Tattoos, Red Ink, and Sensitivity Reactions
Sunday May 7, 2006
Here's an e-mail I received about tattoo inks:
"Does all red ink have nickel in it? I was told by the tattoo artist that if I can't wear inexpensive jewelry I should not use red ink in a tattoo. I can not. Whatever metal or whatever is in the ink would cause the same reaction I get to inexpensive jewelry. That would cause a problem. She will not use it on me. Would this be the same for pink or orange or any color with any amount of red in it? Someone else who has had numerous tattoos told me they never heard of that and she reacts to inexpensive jewelry."
My response:
I'd trust the tattoo artist over someone who has numerous tattoos, since she is more likely to know the composition of the ink and whether or not clients have had trouble with a color.
Some reds contain iron, some contain toxic metals such as cadmium or mercury. There is an organic red that causes fewer reactions than the metal-based reds. Red ink is well-known for causing sensitivity reactions. The more dilute the pigment, like in orange or pink, the lower the chance of a reaction, but I would say the risk is still present.
What Are Tattoo Inks? | MRI Reaction with Tattoos
"Does all red ink have nickel in it? I was told by the tattoo artist that if I can't wear inexpensive jewelry I should not use red ink in a tattoo. I can not. Whatever metal or whatever is in the ink would cause the same reaction I get to inexpensive jewelry. That would cause a problem. She will not use it on me. Would this be the same for pink or orange or any color with any amount of red in it? Someone else who has had numerous tattoos told me they never heard of that and she reacts to inexpensive jewelry."
My response:
I'd trust the tattoo artist over someone who has numerous tattoos, since she is more likely to know the composition of the ink and whether or not clients have had trouble with a color.
Some reds contain iron, some contain toxic metals such as cadmium or mercury. There is an organic red that causes fewer reactions than the metal-based reds. Red ink is well-known for causing sensitivity reactions. The more dilute the pigment, like in orange or pink, the lower the chance of a reaction, but I would say the risk is still present.
What Are Tattoo Inks? | MRI Reaction with Tattoos
Comments
I got a tattoo on a low-circulation area (my thumb) and developed a granulomatic reaction to the ink. The tattoo artist had assured me that all of her inks were organic after i presented her with my inflamed thumb. Once i finally got the brand name of ink she used, i found the brown mix she had used on me was actually an inorganic red base, and the company warned of the nickel content on their website.
My response to them: If you don’t trust your tattoo artist, don’t get the tattoo. But if she is making suggestions that aren’t straight up directing you towards just giving your money and going on your way, then i would have to say that she sounds like a pretty good bet. If you’re still worried, though, research the ink, and perhaps request a different type if you’re worried. I learned the hard way, and after a year of steroid treatment, my reactive tattoo is very ugly.
As a tattoo artist, I would say don’t always trust every tattoo artist to know everything. There are some people who stumbled into their carreers in this field and don’t know much about technique let alone the chemical compositions of the inks they use.
Having said that, I find very few people are allergic to pigments, but the ones who are are often allergic to red. These people are often allergic to other things containing red such as licorice, red candy, etc. I’ve had a dermatologist explain it to me as the phenol thaylene content in red pigments. Some people have just a mild reaction such as small bumps and redness; others will have the red in the tattoo scab violently and their body will actually push the pigment out over the long healing process. I’ve seen this happen and the tattoo might look perfectly fine except all the red is gone! Anyway, even a pretty well informed tattoo artist might not know the chemical breakdown of all their inks. So know what things you are allergic to before getting the tattoo, or let the artist know before you plan to go ahead.
Are there any treatments available to someone who has had a red ink reaction?. i recently got some work done an the red seems to be reacting. i had had a small patch react previously in the pink ink not red. and it has basically left the skin dead an with like little blackheads in it. but now i have a large area of red that 2 weeks later seems to be like a rash. is there anything i can do now to fix it. before it goes dead an scars like the other small bit i have. Cheers
I had a severe allergic reaction to the red ink in my tattoo. It started to raise, and was very itchy. I got my tattoo in February and by June I had to see a doctor. He looked at it and really wasnt sure what he could do so he sent me to a dermatologist. It was so raised at that point it was kind of embarrassing and the itching was unbearable. I saw him in September and he removed the smaller hearts of the tattoo and sent them to the lab (that is standard procedure). Well a week later they called me with the results. The severe allergy to the mercury in the red ink had actually caused it to turn into squamous cell carcinoma!! So I went in later that week and had the rest of the red ink cut out. I did a lot of research and I found out that exposure to high amounts of mercury can cause cancer. I wish I had known before I had it done, I would have chosen a different color. I do plan on having my tattoo fixed (without the red ink of course) but I have told everyone I know that has red ink tattoos or is planning on having red in a tattoo to please be cautious. You can have the tattoo artist do a sample test and just be patient. It would be much better to have a small red dot removed than to have part of the tattoo cut out once it is too late. It took less than a year (8 months to be exact) to go from my beautiful tattoo to cancer, leaving me with half of a tattoo.
In my practice I have had one reported issue with “red reaction” and it was not with the client with the metal allergy that I expected t would be. I have a repeat customer who has a known allergy to any non exotic type metal touching his skin and I did a half back piece of a color spiderman that had no reaction at all. Go figure.
I got a tattoo on my foot 2 1/2 weeks ago and immediately after I got it my foot started swelling. The swelling has gone down but the area with the red ink looks like a scar. The parts with green and blue ink are fine. The lines where the red ink are have tripled in size and are flat and shiny. Does this sound like a red ink reaction?
I had a tatoo done about 3 weeks ago. The day after I got my tattoo my foot was extremely swolen but some people told me that it was normal while other said it wasnt, so i decided to wait. Well the swelling kept going down but the tattoo was not looking healed and pretty. The areas that had red ink had turned hard and bumpy. I finally researched and found out about the red reaction. I decided to start using Mederma and it is working wonderfully. I saw a difference in just 2 days. I would tell anyone to go to the Doctor first (even though I did not go myself) and use Mederma 3 to 4 time a day until the tattoo is completely healed.
I recently had a tat done on my calf. Most of the tattoo was black with a portion of it red. All the black is fine but the red is f-up. My skin actually will not heal in that area until it pushes all the red ink out of my pores. I have a dilema as to get it re-done in red or just re-do it in black. I already have one tat mostly black no color with no side effects. Both tats were done by different artists. I’m trying to find out if I can purchase Zap Organic Ink or something similar to that product. Any suggestions out there would be appreciated.
i recently had a tattoo done , and its f’d up along with my whole arm..all the blacks healed fin and there are a few red parts but have , scabbed really bad, have become a nasty leather look, ink has toned down, and it is lumpy and raised. i have no idea what to do with this, each part of the red is raised and feels like a bruise.is there anything that will help this go back to normal and flat? and when and if it doe’s go flat is it ok to go over it with a different color and not have the same reaction?
Come on people!!! Jeez. By all means trust your tattooist, at least your’s has warned you first, but it really isn’t so bad.
Best is to ask the tattooist what pigment their red ink is based on. Typically this will be cinnabar, which is the most likely cause of such skin reactions.
You can google what other colour pigments are used to create red ink, some are less likely to cause the problem.
I have numerous tattoos, all with red, only one of which gave me any problems.
The problem will generally mean it will just itch and be a little painful. Others may find it makes the area a little flaky (but that’s alright, it’s only us flakey hippy types who get tattoos anyway, right?
I know other people who have also had reactions. My tattooist, unfortunately, didnt tell me about this until afterwards… He did say, however, which I can confirm for both myself and friends who have had a problem, the problem WILL go away, it’s not a permanent thing. Granted, this could take months. Mine was tender, shall we say, for nearly 6 months. Then it was fine, and still is.
So, all in all, it really isn’t that much to worry about. If you can stand the ‘pain’ of a tattoo in the first place, you can damn well handle the slight side effect the red ink may cause. Equally, if you have picked a tattoo and it has red in it, you’d be a fool to change that colour based on this!! You have to like your tattoo, it’s there forever!
My tattoo that reacted is on my calf and has a large solid red area. If you have smaller areas, or just faint red shading and alike, you’re also less likely to have a reaction.
Mine, I have to say, was so bad, it seemed to affect my muscle, as I couldn’t put any weight on that leg for several days. I woke up the day after the tattoo, got out of bed and my leg just gave way… I suppose after all I have said above this makes it sound altogether worse, but maybe I’m just a pussy.
In short, if you want red in your tattoo, get red in your tattoo!!! If you don’t want to risk it, don;t get the tattoo.
If your that concerned, maybe tattoos just arent for you. I’ve seen some pretty sweet rub-ons in gum packets. Or henna, if you’re a girl or a less masculine male.
Best of luck with it anyway.
I was reading some of the comments and I too have a heart tattoo and the red swelled and is extremely itchy and I was curious if there is anything other than getting it cut out to help the situation