Ink Allergys

This is something that I posted from a finnish tattoo board that well respected artist said about Starbrite and Intenze. I posted it in www.nickbaxter.com. I will post here the message and the ones after it. Lets get some good discussion, because Starbrite for one is a brand that I think most of the high end professional use. So I am not trying to be any type of doomsayer, but to get a good and honest discussion going on. Because naturally this isnt something that should be just pushed under a rug. Originally Posted by By me, Translated from Finnish There was talk in a Finnish Tattoo board about the color red and how it can cause allergig reactions and makes the area swell up really badly. A respected tattoo artists said this about Intenze and Stardbrite red. Got me little bit worried, "The propblem is that the color manufacturers change almoust constantly the composition and the ingredients with out saying anything about it. So when you buy the same bottle of brand as before, it could be totally different stuff than last time that you bought it. At least with Starbrite red this problem has appeared with many (almoust every) tattoo artists that I know of. Just those kinda swolled scab pieces (there was this link http://modblog.bmezine.com/2007/08/16/swollen-red-ink/) Also Intenze reds have done mildly the same stuff. I myself use classic color systems reds which I havent had any problems with." Originally Posted by Rob I've heard the same thing about intenze reds, not about starbrite though. I've heard that mario himself has pulled the red and is currently re-fromulating it. Originally Posted by dread eternal ink is in my opinion some of the best stuff on the market. the red cannot be beat. ive had problems with starbrite red in the past. the only starbrite colors i use are the greens. someone posted earlier that the lime green was hard to use. i personally just cover the area once with the lime green and it usuallly looks funny at first, but i know i put it in there. so i know its there. almost always comes back looking very solid when healed. if you over-work the area it can turn out patchy. Originally Posted by Allergic Fist of all i want to thank you for this forum and topic discussion. I've been scouring the internet for answers since I've had an allergic reaction to something in the white pigment in Eternal Ink since January. It's on my entire thigh from knee to hip and white was mixed with most of the colors on the tattoo so the areas where I'm reacting are extensive. I've been working with a dermatologist to control it, but it's hard to treat without knowing what I'm allergic to in the pigment. Both myself and my artist tried to contact them to find out pigment ingredients. When I called Eternal Ink the 2 people i spoke with said that nobody at any ink company would reveal this information to anyone. They said they have had no documented allergic reactions. I offered to share my medical records and to help them find out what is going on to make their product safer. I told them I would sign a non-disclosure agreement to keep their ingredient list confidential and that I would be happy if they would just release the information to my doctor so that my allergy could be properly treated and documented. They cut me off and said that they had another call coming in and hung up. I can understand the fear of small business not wanting to be blamed for a faulty product. Just please beware that if you do ever have any problems with Eternal Ink, you won't get any cooperation from them. I hope someone with the company reads this and is willing to start a dialogue with me about the situation. I'm not looking to sue and make money or even get back the thousands of dollars i've had to spend on medical treatment. I got tattooed. i knew the risks. I'm intelligent and informed. I just want to get medical treatment for my allergy and prevent my body from having to go through this again. Originally Posted by Nick Baxter fuckin a. that story SUCKS. ive always thought that ink companies are notoriously sketchy. yet another example (and i even use eternal and think theyre great). i feel for you man. has your doctor ruled out every other possibility besides ingredients in the tattoo inks? aka something that the tattoo artist added to his mixtures, or did during the process? or something that got into the open pores during healing? all this seems unlikely, of course... did you at least get MSDS's from eternal? arent they required by law to be able to provide them? i hate the government and all that stuff but sometimes it seems like the best thing for tattooing materials, especially inks, is to have them regulated. so that if you have a problem, you dont get that type of response... Comments and discussion. Here is the Baxter site link www.nickbaxter.com/facemaster...ead_index=1895

Hi, I have had a reaction to white ink also. I got a tattoo last year with a tiny bit of white. It tooks months for the white to settle. Stupidly I got another tattoo with a good bit of white highlighting. The tattoo is a month old and the white is still raised and very itchy. I took an antihistamine and it went down and stop itching, but it came back a day later. I went to the doctor and he said it was a mild sensitivity to the ink. Karl

Hey i was wondering if anyone knows if people with food and medicine allergys can get an allergic reaction to black ink? many thanx

no allergic reaction to black ink it is mostly carbon base as are we as humans as far as any other colors will be or can be a problem.i have serious metal allergys and have use several different red pigment and had rough heal with them.but other than that no known allergies to black

They say that only 0.5% of people have allergens to the ink pigment. Companies haven't found a way to make red ink hypo-allergenic yet. Its been rumored that starbrite is a little worse than others but don't quote me on that. It really depends on how you body reacts to the red ink. Some say a test spot is the best way to find out, then give it 24 hours. Ive been at it for almost ten years and never has anyone have a reaction yet (knock on wood). KARL.... sounds like you artist your using is digging way to hard to get the white to stay if its taking that long to heal. White Ive noticed you need to keep you tube clean regularly while using it cause it tends to clog up at time and the ink doesn't flow as good leaving some artists to be a little harsher with the needle

I am a tattoo artist and have been in the industry for 20 years. I have seen a small amount of fairly minor reactions to various reds during this time, including on myself. I reacted to Starbrite Crimson Red with just bumpy swelling and itching for a few weks. It all settled down and the red is in there and it's fine. This is very similar to what I have seen on the occasional customer. But recently I tattooed a customer with Scarlet Red (Starbrite) which I have been using for about 4 years and he had a reaction like I have never seen before. It is white and crusty looking but when you wet it down you see the red underneath. This is about 3 weeks after the tattoo. Now the strange part....he had two sets of roses done, on the same arm, one on the inner side of the fore-arm and one on the outer side. Only the outer-side set of roses has reacted, only in the red, no reaction in the black or greywash. He also has the same red, from the same bottle, on his stomach, tattooed about 6 weeks ago and no reaction there either. It is a reaction, not an infection, and he swears there has been no sun contact. What gives here? I am stumped.

I got an allergic reaction after getting a tat three weeks ago. My artist blamed my care of my tat. Which I don't get, as it is an allergic reaction, not an infection. My doctor put me on steroids and antihistamines and asked me to get the ingredients from the artist. The artist got defensive just from me asking what the ingredients are. After reflecting, I think that maybe it was the ink, but more so it might have been the numbing agent he used. It had lidocaine, and in the past couple years, I haven't been able to use anything in that drug class. I had a major reaction when I went to the dentist. So just as a heads up to you artist, ask your clients if they have any allergies to numbing agents before you apply. My tat was extremely painful, more than the first one I got from the same artist years back. The lidocaine made my skin sensitive during the procedure, I swelled up around the area for a couple of days (my ankle was the same size as my calf), a rash broke out around the tattoo making it extremely red and sensitive, and it spread over the next weeks as it went untreated by steroids until it was the third week because I didn't thought that it would go away with benadryl and cream. If your clients inform you of a reaction, don't get defensive, give them what they need and advise them right away to get medical attention if the reaction is longer than a couple of days and more severe than the irritation and sensitivity that cames with the tattoo.

I just learned that I have a nickel allergy and I am trying to find out which inks contains nickel. It's pretty likely I'll never get the info I'm seeking, but I'll push as hard as I can.