Whether you care about what’s in what you use or not, vegan tattoo ink can be better, at least in some ways. Although it’s not certain whether vegan is safer and healthier than nonvegan, you may not like the idea of innocent animals being hurt to create tattoo ink. You can read on to find out more about vegan tattoo ingredients.
What Does Nonvegan Tattoo Ink Contain?
According to PETA, non vegan inks may consist of beetle shellac, animal fat glycerin, bone char, and animal gelatin. For one thing, bone char comes from the charred bones of cattle from foreign countries.
The result is a granular, black, porous material. Additionally, the female lac bug excretes a resin that’s used to make shellac.
Glycerin or glycerol is sourced from animal fat. And gelatin is collagen obtained from the boiling of animal body parts.
Despite the fact that vegans surely have a problem with this, others may not think much about it. Of course, this doesn’t make it acceptable either.
No Animal Testing or Animal Byproducts
If you can’t stand the thought of animals being harmed to make your tattoo ink, then you should probably use vegan ink.
After all, animals did nothing to humans to deserve to be mistreated, so it only makes sense that people should treat them with respect.
Plus, you can feel like a better person for living by more ethical standards. Moreover, you won’t have to worry about being involved with any harsh animal testing.
May Still Contain Harmful Toxins
While many people may believe that just because something is vegan, it’s likely safer, this may not be the case with vegan tattoo ink.
For one thing, the question of health and safety has more to do with the chemicals involved than animal ingredients. But infections, allergic reactions, and other complications are rare.
Besides this, the tattooing process may involve other nonvegan items like transfer paper, moisturizing strips, lubricants, and razors.
Not to mention aftercare products and soaps. This makes it vital to check that the tattoo parlor you visit uses all vegan products throughout the entire process.
Vegan Tattoo Ink Ingredients:
Plant-Based Glycerin: While glycerin comes from animal fats and is used in nonvegan ink, plant-based or vegetable glycerin can be a substitute in vegan varieties.
Logwood or Carbon: This is what creates the black color.
Ethanol or Witch Hazel: Ethanol is a disinfectant and antiseptic. Witch hazel may be used for ink dilution during the tattooing process. It can be soothing to the skin and reduce ink rejection, bleeding, and redness.
Does it Fade Faster?
Vegan tattoo ink doesn’t fade any more quickly than nonvegan ink. On the contrary, it can actually stand out quite nicely and comes in a variety of vibrant shades. Therefore, you probably won’t feel like you’re missing out if you decide to use vegan over nonvegan.
Is Vegan Better?
In spite of the fact that animals aren’t harmed by making vegan ink, this may be the main reason to use it.
Vegans often live by the belief that animals shouldn’t be harmed in the making of anything they use or eat. But if you’re not a vegan, you can still make informed decisions about vegan tattoo ink ingredients that have a positive impact on your quality of life.
For instance, you might be considering living this lifestyle in the future or you just might like animals and desire to change your ways. If this is you, it can be important to know that any choice you make in favor of animals can help you gain empathy and peace of mind.
In addition, the animal-derived ingredients in nonvegan ink can be obviously unclean, which can make vegan ink a lot cleaner and better.
Why Choose Vegan Tattooing?
If you’re a vegan, getting a vegan tattoo can only make sense. This can give you a way to be yourself and live by your standards.
You won’t have to use ink with animal ingredients and no animals were tested either. No matter what, you can ask different tattoo shops if they use vegan tattoo ink and other vegan items when tattooing.
On the other hand, if you’re not vegan, you might or might not care so much about the welfare of animals. But even if you don’t particularly care about animals, you might not like the idea of animal gelatin or the glycerin of animal fat contained in nonvegan ink being injected into your skin.
Not only can this be disgusting, but although there isn’t enough evidence to tell, it seems extremely unhealthy and unsafe for humans.
Although getting a tattoo can be a fun or meaningful form of self-expression, no one should have to worry about contributing to harming innocent animals. Indeed, educating yourself about vegan tattoo ink ingredients gives you useful knowledge. You have the power to make choices that align with your values.
