Tattoo lovers, beware!

In addition, the data showed that only a third of those who did experience a reaction sought medical advice or help. Most long-lasting complications occurred in skin regions injected with the two most common tattoo ink colours, red and black. Almost half (44 per cent) of chronic reactions were to red ink, even though only slightly more than a third (36 per cent) had tattoos with red ink. One-third of chronic cases involved black ink, while over 90 per cent of tattoos encompass black colouring. The findings appear in the journal Contact Dermatitis.