Ink versus Pigment in Medical Tattooing

Ink versus Pigment in Medical Tattooing

Opening the conversation between using ink versus pigment in Medical Tattooing for patients who require areola tattooing.

There are constant conversations between tattooists as to using pigment or ink.

Many tattooists are now using ink to tattoo areola and nipples for patients post-mastectomy / post-surgery, and my understanding of this is that the ink changes colour over time (sometimes as quickly as one year) to a primary or secondary colour. I have seen this in person at Morriston Hospital when I worked as a Medical Tattooist in their Burns and Plastics Unit.

I had numerous patients come in who had been to a normal body tattooist shop and had their areola tattooed. It had looked great at first. They had been really pleased with the result and had enjoyed the experience, being told that this tattoo would last forever, unlike the results from a Medical tattooist.

What they presented to me was a different story, and I’d like to find out if this is what happens to everyone, or is just a minority? It’s imperative we know the answer, as more and more people are training with ink rather than pigment, and my concern is that more and more patients are being left with a result that they can’t get rid of, looks completely unnatural, and makes them, even more, self-conscious.

I have had women come into the hospital room with bright orange areola, yellow areola, lilac areola, and purple areola. This is the result they are left with post-ink tattooing. The areola at the time of being tattooed was a shade of brown or pink and looked great. Between 1-8 years later they had a brightly coloured circle instead.

I have tried to engage with tattooists about this over time, at presentations and conferences, but the conversation doesn’t seem to go anywhere.

I’m not trying to put anyone down; I’m trying to find out the information for the benefit of the patient. If you can show me that a large percentage of patients get and keep great results over the years, then it is something I think each and every patient should have the choice to choose, including mine. I would certainly start to offer using ink as a solution, as it’s permanent, and how better to please your patients than with a permanent solution. But in my experience, I have seen the negative impact of this permanent treatment and need to know if this is the norm?

Unfortunately, these women hadn’t been back to their tattooist to tell them of this result, and many don’t and won’t. So the tattooist isn’t aware of the long-term impact, and other people are left to deal with the ramifications. I want to engage the conversation – do you find out what your results look like over a longer period of time?

Have clients come back and let you know the results – good or bad? Are there people out there who have had their areola tattooed in a normal body tattoo shop and would like to share their long-term results?

Worth a read: Areola medical tattooing completed a ten year journey.

I’d love to hear from any of you about your experience and for you to join the debate. Looking forward to hearing from you. Please contact me via info@raedenman.co.uk, or complete the enquiry form below

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