In Europe, the regulation of tattoo inks falls under the purview of the European Union (EU) and is regulated by the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA). The EU regulatory framework for tattoo inks is designed to ensure that inks used in tattoos are safe and do not pose a risk to human health. The regulations require tattoo inks to meet certain standards and be labeled with a list of ingredients. These standards include limits on the concentration of certain chemicals and the requirement that the ink does not contain certain harmful substances.

In 2018, ECHA published a report analyzing the compliance of tattoo inks with EU regulations. The report found that more than 80% of the tattoo inks tested complied with EU regulations. However, some inks still contained substances that are banned by the regulations, such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs).

The EU has taken steps to further regulate tattoo inks in recent years. In 2019, the EU adopted a new regulation on tattoo inks that requires tattoo inks to be registered with the ECHA. This regulation has been introduced as part of the European chemicals legislation, known as REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals), which sets standards for the safe management of chemicals. As part of this legislation, manufacturers of tattoo inks must register and provide information on the composition and potential hazards of their products.

The new regulation also sets limits on the concentration of certain chemicals in tattoo ink, including heavy metals and carcinogenic substances.

But this regulation has caused a great deal of frustration in the tattoo industry. Around 175,000 tattooists across the EU have signed a petition to highlight that the new regulation would kill their business and encourage the supply of illegal ink.

The pigments referred to by tattoo artists are Blue Pigment 15:3 and Green Pigment 7 for which there are currently no substitutes on the market, although solutions are being sought. For example, some tattoo artists have started to use vegetable and mineral pigments to create more natural tattoo inks. Among these is henna which has traditionally been used to create temporary tattoos, and some tattooists have developed henna tattoo inks for permanent use. 

Another example is from Carson Bruns, a scientist at the University of Boulder (Colorado, USA) who is using nanotechnology to develop tattoo inks with biomedical and temperature-sensitive properties and is attracting a lot of attention in the tattoo industry.

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