The FDA does not closely monitor the manufacture of tattoo pigments and there have been few, if any, studies into compounds formed when tattoo pigments are decomposed by the heat of laser removal. Because laser tattoo removal is the most popular method of tattoo removal more information is needed about the effects of decomposed compounds disposed of through the lymph system.
Since the tattoo color is often made of an unknown pigment composition a quantitative analysis test was run on tattoo pigments after laser treatment using high pressure liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry. The test was performed using shades of red azo dye pigment. It is known that red tattoo pigments cause the most frequent allergic reactions. It is also known that azo dyes, which are used because of the vibrancy of color they produce, become carcinogenic when heated above 280 degrees Celsius.Temperatures reached when laser is used to remove tattoo pigments are in the 900 Celsius temperature range, well above the temperature needed to turn the pigment into a carcinogenic compound.
Read entire article: Laser Tattoo Removal and the Creation of Hazardous Compounds
