Red, White and…
By Sidra Lackey
Blue 15, a tattoo ink color, has been banned in the EU (European Union) due to safety concerns, since earlier this year (although this has been an ongoing issue for years). Green 7 has been barred from usage as well. This is based on research linking their use in hair dyes with higher risks of bladder cancer, according to The New York Times. The goal in limiting these inks aren’t to discourage tattoos but to make them safer, officials claim.
Tattoo artists in the United States are becoming worried that states will begin to regulate tattoo inks. Tattoo owner of Hosstyle Tattoos in Pasco Washington, as well as tattoo artist for almost twenty years, Justin Westfall believes the ban will have the biggest impact on the tattoo ink industry. He also believes, ban or no ban, people who want tattoos will, “get whatever they want.” And taking it a step further he thinks that by the government banning certain colors in the EU, “It’s probably going to make a black market for color tattoos over there.”
Will tattooing go back to its roots of being more underground than mainstream, due to banning of ink colors? Could tattoo shops start to secretly exist where a client would go solely for banned ink colors? Could the banned color list expand even? Imagine a tattoo collector’s limited world if you aren’t able to get a tattoo with certain colors in which the very colors needed, make the piece (for example, a flag tattoo. Imagine getting the American flag tattooed on you but without the color blue in it!). It would be a gray tattoo world - literally - as in, black and gray would be the prominent tattoo style used by tattoo artists. And not by choice.
Don’t feel blue. Presently, the production of tattoo inks and pigments are still unregulated in the US. But if that were to change, the United States tattoo industry would be affected negatively. It would be a huge hit to all the positive progress the industry has made over the past decades. Yet understandably, tattoo safety comes first. And that does start with tattoo ink. If you are a collector concerned about the safety of the ink your artist is using on you, don’t be green. Follow the simple and smart advice of seasoned tattoo artist Justin Westfall: “I would do my homework on the artist, ask them what type of ink they use primarily.”