Eco-friendly tattoos

A friend of mine recently posted to her Facebook that she’s looking for tattoo ideas, which is cool, because I’m looking for designs ideas too.  Then I got to thinking, maybe I should look into green tattoos.

So, are there greener tattoo options out there?

Yes and no. It depends on what tattoo experience you’re interested in. Planet Green says if you’re getting a tattoo then nope; green is not an option. According to them, “The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has not approved “any tattoo inks for injection into the skin, and many ink pigments used are industrial strength colors suitable for printers’ ink or automobile paint.“  In this same piece, the EPA is also not on board for green tats, noting the chemicals involved are anything but green. A piece at Treehugger notes much the same.

Now, if your goal is tattoo removal, you actually may have some greener options. According to Off Beat Ink, “Tattoo removal surgeons can promote more eco-friendly policies by switching from tetrafluorethane (the chemical sprayed on your skin to prevent scarring during removal) to a carbon dioxide spray. This spray accomplishes the job just as efficiently, and simultaneously reduces the environmental impact.”

Is there anything else eco-friendly about tattoos?

Well, besides being a good way to shout out your earth love, you can also snag some eco-friendly, organic tattoo aftercare or go short-term with some eco-friendly henna (good for kids even).

The final scoop:

Tattoos aren’t so earth-friendly. Tattoo removal could be, but the use of carbon dioxide spray is not across the board yet. That said, I’d still get one – I figure I somewhat balance out with all the other green things I do. What about you?

[image via stock.xchng]