Your next black tattoo is in danger: the EU has banned chemicals behind some of the most used colors in inks since January 2022

Complaints from hundreds of tattoo parlors have been useless in the face of the European Union's ban on thousands of chemical products in their coloring inks, a regulation that came into force last Wednesday.

From Brussels they point out that public health will benefit from stricter restrictions on the elements of ink that can cause cancer or allergies. The measure was already taken on December 3, 2020, but it has not been until now that it has come into force.

As of this year 2022, 4,000 dangerous chemical substances contained in mixtures for tattoo inks and permanent makeup for micropigmentation, which are those that contain carcinogenic, mutagenic and reprotoxic substances, cannot be used, according to FACUA.

ECHA, the EU chemical agency, hopes that the measure will reduce allergic and inflammatory skin reactions. From the body they also point out that they could reduce the most serious effects of these chemicals, such as cancer, damage to our DNA or the reproductive system.

The regulation also introduces maximum concentration limits for individual substances or groups of substances. In the case of chemicals, those present in cosmetics, skin sensitizers, skin and eye irritants, metallic impurities, aromatic amines and some pigments have been banned.

The purpose of the EU is to protect people throughout the territory equally when it comes to getting a tattoo, regardless of the country where they get tattooed and whether the ink is manufactured in a European country or not.

Tu próximo tatuaje negro peligra: la UE prohibe desde enero de 2022 químicos detrás de algunos de los colores más usados en las tintas

Although the restriction has been in effect since January 4, in the case of pigment 15 blue and pigment green 7 inks, it will come into effect from January 4, 2023, to give tattoo companies and parlors time to find safe alternatives, since these two pigments are the most difficult to replace.

The mixtures must mention the use of tattoo and permanent makeup on their labeling, specify the list of ingredients and the relevant safety statements.

In the Spanish case, the Spanish Agency for Medicines and Health Products (Aemps) will periodically update a list with the products for micropigmentation and tattooing that are authorized and recorded in its registry.

The measure has raised protests among professional tattooists

Reuters

From The Sydney Morning Herald they highlight that the confrontation between regulation and freedom of artistic expression has triggered a torrent of complaints and accusations from tattoo parlors, since many widely used colors are among the chemicals prohibited in the inks.

"Just like a painter, you suddenly lose a gigantic part of your palette," says Amsterdam's Tycho Veldhoen, who has been a tattoo artist for a quarter of a century. "Everything is quite sudden. There should have been more preparation," he adds.

Michl Dirks, behind the Save the Pigments petition, which has already collected 176,000 signatures in the EU, opposes the measure and insists that the ban is not sufficiently backed by science, something that the EU questions.

Since the start of the pandemic, the tattoo industry has had to contend with numerous restrictions and closures.

The European bloc says the consultation process began in 2016, while the official regulation announcing the start of restrictions on Wednesday dates back to December 14, 2020.

"This is a generalization of the practice that is already carried out in quite a few of the member states," says EU spokesman Eric Mamer. 7 EU nations already had national restrictions on substances in tattoo ink.

The European Commission also replies that there are safe alternatives to banned products, but tattoo parlors say they are too slow to get from manufacturers to their shops.

Another drawback is the price. "A bottle costs twice as much as what we have today," says Angelo Bedani of the Boucherie Moderne tattoo parlor in Brussels.

At least 12% of Europeans have tattoos, 24% in the 18-35 age group. In countries like Germany or Australia, one in 5 people has a tattoo.