Are you looking for the best methods of removing tattoos?

Unfortunately ink manufacturers and tattoo artists, who mix their own pigments, are not required to reveal their contents. Nor are these products currently required to have US FDA approval. Most inks used for tattooing are not technically inks but rather pigments (powders) that are mixed with various carrier solutions designed to disinfect the pigment and ensure that it remains evenly mixed for ease of application.

The following carriers are considered to be the safest:

• ethanol (drinking alcohol)
• purified water
• witch hazel
• Listerine
• propylene gylcol
• glycerine

The less-safe carriers are considered to be:

• denatured alcohol
• methyl alcohol (methanol, carbinol, wood alcohol, wood naphtha or wood spirits) – drinking only 10 ml of methyl alcohol has been known to cause blindness, ingesting 100ml can kill you
• isopropyl alcohol (rubbing alcohol – it is most often used as a cleaning solvent)
• ethylene gycol (antifreeze – used in vehicles and air conditioners, when ingested it can affect your central nervous system, heart and kidneys, causing death)
• aldehydes, such as formaldehyde (the stuff they preserve bodies with) and gluteraldehyde (a medical disinfectant and preservative, it is known to be toxic toxic and can cause severe eye, nose, throat and lung irritation, as well as, headaches, drowsiness and dizziness. It is considered one of the main sources of occupational asthma among health care workers.

Some of the substances used in pigment mixtures may produce toxicity. Modern pigments often include natural minerals, metal salts (metals that are oxidized to create a color change – copper is very common for creating blues and greens for example), industrial organic compounds, petroleum compounds, acids, vegetable dyes as well as plastics. The types of reactions possible include an allergic reaction, scarring, photo sensitivity reactions (especially from sunlight).

The pigments that are most commonly reported as causing an allergic reaction are reds and yellows. Surprisingly these are also the two that most often spontaneously disappear from a person’s tattoo without any signs of reaction.

ABS plastics are known for their vibrant coloring effect, however many customers have shown sensitivity to them. Glowing pigments or those that respond to black UV light are often considered more risky – some of them may be safe, but others contain phosphors or may also be radioactive.

This list includes some of the common pigments used in tattoo inks as well as the types of lasers that are most often used to target each color. However, many tattoo pigments are a mixture of different colors or shades that make use of a wide range of tints (blue, red, violet and orange etc) and are therefore difficult to classify, and sometimes treat, as a single pigment – ome of the pigment’s components may tend to absorb a certain wavelength while other components (within the same ink color) will reflect it.

Black: this is actually the easiest pigment to remove. This is because most black tattoo inks will absorb the entire light spectrum allowing all available wavelengths to destroy the ink molecules. Black pigment ingredients commonly include: iron oxides, carbon, logwood (a type of tree as well as the name of the dye taken from it – when mixed with iron it can produce grey to black tones), powdered jet, magnetite crystals, wustite (a mineral form of iron). All types of Q-switched lasers seem to be effective at removing black ink, these lasers include the Ruby, Alexandrite, Nd:YAG-Invisible and the Nd:YAG-Green light.

Browns, Tans, Fleshtones: these are often made with ochre which is made from iron (ferric) oxides often mixed with a clay. Ochre has a yellowish tone when raw but turns reddish/orange when it is heated and dehydrated. Tan inks often absorb laser light below 560 nm and flesh-colored pigment tend to absorb below 535 nm.

Red: This color is often the one reported to cause allergic or other reactions, possibly because it is often made with rust (iron oxide). It’s contents often include cinnabar (known as red mercury sulphide, a common ore of mercury and considered toxic), cadmium red (or cadmium sulfide, most of the worldwide production of cadmium is used to produce nickel-cadmium batteries, it is considered toxic), napthol (are naphthalene homologues of phenol (carbolic acid)). Some pigments used in plastics are also used to create red inks. Wavelengths below 575 nm are usually the most effective for removing them.

Orange: Often made with organic industrial pigments such as: disazodiarylide (a family of about 30 pigments first developed around 1940, there are 3 hues of azo pigments and they are not known for their permanence), disazopyrazolone (pigment common in printing ink, plastics and paints), or cadmium seleno-sulfide. Orange pigments typically absorb green laser light below 560 nm.

Yellow: This color is probably the most difficult to make and ingredients vary widely. It often includes cadmium yellow (cadmium is a sulphide commonly used Ni-Ca batteries – it is considered toxic), ochres, curcuma yellow (this is probably the safest ingredient in yellow dyes, it comes from the ginger family and is often made with turmeric), chrome yellow ( a heavy metal or toxic metal – these elements when accumulated in the bodies of animals over time have been shown to cause serious illness), or disazodiarylide (considered non-toxic). Yellows are sometimes known to cause reactions; this is possibly due to the fact that more pigment is required to make them. Yellow primarily absorbs below 520 nm laser wavelengths but will begin reflecting just above this level it is one of the most difficult pigments to destroy. It usually requires a number of treatments to remove completely.

Green: Are one of the more difficult inks colors to remove or fade since they will only absorb red light. Often made of chrome green (or lead chromate which has been known to cause burning, scarring and possibly cancer), chromium oxide (casalis green or anadomis green), Malachite (now banned in many countries because it is toxic to aquatic animals), ferric ferrocyanides (prussian blue), potassium ferrocyanide (yellow or red). When used in high enough quantities and when added to water ferrocyanides have the potential to create cyanide gas. Lead chromate (an inorganic lead that is considered very toxic), monoazo pigment (considered non-toxic), Cu/Al phthalocyanine, or Cu phthalocyanine. Q switched Ruby lasers are often used for removing greens. Wavelengths of 625-755 nm are the most effective for removing them.

Blue: These pigments are often as resistant as greens to remove since they will only absorb red light. Their pigments often include azure and cobalt blue. Minerals provide blue pigmentation from Copper (II) and Azurite. Lapis lazuli (a semi precious stone mined for 6,000 years in Afghanistan) is also sometimes used, as well as calcium copper silicate (Egyptian blue), silicate of sodium and aluminium (ultramarine blue), these last two ingredients are considered quite safe to use. Other cobalt aluminum oxides and chromium oxides are also popular. The safest blues and greens are copper salts (the metal is oxadized), such as copper pthalocyanine. The copper-based pigments are considerably safer or more stable than cobalt or ultramarine pigments. Q switched Ruby lasers are often used for removing blues. Wavelengths of 625-755 nm are generally considered the most effective.

Violet: is often made of manganese violet (manganese ammonium pyrophosphate) is known to be moderately toxic if ingested and highly toxic if inhaled in it’s raw form. Quinacridone (a synthetic light-and-color fast pigment) and various aluminum salts are also popular to produce violets and purples. Some of the purples, especially the bright magentas, are photoreactive and will tend to lose their intensity after prolonged sunlight exposure. Dioxazine and carbazole are known to produce more stable purple pigments and are both considered non-toxic to the human body. The ingredients to avoid here are cobalt arsenate (a known carcinogenic) and cobalt phosphate; both are known to be highly toxic to the human body. Violet is similar to red in its laser light reflectance and absorption properties, so green light in wavelengths below 575 nm are most often effective for removing them.

White: These colors often consist of lead white (lead carbonate), titanium dioxide (is considered quite safe and is widely used in paints, sunscreens and food coloring), barium sulfate, or zinc oxide. Some white pigments are derived from anatase or rutile (two of the three mineral forms of titanium dioxide). White pigments are sometimes used to dilute the intensity of other ink pigments. Most ingredients commonly used in this pigment color are considered non toxic.

Hopefully this article has helped you to understand some of the issues surrounding ink pigment ingredients and what methods are most effective for removing tattoos.