The Second Layer: Articles

Why does Ancient Ink make black tattoo ink but no colors? The answer starts with vegetable charcoal—and what current research reveals about pigments beneath the skin.

Five words appear on tattoo ink bottles and not one has a legal definition governing what is inside. What each term actually covers — and the questions that do more work than all five combined.

A tattooed client could not name what was being placed permanently beneath his skin. That question led through cosmetic regulation, ingredient transparency and five thousand years of tattoo history — back to charcoal.

Tattoo ink is one of the few cosmetic products deliberately placed below the skin barrier. The oversight around it does not reflect that. The regulatory position In the United States, inks used in intradermal tattoos fall within the definition of...