Marcella La Cioppa Recent research has identified the exact percentage of ink that penetrates our skin after a tattoo.
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As the tattoo is applied, the needle pierces the skin some 100 times per second, injecting ink, 0.06 to 0.08 inches deep, into the dermis, the middle layer of skin. But how much of that ink remains in the skin?
In a recent study, researchers have managed to track what happens to the fluid component of tattoo ink within the body.
Researchers at the German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) were surprised to find that only 20% of tattoo ink penetrates the skin—much less than previously estimated. The majority of the ink is pushed out as the skin bearing the tattoo heals.
“The outcome of our investigation will enable the estimation of health hazards from tattoos more precisely in the future.”
The study
Researchers tattooed 24 subjects with various commercially available tattoo pigments (14 black, 10 red) that were fortified with three “tracer” compounds that researchers tracked throughout the body.
Blood and urine samples were taken before, during, and after the tattooing sessions, which lasted about 3.5 hours.
Metabolites appeared in the blood shortly after tattooing was initiated. Researchers concluded that chemicals are metabolized differently when they are injected as opposed to orally ingested.
One of the tracers, in particular, was broken down into other chemicals more frequently than anticipated, something that was attributed to some enzymes present in skin cells.
The scientists monitored the quantity of ink used per treatment by weighing ink bottles before and after each use and analyzing for ink residue left on needles, wipes, and soiled gloves.
It is here that they came to the conclusion that no more than one-fifth of the ink actually remains behind in the skin.
Past studies have demonstrated that tattoo pigments in the ink can collect in lymph nodes, which might expose the immune system to chemicals that could be deemed toxic.
Source: Springer Nature
