Red Ink Question

[Hogrider]

I'd like to get some opinions on something I've seen on the internet (just in case everything I read on the internet isn't true!). I'm thinking about having the Oni in my back piece done in red, but in researching red reactions I saw an article that talked about the cumulative effect of red ink, meaning that some individuals could be OK with a certain amount of red ink, but if they had too much, it could cause issues. I've had a fair amount of red ink on me for the last year (maybe 5 square inches) and to be honest, the red has healed as fast or faster than other colors - it has less peeling and so far no itching at all (not that I usually have more than very minor itching with any color).

Anyway, I did talk with my artist, whom I have a good relationship with, and he said that he felt this wouldn't be a problem, that with newer ink there were far less issues than in the past. I'm just an anal-retentive worry-wart and wanted to throw this question out to see if anyone had an opinion on this or an experience with large amounts of red ink.

Thanks!

[slayer9019]

I'd like to get some opinions on something I've seen on the internet (just in case everything I read on the internet isn't true!). I'm thinking about having the Oni in my back piece done in red, but in researching red reactions I saw an article that talked about the cumulative effect of red ink, meaning that some individuals could be OK with a certain amount of red ink, but if they had too much, it could cause issues. I've had a fair amount of red ink on me for the last year (maybe 5 square inches) and to be honest, the red has healed as fast or faster than other colors - it has less peeling and so far no itching at all (not that I usually have more than very minor itching with any color).

Anyway, I did talk with my artist, whom I have a good relationship with, and he said that he felt this wouldn't be a problem, that with newer ink there were far less issues than in the past. I'm just an anal-retentive worry-wart and wanted to throw this question out to see if anyone had an opinion on this or an experience with large amounts of red ink.

Thanks!

I have a lot of red on me at this point and have had no ill effects. Honestly I would say it is no different than other colors.

[Hogrider]

I have a lot of red on me at this point and have had no ill effects. Honestly I would say it is no different than other colors.

Thanks. I usually like to over-think things and do my best to ruin every new experience for myself by worrying about things that will never come to pass. :-)

[Cork]

My oni is also red, great choice! I've never had an issue with that color.

[jacobyoung]

I had a slight issue with a certain brand of red on my leg, however I have tons of red in my back and it all healed wonderfully. Most of the pigment in my back is powder based, where as who knows whats in some of the mass produced stuff. Maybe thats the issue?

[CultExciter]

The only long term effect will probably be looking awesome.

[HaydenRose]

I'm allergic to about everything under the sun and have had no reactions to red ink, if that helps :)

[reverend1]

My oni is also red, great choice! I've never had an issue with that color.

+1

I have a lot of red in my dragon. I didn't notice any difference from the other colors.

[real meta]

I had a slight issue with a certain brand of red on my leg, however I have tons of red in my back and it all healed wonderfully. Most of the pigment in my back is powder based, where as who knows whats in some of the mass produced stuff. Maybe thats the issue?

I've also had issues with one red in particular—I have 5 tattoos with red in them, and with one the red took 25–50% longer to heal than the other colors. It ultimately healed just fine, though. Having such a specific reaction is so hard to anticipate that I choose not to worry about it going forward.

[ironchef]

Red looks great on my skin tone (I'm Asian) but personally, it's the one color that does take its time to heal on my skin. Much longer so than other colors that I've noticed. Pink seems to be the one color my skin doesn't agree with and it always heals to a funny dull look unless its been applied very lightly so I try to shy away from it but its not easy given the Japanese motifs that I like so much. I've read online that someone people have developed allergies later in life to red and a perfectly healed and fine tattoo from years ago starts to either itch or sometimes bleed or gets infected. Very far and few, plus odd too.

[JAllen]

Not all reds have a history of reactions. You could potentially have a reaction to any color and it doesn't always happen immediately. I've seen tattoos that were over a decade old that raised up and had never had any problems prior.

[el twe]

As someone else mentioned previously, the red in my leg took a while longer to heal but I had no noteworthy reaction to it. Now it just looks bright and fucking packed in there!

[Colored Guy]

I've had problems with red many years ago. Anything from slow-healing to it being completely rejected out of my body. Yellow on me tends to wash out quickly and needs touching up.

My more recent work, I've been using an orange-red instead of full-red and that's working. I do have some red in smaller areas from last year that healed up perfectly.

I agree that inks have gotten better over the years. Back in the day, everyone was making their own ink from powders, that would be my guess for the root of a problem, at least in my case.

Rob

[irezumi]

I agree that inks have gotten better over the years. Back in the day, everyone was making their own ink from powders, that would be my guess for the root of a problem, at least in my case.

Rob

The best and most durable inks are still made with powder pigments and natural binders.

I just made some last week. My mentors all use the same thing. I'll bet 95% of the tattoo that get the most 'likes' on this forum are made with these types of ink.

The 'Newer' types of ink (pre-dispersed) are made with synthetic binders (plastic for lack of a better word) and are completely unnatural and have many many more allergic reaction problems with many clients.

I could go on and on but he tech info isn't really what I'm trying to get into. Just trust that the powder inks we're talking about are still the best to use.

Lets see if the skin candy dude pops up here in this thread to talk about that crap he pushes.

[SeeSea]

Saw this today, although the news is a couple months old. This thread seemed like a good place to post it.

Man Has Skin Reaction to Tattoo

This guy had a reaction on the red area of his tattoo that he'd gotten 20 years later, when he had chemo and a suppressed immune system. He had a bone marrow transplant. They think it wasn't a reaction to the red ink, but a bacterial infection that had been suppressed since he got the tattoo, and that the immune system suppression was the trigger for the reaction. Or, that the red ink reacted with the chemo drugs and created a new compound, that then caused a reaction. Interesting.

[Mick Weder]

@ Colored Guy. Same, the red I had pumped in over 20 years ago use to welt and become itchy intermittently even up to a couple of years after, eventually dropping out. Only the red but. Yellow too was a problem with wash out, but no reaction like the red.

Never gave it much thought, just stayed away from red & yellows and opted for darker more richer tones.

These days but, the reds and yellows work a treat & remain sharp.

[Colored Guy]

@ Colored Guy. Same, the red I had pumped in over 20 years ago use to welt and become itchy intermittently even up to a couple of years after, eventually dropping out. Only the red but. Yellow too was a problem with wash out, but no reaction like the red.

Never gave it much thought, just stayed away from red & yellows and opted for darker more richer tones.

These days but, the reds and yellows work a treat & remain sharp.

I have some red and yellow on me from 2008 that is now washing out. Also some of the brighter oranges as well from 2010 and 2011. I'll just ask what the artist thinks when I want it touched up down the road. My oldest reds from 1978-1980 did all sorts of funky things while they healed and after as well. It may be sun exposure that is accelerating the process even though I use a sun block diligently.

Rob