Occurrence and Regulatory Evaluation of Contaminants in Tattoo Inks

Tattooing has been an enduring form of body art since ancient times, but it carries inherent health risks, primarily due to the complex composition of tattoo inks. These inks consist of complex mixtures of various ingredients, including pigments, solvents, impurities and contaminants. This literature review aims to shed light on the organic and inorganic contaminants present in tattoo inks prior to the implementation of the Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) regulation in 2022. This review shows that the most common contaminants are polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), with a concentration range of 0.005-201 mg/kg, mainly detected in black tattoo inks, and primary aromatic amines (PAAs), with a concentration range of 0.5-1100 mg/kg, and heavy metals such as lead (0.01-14.0 mg/kg) and chromium(VI) (0.16-4.09 mg/kg) which are detected in almost all tattoo inks. When compared to the new concentration limits outlined in REACH, it is clear that a significant part of these contaminants would be considered non-compliant. However, the results of the review are limited due to the lack of quantitative data on contaminants in tattoo inks. In addition, the future implementation of REACH is expected to lead to changes in the composition of tattoo inks, which will affect the presence of contaminants.

Automated summary

This literature review focuses on the analysis of organic and inorganic contaminants in tattoo inks prior to the implementation of the REACH regulation in 2022. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and primary aromatic amines (PAAs) were found to be the most common contaminants, with the presence of heavy metals such as lead and chromium(VI) detected in almost all tattoo inks. However, the limited quantitative data on contaminants in tattoo inks and the potential changes in ink composition due to the implementation of REACH pose limitations to the results of this review.