperformedchemicalanalysesoftattooinkusingRaman spectroscopy, nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, and electron microscopy. The results of their study revealed the presence of certain unlabeled ingredients and identified specific pigments in different ink samples.Swierkstatedthat23ofthe56differentinksanalyzedlikelycontain azopigments–dyesthatwhendamagedbybacteriaorexposuretoUVlight canbreakdownintoapotentiallycarcinogenic,nitrogen-basedcompound.

The mission of Swierk’s research team is to inform tattoo artists and clients on the composition of their inks, enabling them to make more educated decisionsaboutwhichproductstouseandwhichonestoavoid.Theteam’s dataiscurrentlyavailableforviewingontheirwebsitewhatsinmyink.com.