A few days ago I was hanging out with a few tattoo fans who noticed my own ink and rather liked my choices. Naturally we got to showing off our artwork, something that many men my age might be a little self conscious about, but I’ve kept in fairly good shape and haven’t had any work done on my ass, so I wasn’t that worried about the youngsters seeing some of my body art.
While talking about tattooing a subject came up that I had heard of before, but didn’t think much about way back in the late 80’s early 90’s. Glow in the dark tattoos. I dismissed it then because I knew only a fool would put luminescent material into their skin, and only a scratcher would be dumb enough to do such a thing. Neither of my friends thought it was such a hot idea themselves, but mentioned an acquaintance of theirs who was thinking of having one done. I immediately decided to research something that I thought would die out with the first case of skin cancer it would undoubtedly cause.
What I found was a company that markets a brand of tattoo ink called Chameleon Blacklight Tattoo Ink. While it does not actually glow in the dark, it does react to UV, or blacklight, much like the old blacklight posters I was so fond of back in the 70’s. Still I was more than a bit apprehensive. Just how safe could this shit be?
Turns out it is extremely safe. This ink received USFDA approval in 1995 for use in animals, plants and fish for the purpose of tracking migration, growth patterns; breeding habits etc. While the FDA does not extend this approval to human beings, it should be noted that the FDA does not, (as far as I know), approve any tattoo inks for human consumption, and this ink is the only one to receive FDA approval in this way. They keep a letter to their manufacturer on file dated April 3, 1995 from the Division of Programs and Enforcement Policy, USFDA that proves this approval. The manufacturer is also in the process of seeking FDA approval for their inks use in human tattooing.
Add to this that the ink has been tested for over 11 years in human beings with no adverse effects, I checked this claim out first and found nada about adverse reactions, and you have possibly one of the safest tattoo inks since Sailor Jerry’s purple, which was nothing more than kid’s water color ground to powder and mixed. They even list all ingredients and provide a MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheet) sheet. I was suitably impressed.
Now before some of you rush out to turn yourselves into a living retro 70’s wall poster, a word of caution. Not all UV ink manufacturers are the same. Some of the other UV tattoo ink makers use a product called EverGlow ® to cause their tattoo ink to glow. This crap has caused many adverse reactions and was never intended to be used as a tattoo ink. Do not, and I repeat Do Not let any artist tattoo you with any product that contains EverGlow ®. This stuff was intended for making blacklight paint, not tattoos.
With all the attention given to safety and detail, as well as extensive testing, This is the only UV tattoo ink I would even consider putting into my own skin. It contains no phosphors, is not radio active, does not contain EverGlow ®, and is non carcinogenic (does not cause cancer).
So, if like many, you have the desire to do something different and have the dragon on your forearm show from across the room the next time they hit the blacklight at the club, or a rave. Maybe you just want it to breathe fire that will actually glow. Hell, for all I know you might just want to tell people you spent a week at Chernobyl and your tats started glowing. This is the ink you should make sure is used. At least it’s safe.