New year, new tattoo? Here are the emerging health risks to consider
While most people worry about the pain of tattooing, studies suggest that being inked — and removing ink if you change your mind — may increase the chance of health issues down the track.
With summer being a time for showing off skin, you might be considering a new tattoo or two.
If so, you'd be part of a long-running tradition — we've been inking ourselves for thousands of years.
Ötzi the Iceman, a well-preserved mummy from around 5,000 years ago, for example was found with 61 tattooed symbols across his body.
Ancient inks were made with soot, but in the past hundred years, tattoo artists have experimented with new compounds to make the best ink.
While body art has grown substantially in popularity the past few decades, research on the long-term impacts of injecting these inks into skin has been relatively slow to catch up.
Tattoo ink is injected under the surface of the skin, into the thick middle layer called the dermis, which allows tattoos to stick around long-term.
New studies have emerged that have suggested injecting coloured ink deep into your skin could lead to increased health risks down the track like allergic reactions while getting them removed, and even an increased risk of cancer.
Issues with ink ingredients
According to Claire Lenehan, a chemist at Flinders University**,** most inks today include a pigment, as well as additives and fillers to create the right consistency.
These different colours use different pigments, but all of them are large molecules that are built to stay long-term in the skin.
"These [ink ingredients] are very insoluble — they're not designed to go away and that's that's why they use them," Professor Lenehan said.
"But they're often used in other industries as well, for example, in car paints."
While many tattoo artists today pride themselves on knowing which inks are reputable, understanding exactly what's in them is hard to determine.
A study by Professor Lenehan's team published earlier this year found that the ingredient list on inks doesn't always match what is in the bottle.
Looking at a yellow ink, they found it contained elements like aluminium, sodium and silicon that were not included on the label.
"The old-fashioned coloured compounds — heavy metal-based pigments — aren't really used anymore, they've been banned," Professor Lenehan said.
"[Now it's] organic compounds that will have some sort of colour component to them."
But these organic compounds may not be risk free; a study published in 2023 found that some inks still contain lead and chromium.