From a subtle mark on your wrist to entire parts of your body completely covered. Tattoos come in all shapes and sizes and you are almost an exception if you don’t have one.
According to Accidents and Movement in the Netherlands data (OBiN, later merged into CBS, ed.) from 2010 – 2014, one in nine Dutch people aged twelve and older has one or more tattoos. And there are more and more. Especially the so-called sleeve, which covers a large part of your arm like a kind of drawn sleeve, is popular. A visible tattoo is also accepted in more and more professions. The taboo is clearly gone.
But how unhealthy is such a tattoo really? Relatively little research has been done on this. OBiN calculated that complaints arise in three percent of the cases after getting a tattoo. Usually it concerns superficial skin infections as a result of unhygienic work, not taking good care of the freshly set decoration or contaminated ink. But also for allergic reactions, even years later.
In a few cases more serious infections such as HIV, herpes or hepatitis develop. To prevent this, Dutch tattoo parlors only receive a permit from the GGD if they observe strict hygiene measures. A tattoo training is not mandatory.
Another risk is the inks. According to the Commodities Act, a tattoo artist may not use pigments that can form so-called (carcinogenic) aromatic amines. Pigments containing preservatives or toxic substances, such as heavy metals and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), are also prohibited.
The Dutch Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA) estimates that 5 to 10 percent of licensed studios still work with incorrect dyes. Nevertheless, according to the RIVM, the risk of cancer from tattoos is small: ranging from one in 10 thousand to one in a million.
Watch out in the sun
The actual health risk depends of course on the size of your skin decoration(s) and how many harmful substances have been used. If you already have a skin decoration, it is important to protect it from the sun, because UV light promotes the formation of aromatic amines.