Tattoo Ink Market in France: A Field Study among 598 Professional Tattooists

Abstract

Background: Tattoo ink safety is one of the main concerns surrounding tattooing practices. In order to better assess the risks and increase the safety of tattoo inks, it is important to know about the habits of tattooists in real life. Objective: We investigated the most popular inks in the French market and how professional tattooists used them in their daily practice. Methods: We performed an observational, self-reported, online survey concerning the French tattoo artists. All active professional tattooists in France were invited to take part in a six-question Internet survey regarding their tattoo inks usage habits. Results: 598 tattooists reported 36 different brands of black inks and 30 of colored inks. However, 6 brands of black inks were used by 14.2–44% of the tattooists and, for colored inks, 5 manufacturers were favored by 11.2 up to 55.7% of the tattooists. The majority of tattooists (68.9%) mixed two different colors or more to obtain a new shade while 21.7% would try to find the adequate shade within the assortment provided by a manufacturer. 54.4% had between 10 and 40 references, 31.9% had less than 10 references, 11.5% had 40–100 references, and 2.2% had >100 references. Conclusions: The market of tattoo inks in France is dominated only by a fistful of brands. Controls by official authorities should target those popular brands, even though all brands should respect the law. Toxicological studies should always precise the provenance market and which brands are tested, so we can assess their impact in real life. Tattooists should also try to lower the number of ready-made colors they require.