Tattoo colors with questionable ingredients

Stiftung Warentest: Potentially harmful substances in tattoo inks

07/24/2014

Tattoos are trendy. „Almost one in ten Germans is tattooed, almost one in four of the 16 to 29 year olds“, reports the Stiftung Warentest. The testers have tested 10 tattoo inks in a recent study and found numerous potentially harmful substances. Especially for people with allergies, patients with immunodeficiency, pregnant women and nursing mothers tattoos could pose a health risk.

According to Stiftung Warentest, all the tattoo inks tested were open to criticism. Often there were deficiencies in the labeling and many products had questionable ingredients, reports the magazine „test“. In six tattoo inks substances have been detected that „become dangerous for allergy sufferers or even seriously ill“ can. In addition to nickel and critical preservatives (benzylisothiazolinone, methylisothiazolinone), the testers also found PAHs (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons) twice as potentially carcinogenic and posing a significant health risk.

Harmful ingredients and deficiencies in product labeling
The testers have selected 10 colors for their investigation and bought them from German-speaking providers on the Internet. Even professional tattoo artists would often draw their colors from these sources, reports Stiftung Warentest. Was controlled „including the labeling on the products and whether pollutants were included.“ The result was sobering: The tattoo inks contained many ingredients that can represent a not to be underestimated health risk, for example, for pregnant women, nursing mothers, allergy sufferers, patients with immunodeficiency and hemophiliacs. It is true that there is no prohibition on the substances found in accordance with the „Negative lists of tattoo agent regulation“, Nevertheless, these are not harmless. With regard to the labeling of the products, the testers complained that most of the tattoo inks had the application and safety instructions printed incompletely or not in German.

Generally, tattoos should, according to the Stiftung Warentest „to be well considered.“ Because a later removal can not only be painful, but also expensive. In addition, can not guarantee in any case, „that the colored motif completely disappears from the skin - and scars always remain.“ In the tattoo studios on site was one „meticulous hygiene indispensable to avoid infections.“ (Fp)