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Federal government wants to ban toxic tattoo colors

Ugly scars, infections or eczema - toxic T towier colors are extremely dangerous. Therefore, the federal government now wants to enforce a strict ban on toxic tattooing agents throughout Europe.

Tattoo color can be harmful
Photo: Istock

There are around 7, 000 Tattos studios in Germany. They work according to strict rules and regulations to minimize the risk of infection. In addition to legal studios, experts estimate that there are about 20, 000 illegal studios . In these studios colors of all kinds can be stung under the skin. Even before car paint make some bugs do not stop!

Federal Agriculture Minister Christian Schmidt (57, CSU) is now calling for a Europe-wide regulation for the use of tattoo inks . Bild Zeitung has received a letter from the EU Commission in which it warns: "During tattooing, toxicologically relevant amounts of tattooing agents are incorporated into the living skin layers."

The problem: The ink used in Germany often comes from abroad. Here, the production is hardly controlled. Heavy metals, soot or car paint in the paint can be the result. Clear goal is therefore an import ban of toxic colors from abroad.

The control of the partially illegal studios is very difficult. And even trusted tattoo artists can draw colors with toxic substances from abroad. That makes politics difficult. A first step must be uniform testing and adequate labeling of the colors. Schmidt wants to get that started now.

If you want to be sure, ask in your tattoo studio exactly what colors are used and whether the tattoo artist knows the ingredients of the color. That's not a guarantee, but at least a bit of self-protection.

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