2023-06-01 17:25:29
It’s not just a fashion, tattoos are a tradition that has its roots in history. Nowadays almost everyone has a tattoo. Body art has become a real artistic expression. For this reason, science has chosen to focus on the inks used, as many of them contain substances that can cause serious skin conditions. Until now, we had never focused on the elements that compose them.
At first, in fact, it was almost exclusively about the spread of disease due to poor cleaning or failure to sterilize the proper instruments, or the infections that might have developed when the incision was made to ensure that the ink penetrates. Scientists from the State University of New York (SUNY) were involved in this new study and presented their results at the meeting of the American Chemical Society in Chicago.
via Dailymail
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When getting a tattoo, the most attention should be paid to the ink, which mainly consists of 2 elements: the pigment, a molecule that makes the coloring possible, and the carrier fluids, usually alcohol-based. However, many labels do not list all the chemical elements that are in the compound.
Scientists have analyzed these elements and found that they are not dangerous in themselves, the problem arises if they come into contact with bacteria that may be present on the skin or if they are exposed to an excessive amount of ultraviolet rays. At that point, these components can become carcinogenic. The pigments that can be dangerous are green and blue, so much so that the European Union has banned their use.
However, one of the aspects researchers are most concerned about is the size of the particles that make up the ink, which are about 100 nanometers, or so small that they can penetrate the cell membrane and cause damage, causing cancer-causing mutations .
The scientists are working on the What’s In My Ink website, which will contain a full list of all the components used in the inks for sale. Maybe tattoos could be safer that way.
#scientists #substances #tattoo #ink #carcinogenic