Identification of organic pigments in tattoo inks and permanent make-up using laser desorption ionisation mass spectrometry

Pigment variety is much greater in tattoo inks (18) than in PMU (10); four prohibited pigments (Pigment Green 7, Pigment Red 122, Pigment Violet 19 and 23) were found in both ink types; for PMU, these four pigments made up 12% of the pigment findings, compared to 32% for tattoo inks. Therefore, legal compliance of PMU was at a higher level. A comparison of pigments found with those declared on tattoo ink labels clearly showed that banned pigments are rarely declared, but rather masked by listing non present legal pigments and label forging; therefore, highlighting the urgency of widespread market controls.