With millions of people getting tattooed everyday, there are lot of options when it comes to tattooing and choice of artist/tattoo shop and particular design you are planning for yourself.
Here Is Why Tattoo Ink Isn’t Always Vegan:
If you are vegan (or care about animals) than it is VERY important to you that you know whether the Ink your artist is using is Vegan. Some artists use tattoo ink that contains glycerin, gelatin, shellac, or bone char.
So if you are Vegan then it is a good idea to confirm with your artist (about the brand of ink) first before choosing that particular person to complete your tattoo work!
In this article we are going to answer all these questions!
The topics we are going to discuss in this article are:
Is Tattoo Ink Vegan?
Most tattoo ink used is vegan, but not all the brands available in the market are.
According to PETA, you will find tattoo ink containing glycerin, gelatin, shellac, or bone char.
When these ingredients are used in tattoo ink production, they act as stabilizers or increase the pigmentation of the tattoo ink.
So if you go for a tattoo and your tattoo artist uses them, it is best to know that your tattoo artist will be about to ink you with a non-vegan tattoo.
What Tattoo Inks Are Vegans?
It is not easy to recognize which tattoo ink is vegan, but many tattoo artists’ brands are vegan by default. Some of the most popular vegan brands you will find in the market include Eternal, Dermaglo, Crazyhorse, and SkinCandy.
When you get a new tattoo, you can request your tattoo artist to use these well-known brands in the market for a long time. If your artist does not have them, look for a studio that has them in stock.
the other brand of vegan tattoo ink are
Alla Prima Ink, Fusion Tattoo, Crazyhorse, Good Color, Silverback Ink, Eve,1 Max Tattoo Inks, Southeast Tattoo, Classic Color Systems, Intenze Tattoo Ink, Kuro Sumi, Waverly Color Co, Stable Color, Supplies, Feldman and World Famous Tattoo.
Is Vegan Tattoo Ink Safer?
Yes, Vegan tattoo ink is safer. It is essential to know that vegan tattoo inks do not have animal products included in the tattooing experience.
Therefore, when used during the tattooing process, they will not damage your skin like regular tattoo ink. It is essential to know that they don’t have carcinogenic chemicals or other damaging chemicals which can react with your skin.
However, vegan ink can still contain toxic things, such as heavy metals and poisonous chemicals.
Therefore, it may not be 100 percent safe. Studies have shown that deposits of carcinogenic chemicals such as cadmium have been discovered in red ink. These chemicals are dangerous can cause autoimmune diseases.
They can also cause allergic reactions and infections as well which may lead to cancer development.
The only to ensure that you are safe when you want a tattoo is to find a professional tattoo artist who will carry out the tattoo inking using the safe process.
Find the best tattoo artist in your area who will ensure that your tattooing process is secure and minimize all the chances of anything going wrong.
Additionally, inquire about the ink that your artist will be using to avoid being cheated. Ask for advice from your physician before you go for a tattoo process. You may be allergic to certain ingredients in the tattoo ink, which will affect your skin’s health.
Do Vegan Tattoos Last?
A simple answer is yes. Vegan tattoos can last longer, just like regular ink tattoos.
When the procedure is performed correctly and you follow the proper aftercare procedures as instructed by your artist or health care professional, your vegan tattoos will look good and leave your skin fresh and smooth.
Further, you will not experience any irritation.
Do vegan tattoo inks contain metal?
No, they don’t. You will find most of the toxic and chemical substances found in other regular tattoo ink in vegan tattoo inks.
Some tattoo ink developers use a combination of heavy metals such as titanium oxide in their manufacturing process. These traces of metal in tattoo ink are organic, giving the ink a different appearance.
You will notice that the ink pigment does look a little more depth and character. This explains why most of these ingredients react with the skin.
In most cases, the carcinogenic chemicals found in regular inks do travel into the internal body parts, such as the lymph nodes.
Once they are trapped in those parts, they can cause infections, autoimmune diseases, allergic reactions, and other complications due to the magnetic components that they contain.
All vegan tattoo ink contains plant-based compounds. They do not have products that contain substances that involve the direct suffering of animals.
Is Vegan Tattoo Ink More Expensive?
Vegan tattoo ink is more expensive compared to ordinary ink.
This is why manufacturers who produce standard tattoo ink use certain products to make non-vegan ink to reduce their production costs.
What Are The Ingredients Of Tattoo Ink?
The ingredients that most tattoo ink manufacturers use may vary from one brand to the other. This is because the FDA regulations in place are not clear.
The federal regulation that monitors tattoo ink placement in your skin is unclear or strict compared to those used in food or cosmetics. Therefore, tattoo ink producers are not mandated to list the ingredients that they use on their products labels.
Most tattoo ink producers use some form of pigmentation and base substances or carriers. The ingredients parts include metal salts, plastics, or iron oxides.
(I)Tattoo Ink Composition
Carriers are to keep the ink mix evenly. They are free from pathogens. They also help in aiding application.
For base substances, many producers will use alcohol. The role of alcohol as a base is to increase the penetrability of the skin. It also helps in transporting all the pigments to reach the dermis.
Some of the carriers and alcohol used include propylene glycol, methanol, denatured alcohols, rubbing alcohol, ethyl alcohol, distilled water, and denatured alcohols.
It is essential to understand that most carriers used are harmless substances. When they are administered in the right proportion, they will avert infection or any chance of ink becoming poison.
(II)Pigments used in Tattoo ink
Pigments are the ingredients used in tattoo ink production to give the tattoos that vivid color you always see. In the past, most pigments were made using ash or ground-up carbon to develop black ink.
Many ancient tribes developed ink from soot which was found from charred woods to perform their tribal markings.
Currently, tattoo ink production is done with the use of original mineral pigments. Additionally, the modern industrial organic pigmentation, some stains are plastic-based or vegetable-based, but this will depend on which color the manufacturer wants to create.
The controversy experienced with some pigments that people are advised to avoid comes when heavy metals are used to create the primary colors.
Different metals are used to develop specific colors. They include mercury for red, nickel for black, cobalt for blue, zinc to create white or yellow, cadmium for yellow, red or orange, lead for white, yellow or green, titanium for white, copper for green or blue, iron for black, brown or red, and barium for white.
Some manufacturers would want to reduce the cost that they incur in producing tattoo ink products.
Therefore, they blend lightening agents with heavy metal pigments such as titanium or lead. It is important to note that dyes can also be developed from other elements like arsenic, calcium, sulfur, antimony, or beryllium.
Studies have found closely over 200 different types of additives and colorants that other tattoo manufacturing brands use.
They include heavy metals which have been found not to cause any effect to things like metal detectors or MRI scanners.
(III)Organic ink
Tattoo ink manufacturers use animals products to develop Organic.
These products include bone char, animal fat glycerin, and beetle shellac. Other organic compounds that manufacturers use for pigmentation include cod liver oil or beeswax.
(IV)Vegan tattoo inks
Manufacturers making vegan tattoo inks are avoiding using animal byproducts such as animal glycerin. Therefore, they have replaced them with Virginiana extracts and vegetable glycerine. They are avoiding animal cruelty.
As much as organic inks don’t have toxic substances, you might find them still containing heavy metals such as titanium oxide.
This may occur when there is contamination in the manufacturing process due to sterilization methods or the production environment for these tattoo inks.
(V)Glow element in the tattoo ink
Many people who will get new tattoos are looking for an artist to ink them with tattoo arts glowing in the dark. Therefore, the demand for these types of tattoos is increasing.
This glowing tattoo ink development is from ingredients that usually react when they contact ultraviolet light.
Some of these glowing inks contain phosphorus. This component can be toxic depending on which method is used during the delivery process.
Those that are not toxic might still contain plant-based ingredients that can cause allergy to a person. Studies show that UV tattoos can cause many skin reactions to people for tattoos compared to traditional ink-based tattoos.
What Tattoo Inks Are Not Vegans?
The main thing that differentiates between vegan and non-vegan tattoo inks is the ingredient used. Vegan use vegetable or plant-based ink carriers, stabilizers, and binders.
Meaning they forgo anything from animals such as meat, dairy product, and eggs. On the other hand, non-vegan tattoo inks are from animal products.
Some of the products used to make non-vegan tattoo inks include bone char, animal fat glycerin, or beetle shellac.
Other manufacturing will use other organic compounds such as cod liver oil or beeswax in their product development to create the needed pigmentation that they want.