Allergy Related: Are there any tattoo ink brands that don't use witch hazel?

Hey I am having trouble finding a tattoo ink brand that doesn't use witch hazel. Everyone in my family is allergic to witch hazel and I'm worried my only options for body art are inkless tattoos, scarifications or henna art. I'm wondering if there are any tattoo ink brands that don't use witch hazel? I am okay with water based, alcohol based or glycerin based inks, and color dyes are fine but I can't seem to find an ink in USA that is witch hazel free. Can someone please give me some brand names or advice? I don't know if there's options to dye or make my own dyes as well. Or tattoo artists in Florida who can help me. I live in the Miami area.

Good question Riri, unfortunately I don't have an answer for you....maybe try contacting manufacterers (spell check ) directly, if possible. some may use different names for WitchHazel, so be wary. I can't recall a topic about the ingredients of tattoo ink on this forum, but that's not to say there isn't one.

I think there's been lot of discussions in the past on the forum, but probably Riri can't reach them, not having a premium membership. And I can't promise the threads are up to date.

I've had a bit of a think about witch hazel in tattoo ink....most tattooists will use witch hazel to thin their ink when shading or the ink is too thick for their purpose, I would assume that the makers of tattoo ink would not add witch hazel to the ink in the manufacturing process under the name of "Witch Hazel"....it would probably be some scientific name of some sort.
I'm now wondering how you have come to the conclusion that Witch Hazel is in tattoo ink?
Have you researched it at all?

Big Pete said:

I've had a bit of a think about witch hazel in tattoo ink....most tattooists will use witch hazel to thin their ink when shading or the ink is too thick for their purpose, I would assume that the makers of tattoo ink would not add witch hazel to the ink in the manufacturing process under the name of "Witch Hazel"....it would probably be some scientific name of some sort.
I'm now wondering how you have come to the conclusion that Witch Hazel is in tattoo ink?
Have you researched it at all?

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I did a lot of research. My sister is a nurse and we spoke to medical tattoo artists as well. I contacted every tattoo ink supplier in my country that I could google and would pick up the phone. And I spoke to 12 different ink brand's customer service lines. It's called Hamamelis virginiana or witch hazel and its ridiculously common in commercial inks in USA. I realize it may seem like I didn't research or look into this matter, but I did to the best of my ability. Which is why I'm relying on forums on a public place in hopes to either find a brand I somehow missed or if I can find tattoo ink recipe that won't make me sick that I can speak to a local tattoo artist about. My only alternative option if this forum cannot help is to speak with tribal tattoo artists who mix their own inks but since that's not entirely a safe option either I'm not aiming for this as my first option.

And if you're wondering why I only spoke to 12 ink brands its because many other brands either didn't reply or were not medically safe or the risk of heavy metals or allergic reactions to their inks were too high to be considered a reliable option for me as I am following leads for ink companies that are known for not causing severe reactions or having adverse effects in their products.

Out of curiosity, and because I started googling for what ingredients the different ink brands contain - Could you please list the 12 companies you spoke to? I'm not questioning you, only would like to help if possible.

Good on you for doing the research Riri, I suppose that comes with having an allergy, you really do need to research thoroughly about the stuff you are allergic to. Goodluck with your journey on finding suitable inks for you, I hope someone on here can help you, but I think the odds may be against you as your research has told you that the majority of inks contain what you are allergic to.

Hey, so I wanted to update everyone. I was able to find two brands that do not use witch hazel! If anyone like me does have this allergy or wants to keep this on references for potential client concerns, World Famous Tattoo Ink & Millenium Tattoo Ink carry inks that are witch hazel free. ^_^ It took me several tries but I found it and wanted to share the good news.

Ririchi said:

Hey, so I wanted to update everyone. I was able to find two brands that do not use witch hazel! If anyone like me does have this allergy or wants to keep this on references for potential client concerns, World Famous Tattoo Ink & Millenium Tattoo Ink carry inks that are witch hazel free. ^_^ It took me several tries but I found it and wanted to share the good news.

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Well done Riri,
at least these two brands are easily obtained and also respected within the tattoo industry, would have been awful if the only brands you could find were very obscure brands that are hard to get. Personally, if I were you, I wouldn't buy your inks of amazon or ebay as they would almost certainly be knock off brands and not the genuine product....always buy your supplies from reputable suppliers.

I wonder if kuro sumi inks uses witch hazel, i've read numerous time that their composition was very different from other companies.

Very good find Riri, nice to know there's a deep concern from manufacturers, from vegan inks to allergy related problems.

Thanks for the info,

Peace,

DKJ

DKJ said:

I wonder if kuro sumi inks uses witch hazel, i've read numerous time that their composition was very different from other companies.

Very good find Riri, nice to know there's a deep concern from manufacturers, from vegan inks to allergy related problems.

Thanks for the info,

Peace,

DKJ

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Kuro Sumi lining black does have Witch Hazel (which is odd considering they're made by World Famous).
Dynamic standard black does not contain Witch Hazel
Nor does Dynamic Triple Black
Starbrite Colors - a quick glance through a few colors shows zero witch hazel
Eternal Ink - No Witch Hazel.

All American chemical products MUST have an MSDS sheet available which will list all chemical ingredients. It's recommended to have this on hand for every product you use in your work. Those were the ones I have on file, and I went ahead and checked Intenze's MSDS list and the few I looked at DID have witch hazel in them.

Here is a list of where to find the information for the companies I listed.

Intenze:

Dynamic Blacks (I don't know where they keep their color records)

Kuro Sumi:

Starbrite Colors:

World Famous Tattoo Ink:

Eternal Ink: Click the SDS Page link to be taken to a google drive document - NO Witch hazel is listed BTW.