Tattoo Inks

In this post I will be discussing the different types of ink that can be used for tattooing and what they consist of.

Tattoo inks are usually a mixture of the pigment (powder) and a carrier. The pigment is the colour of the ink and the carrier is the liquid in which the pigment is dissolved. Tattoo artists can either buy the pigment and carrier separately, then mix them together themselves or buy it pre-made.

Powdered Ink Pigment

The pigments are in powdered form and can be obtained from different materials, depending on the desired colour of the ink. For example blue ink can be made from cobalt and red from mercury. Most ink pigments are made from heavy metals which can be quite harmful to the body. Manufacturers are also not required to list the ingredients used in their pigment/ink.

 The carrier is the liquid part of the ink and is usually just water or ethyl alcohol. The carrier enables the ink to be used on the skin and keeps the colour even. Other alcohols such as methanol or rubbing alcohol can be used for this, as well as glycerine.

Glow in the Dark Tattoo

Glow in the dark ink is another option. This ink works by retaining light when exposed and then reflecting it back in the dark. Blacklight ink is similar to this but gives a slightly different look.

Henna is a another type of ink used in tattooing although it is only semipermanent. Henna dye can come from the henna plant but can also come from other similar plants. The leaves of the plant are crushed and then mixed with other substances to make a paste. This paste is then applied to the skin directly, usually with a cone, similar to icing cakes. It is applied in a design and is then left to stain the skin. The longer the paste is left on the skin the darker the colour of the stain will be. The colour of the stain also darkens over the first few days before eventually fading away.

Henna Being Applied

Websites used;

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henna

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tattoo_ink