HSE publishes recommendation to restrict substances in tattoo and permanent make-up inks in the UK

On 8 June 2023 UK’s Health and Safety Executive (HSE) published its recommendation to restrict the use of hazardous substances in ink used for tattooing and permanent make-up (PMU) in Great Britain.  The recommendation follows the publication of the final risk assessment opinion in February 2023 and a 60-day public consultation on the draft socio-economic (SE) opinion which ended on 14 April 2023. The Secretary of State for the Department of Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA) and the Welsh and Scottish ministers will now have to decide if the restriction should be brought into law.

The proposed restriction aims to protect people from potential harmful effect that can be caused tattoo and PMU ink.  It targets substances with the following classifications:

• CMR (carcinogenic, mutagenic, and reprotoxic)

• Skin sensitisation

• Skin corrosion

• Serious eye damage

The restriction, however, includes a derogation for 19 pigments including Pigment Blue 15:3 and Pigment Green 7. The fact that HSE’s review of these 19 pigments did not find evidence indicating that they are unsafe if used in tattoo or PMU ink combined with the lack of identified alternatives means that it was deemed appropriate to allow the continued use of these 19 pigments. Originally the derogation also included Pigment Red 83 and Solvent Violet 13, but these two substances were removed because the review identified data indicating potential concern for skin sensitisation for these substances.

In the EU restrictions apply to more than 4000 hazardous chemicals contained in mixtures for tattoo inks and permanent make-up since 4 January 2022 and exactly one year later the ban on Pigment Blue 15:3 and Pigment Green 7 came into force.  

This recommendation of restriction is the first made by the HSE after it became the authority in charge of UK-REACH in Great Britain when the UK left the EU. The HSE recommends a transition period of two years to give manufacturers and suppliers time to adapt to the new legal requirements and to test new inks. Furthermore, artists will have one more year to use up old stock and switch to new inks.