Tattoo Ink

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Tattoo Ink

Tattoo ink is a specially formulated ink that is non toxic to humans. It needs to be, since it is implanted under your skin. The methods for making and applying the ink have changed over the course of the millennia that tattooing has been around, but the end result has remained constant. A permanent marking on the skin, one that lasts for life, is what tattooing is all about.

If you think tattooing is painful now, you should consider what it used to be. Today precision instruments apply ink deftly below the skin with machines called shaders and liners. The depth, force of impact, rate of travel, and other aspects can all be adjusted to exacting specifications. Compare that to some ancient tattooing instructions left behind by the Romans. They say to prick the area with a needle until the blood flows. Once that modestly masochistic goal has been achieved, you merely have to rub the ink into your freshly bleeding flesh! Oh, and in case you were wondering, the ink that you’re rubbing is comprised of some coloring agents suspended within vinegar and leek juice. Leeks are a cousin of onions. If you don’t sound enthused about having that rubbed into a freshly opened wound, you are in good company.

Now I don’t know if the ancients were being unnecessarily cruel in their formulation of tattoo ink, but by today’s standards it sure feels like it. Thankfully we have come a long way from the days of rubbing vinegar and onions, along with a little tree bark for good measure, into our blood stream. Sure it misses the toxicity mark, but it does everything short of killing you to make you wish it had. Today’s tattoo inks feature more exotic pigmentation suspended in mediums that don’t make you cringe to think about. Tattoo ink is actually considered a cosmetic by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). This gives the FDA authority to regulate tattoo ink, which is something that it hasn’t sought to do in any manner other than in principle.

For instance we use carbon for black tattoo ink. What is carbon? It’s only the element found in all life, the source of diamonds and graphite, as well as coal. It’s actually to a relative of coal, called soot that we turn for black ink. What do you suppose the most common form of soot is? If you answered burnt plant matter give yourself a gold star. So really, instead of just grinding tree bark up to make tattoo ink, we burn it and grind up the ashes now, we’re so advanced…

One aspect of tattoo ink that has advanced significantly is coloring. Ancient tattoos were a dark brown to black color, and that was all the choice you had. Today there is a wide variety of colors available, and the products that go into making them are telling. For instance the browns today are made of iron oxides (think rust) or clay. Now if you’re thinking about tetanus, you needn’t worry, the disease is caused by bacteria often present on metal outside, not by a reaction to oxidized iron itself. After all, iron is the bonding element within your blood that allows it to carry oxygen.

Red dyes are commonly made from naphtha derivatives, naphtha is a petroleum product commonly used in the gasoline refinement process. It can be toxic, but the derivatives used for red ink are safer than alternatives, such as cadmium. Blue and green inks are made with copper compounds. Copper oxidized a sea green color, and can be combined with various elements to make virtually any shade of blue or green you could wish. White ink is usually made of titanium oxides. If you notice that most of the metals used in tattoo ink are oxidized, give yourself another gold star.
This is because the oxidized forms of the metals are chemically inert, meaning that they won’t try to combine with other elements present in your body. That combination would not be healthy for you, which predicates the use of oxides.

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Tattoo ink is a specially formulated ink that is non toxic to humans. It needs to be, since it is implanted under your skin. The methods for making and applying the ink have changed over the course of the millennia that tattooing has been around, but the end result has remained constant. A permanent marking on the skin, one that lasts for life, is what tattooing is all about.

If you think tattooing is painful now, you should consider what it used to be. Today precision instruments apply ink deftly below the skin with machines called shaders and liners. The depth, force of impact, rate of travel, and other aspects can all be adjusted to exacting specifications. Compare that to some ancient tattooing instructions left behind by the Romans. They say to prick the area with a needle until the blood flows. Once that modestly masochistic goal has been achieved, you merely have to rub the ink into your freshly bleeding flesh! Oh, and in case you were wondering, the ink that you’re rubbing is comprised of some coloring agents suspended within vinegar and leek juice. Leeks are a cousin of onions. If you don’t sound enthused about having that rubbed into a freshly opened wound, you are in good company.

Now I don’t know if the ancients were being unnecessarily cruel in their formulation of tattoo ink, but by today’s standards it sure feels like it. Thankfully we have come a long way from the days of rubbing vinegar and onions, along with a little tree bark for good measure, into our blood stream. Sure it misses the toxicity mark, but it does everything short of killing you to make you wish it had. Today’s tattoo inks feature more exotic pigmentation suspended in mediums that don’t make you cringe to think about. Tattoo ink is actually considered a cosmetic by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). This gives the FDA authority to regulate tattoo ink, which is something that it hasn’t sought to do in any manner other than in principle.

For instance we use carbon for black tattoo ink. What is carbon? It’s only the element found in all life, the source of diamonds and graphite, as well as coal. It’s actually to a relative of coal, called soot that we turn for black ink. What do you suppose the most common form of soot is? If you answered burnt plant matter give yourself a gold star. So really, instead of just grinding tree bark up to make tattoo ink, we burn it and grind up the ashes now, we’re so advanced…

One aspect of tattoo ink that has advanced significantly is coloring. Ancient tattoos were a dark brown to black color, and that was all the choice you had. Today there is a wide variety of colors available, and the products that go into making them are telling. For instance the browns today are made of iron oxides (think rust) or clay. Now if you’re thinking about tetanus, you needn’t worry, the disease is caused by bacteria often present on metal outside, not by a reaction to oxidized iron itself. After all, iron is the bonding element within your blood that allows it to carry oxygen.

Red dyes are commonly made from naphtha derivatives, naphtha is a petroleum product commonly used in the gasoline refinement process. It can be toxic, but the derivatives used for red ink are safer than alternatives, such as cadmium. Blue and green inks are made with copper compounds. Copper oxidized a sea green color, and can be combined with various elements to make virtually any shade of blue or green you could wish. White ink is usually made of titanium oxides. If you notice that most of the metals used in tattoo ink are oxidized, give yourself another gold star.
This is because the oxidized forms of the metals are chemically inert, meaning that they won’t try to combine with other elements present in your body. That combination would not be healthy for you, which predicates the use of oxides.

Tatoo Ink

Gun

Supplies

Links & Resources

Site Map