EoL

Hello you hardos, Just another run of the mill Crazy Millenial Who Has No Business Getting Tattoos here. I have always been apprehensive about ink quality and how toxic it can be so before I got my rather large, mostly black tattoo, I did a lot of research brands and tried to figure out which seemed safest. You won't believe how many inks are recalled...Anyway I finally landed on a brand of ink called Solid Ink which seemed to have a pretty good track record and was CTL tested and certified for usage in the EU. I then found an artist who used that brand and got my tattoo. Whoo. That was November. Well fast forward to last week and I "stumbled" across a recall for Solid Ink Matte Black (the color that was used most on my rather large tattoo) for extremely high levels of PAHs and benzo(a)pyrene. See here: https://ec.europa.eu/consumers/consumers_safety/safety_products/rapex/alerts/?event=viewProduct&reference=A12/00101/20&lng=en Well now I'm freaking the F*** out because these levels are higher than most shitty brands. Only one batch is specified and I tried to get ahold of my artist to see if he had that batch but got no response. He's probably tired of over anxious millenials who shouldn't be getting tattoos. Even if that batch wasn't used, what does it say about the companies practice? I'm starting to think these certifications are pointless because any manufacturer could make a special batch just for the test. I really think we need FDA over site with random testing in the US but I digress... Anyway, I was hoping people would share their thoughts and maybe their ink brand preference if they have one.

Thanks! It's interesting how some artists suggest keeping showers minimal or not using direct spray at all and other suggest blasting the new tattoo with hot water for 5-10 mins. I've even heard of taking a hot bath immediately after. I believe it's a traditional Japanese method?

I like Aveeno too but I never bothered to look at the ingredients and it has alcohol in it. I didn't know some lotions had alcohol.

Thanks. I'll look there next time.

Where do you find it? I could only find Dial Complete Gold which I didn't know was different and has some alcohol in it. Probably not a huge deal but I rather avoid any alcohol if I can.

Do you use the bar soap or liquid hand soap? I also realized I was using Dial Complete Gold which is apparently different than Dial Gold and contains alcohol but it's low on the list. Hopefully not a huge deal. I didn't experience any pain using it.

Do you use antibacterial soap? I've been using Dial Gold but I don't know of the alcohol in it is an issue.

Just curious if anyone has had back to back tattoo sessions and what the aftercare looks like between them. Do you bother to put ointment on knowing you'll be back the next day? Will having ointment on the skin negatively affect the next session? I know the artist will clean the area anyway so I'm wondering if it's just a waste of ointment.

I'm very white as well and looking at the spots done with white, I can't tell any difference from it and my skin tone. Looking back, I wish at the very least I asked my artist to work with negative space. I think it would have rendered the same result lol.

I'm just asking for pure curiosity sake now, when you say it healed bad, do you mean heavy scabbing? What made you decide to refill it with white? Do it not look good against your natural skin tone? Either way, my guess is that eventually it will all fall out again or get processed by your body and the side effects you are having will subside.

That's interesting. I'm curious what it looks like. Have you noticed any loss of white or change in appearance? There is titanium dioxide is more than we realize. Sunscreen, makeup, etc. Granted it's not under the skin but could get absorbed nonetheless. You could go the laser route but I think that would end up actually causing your body to absorb the titanium dioxide quicker.

Do you have any color in your tattoo? A lot of times colors are mixed with white pigment (titanium dioxide) to make them brighter. If that's the case, I might not be the titanium dioxide that is the issue. If you only have black and white, I guess it's possible you're having a reaction. Either way, going to a dermatologist and explaining your symptoms couldn't hurt. I too have white in my tattoo and I'm regretting it. I'm actually regretting getting color at all for all the complications it introduces with pigment. If I do get any tattoos in the future, I'm sticking to black only.

It was so specific to rotary pen I thought it was actually a thing lol

Thanks for sharing. I hope it heals okay in the end.

This is true.

Did the doctor mention what he thinks caused the infection?

My thought was that if the brand of ink is known, it couldn't hurt to find out more information. Sometimes inks get recalled for contamination. That might not be the case and it might not be ink related at all.

18 years old and going green...was India ink used by any chance? Knowing the composition of the ink might help the technicians.

Do you know what brand ink was used? It might be worth reaching out to the manufacturer.

I appriciate the advice and I'm really sorry about the way yours is healing. I hope in the end it heals normally in the end.

Don't get anymore tattoos because they're bad or because I'm a wuss? Lol

Perhaps I can PM. I'm not even sure I want it up for the world to see yet.

I read them all lol. I can possibly PM a picture but I'm so unsure about the tattoo. My biggest concern on top the work itself is how worried I am about the chemicals in the pigments, especially titanium dioxide given my piece has a lot of color and white. Something I never even considered before hand ironically. I feel like I should have went with grey wash if I got anything and I never wanted color originally but after seeing the sketch it seemed to make sense at the time. I suppose it doesn't help this is my second tattoo and it was 9 hours on the ribs.

Hi Everyone, I'm new to forum and have seen pretty great discussions so far. Having just had my first significant piece done, I'm hoping to get some advice about feelings of regret and uncertainty. Thanks!

Could you elaborate on rotary pen tattoo machines and cancer?