In a first-of-its-kind study, researchers detected bacteria in commercial tattoo and permanent makeup inks, demonstrating that they could cause human infections.

A new study conducted by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration found potentially harmful bacteria in sealed, sterile-labeled bottles of tattoo and permanent makeup ink. “In light of our study results, we want to emphasize the importance of continuously ...

The presence of bacteria can pose potential dangers to the roughly 32 percent of Americans who have at least one tattoo. Because tattoo inks are injected deep into the skin, it’s easy for an infection to travel through the bloodstream or lymphatic system to other parts of the body.

"Our findings reveal that unopened and sealed tattoo inks can harbor anaerobic bacteria, known to thrive in low-oxygen environments like the dermal layer of the skin, alongside aerobic bacteria," the study's authors write. "This suggests that contaminated tattoo inks could be a source of infection from both types of bacteria."

Sealed bottles of tattoo and permanent makeup ink, including some marked as sterile, contained millions of potentially dangerous bacteria, according to new research by the US Food and Drug Administration. “In light of our study results, we want to ...

Thinking of getting inked? You might want to think again. The FDA tested dozens of tattoo and permanent makeup inks. Here's what it found.

Researchers at the FDA tested tattoo and permanent makeup (PMU) samples and found over a third of them were contaminated with bacteria. Of those, a high percentage contained “possibly pathogenic bacterial strains” that can cause disease,