When contaminated tattoo ink is injected into the skin, the bacteria can cause an infection that remains at the site or may spread throughout the body. Some of the possibilities, besides skin infections, can be cancer or organ toxicity due to lingering ink in the body.
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Those are short-term effects.
A woman gets false eyelashes applied during Rio Tattoo Week.
There are no global standards for tattoo ink mixtures and in-depth studies of the chemical composition of tattoo ink in regards to safety are not sufficient. In Luch’s opinion, however, they should be categorized under a completely separate product classification. There is no proof that these ink ingredients are safe, being injected into the body. As A Thousand Virgins withdraws three of their products from the market, tattoo shops in the South Florida are on high alert. The short-term effects of rashes and itchiness are known, along with the possibility of infections ranging from mild to severe.
And even the pigments are fragmented and fractured in the tattoo removal laser treatment.
“In the U.S. the [Food and Drug Administration] has the authority to regulate inks, but is not now doing so”, said Dr. Michi Shinohara, a dermatologist at the University of Washington in Seattle who was not involved in the review. They should also be careful about buying inks online as some of the contaminated bottles may be sold there. Officials at the Depart of Health in Florida are now asking artists and customers to be extra cautious when using an ink for their tattoo.
Reactions tend to be more common from coloured inks than from black and white ones, Luch said. However, the practice has turned into somewhat of a trend and as such, roughly 120 million people in the western hemisphere exhibit at least one tattoo. The acute risks are still unknown.
Santiago Gonzalez with HyperInk Studios, said, “It’s definitely concern and definitely something the public should be made aware of, especially the artists”.
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Long-term effects of tattoos may be cancer and organ toxicity.
