Let’s say you just bought milk but after returning home when you pour it in a bawl you notice that it got spoiled, you can’t drink that spoiled milk anymore. Expired things are never nice. Does not matter if it’s something cheap like a bottle of milk or something expensive like a bottle of tattoo ink. You can’t use any expired product. If you do you may cause harm to yourself. Occasionally I come across infected or distorted tattoos and the prime reason behind it is the use of expired tattoo ink. That’s why knowing the expiry date of tattoo ink before use is crucial. So how long does tattoo ink last?
Tattoo ink can last longer or shorter depending on the ink quality and manufacturer. I have elaborated on all you need to know regarding tattoo ink going bad in this piece.
Key Takeaways
- In general, tattoo ink can last around 2 years, where the ink quality and manufacturer can affect the amount of time the ink can last.
- Using ink that went bad can cause multiple issues such as infection, permanent scarring, health issue, faded tattoo, etc.
- You can tell the tattoo ink went bad by checking the expiry date on the bottle, the dull color of the ink, and the split ink.
- Tattoo ink can go bad because of incorrect storage of the ink, manufacturing faults, or the ink being too old.
How Long Does Tattoo Ink Last?
The expiry date depends on the brand and the quality of the ink. In general, tattoo ink can last about two years. The expiration date can be more or less than 2 years depending on the manufacturing company. The ink components do not go bad but other components on the ink bottle can go bad or get biologically or chemically degraded. Which may cause the ink to be contaminated, lose quality, evaporate, or split.
It is recommended to not use tattoo ink that is more than 2 years old or has already passed the expiration date. No professional tattoo artist would use ink that has exceeded its expiry date. And to make sure your tattoo artist doesn’t make a mistake you can check the expiry date on the tattoo of the tattoo ink. The good thing is professional artists not only care about their ink expiry date but are also quite busy. Being busy means they don’t get to store any ink for more than a few months, so the chance of them having old expired ink on the shelf is impossible. But when you go to a local unprofessional tattoo artist you must make sure they are using ink that is in usable condition.
Don’t get confused between tattoo ink going bad while being in a bottle and the tattoo ink that’s in your body. After the ink enters your skin, it will not go bad. A permanent tattoo stays with you for life and will never go bad. So just make sure you don’t insert any expired tattoo ink even if your tattoo artist assures you that it is fine. Getting a tattoo using stale tattoo ink can cause permanent damage, which your tattoo artist won’t be able to fix even if you sue them.
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6 Reasons Not to Use Expired Tattoo Ink
There can be many reasons for not using expired tattoo ink.
Here I listed 5 of them:
1. Distorted tattoo
An expired tattoo ink most likely will split. You will notice the ink is no longer together, it is in split condition. This split ink won’t do any good when you try to make a design using it. It will just spread onto your skin and create a distorted design.
2. Tattoo fading
Even if by luck you manage to avoid some serious issues regarding using stale tattoo ink, you will still be left with a dull-looking or faded tattoo. An ink that went bad will not have the accurate amount of liquid in it. As liquid of tattoo ink evaporates after expiring. Your tattoo artist will most likely use water or alcohol or something else to get that liquid form again, in this process the ink will become thin. Using this thin ink to get a tattoo will get you a fade tattoo. You won’t get the vibrant or bright color you desire. Not to mention the outline will be vague and not sharp. So you will get a fade or blurry tattoo by using ink that went bad.
3. Contaminated ink and infection
Ink contamination is one of the worst side effects of using stale tattoo ink. After a certain time, the ink starts to lose moisture or the liquid starts to evaporate. A tattoo artist may use water or alcohol to maintain the liquid form of the ink but they end up contaminating the ink in the process. Tattoo ink that went bad can be a breeding ground for bacteria and germs. Applying such contaminated ink on the skin will lead to infection. Two of the most common infection you may get from tattoo ink that went bad are strep and staph.
Applying contaminated ink can cause some serious or permanent damage to your skin if not treated correctly and within time. Not to mention your tattoo will be distorted.
4. Delayed healing
We try our best to heal our tattoos as fast as possible. Because when the healing gets delayed the chance of facing issues regarding the tattoo increases. And you can expect delayed healing if you use ink that went bad. A contaminated ink can cause infection and delay the healing period by a lot.
5. Permanent scarring
An ink that went bad can cause infection. An infection especially on a tattooed area can be nasty. Infection on a tattooed area can swell the skin, and cause inflammation, redness, excessive puss, and excessive scabs which increase the chance of getting a scar. The infection will distort the tattoo and may even cause permanent scarring. Let’s say you used ink that went bad on an exposed body part like the neck or hand. Now if it gets a bad infection and causes permanent scars, it can ruin your confidence forever. Remember some permanent scars will remain to some degree no matter what you do to get rid of them.
6. Serious health issues
Using expired ink can cause some serious health issues. Such as tetanus, hepatitis, and non-tuberculous mycobacteria. To avoid these health issues, make sure not to use stale tattoo ink no matter what.
6 Ways To You Can Tell the Tattoo Ink Went Bad
There are many ways you can tell if tattoo ink went bad or not. I mentioned the 3 most common and noticeable ways you can use to figure out if the tattoo ink went bad or not.
- Check the expiry date
Before your tattoo artist uses ink on you, make sure to ask to see the ink bottle. When you have the check the expiry date on it. Every tattoo ink bottle will have an expiry date on it. - Split
The ink that went bad will lose the usual texture and appear to be split. That’s how you can tell if it went bad or not. An ink that’s been split is good for nothing. Getting a tattoo using split ink will fade and distort the tattoo. - Dried ink
An ink that went bad will lose liquid by evaporating it. So you will see the ink is thicker or got dry because of lack of liquid in it. If you notice thick or dry ink, then it probably went bad and became unusable. Diluting dried or thick ink in water or alcohol does not make it usable again, so don’t try to make that stale ink usable somehow. The only thing you can do is throw the bottle away. - Dull color
Fresh tattoo ink appears to have bright color. So pay attention to the color of your tattoo ink. If the color appears to be dull then it probably went bad. - Incorrectly stored tattoo ink
If you notice the tattoo ink has been stored poorly then there is a high chance it went bad. So if you notice this just throw the ink bottle away and don’t take a chance. - Possible contamination
If anything happened that had a possibility to contaminate the ink then you can no longer use it. Just a possibility of contamination makes the ink unusable as it is too risky to use ink that went bad. So you have to count ink that has even a little possibility of contamination as ink that went bad.
5 Reasons Why Tattoo Ink Go Bad
I have listed a few crucial reasons behind tattoo ink going bad below:
- Incorrect storage
Incorrect storage can cause the tattoo ink to go bad. By incorrect storage, I mean keeping the ink bottle under direct sunlight or in a hot area. Now don’t go storing your ink bottle in the freezer. Freezing temperature can also make the ink go bad. To store properly keep the ink bottle away from direct sunlight and keep it on a shelf where it can stay at room temperature. - Manufacturing fault
The manufacturer is supposed to main a total sterol environment and equipment to make tattoo ink and process it. If they somehow make a mistake the ink can go bad. - Old tattoo ink
Wine gets better with age but not tattoo ink. Every type of tattoo ink has a particular expiry date, when that date exceeds it becomes expired. Most tattoo ink goes bad after 2 years or so. You should check the expiry date on the ink bottle especially if you are using really old tattoo ink. - Breaking off the seal while storing
If you deliberately or by mistake break off the seal of the ink bottle and store it, it will go bad. You suppose to break the seal before using the ink and not store it. Storing an ink bottle for a long time that has a broken seal cannot stay in the right condition. - Contamination
If the ink somehow becomes contaminated with bacteria or germs, then it becomes unusable. So any ink does not matter if it is brand new or old, when gets contaminated you have to throw it away as it went bad.
3 Ways to Tell Ink Went Bad When Tattooing
You can tell if you got your tattoo using stale ink or not by observing the signs below:
Fade tattoo
A new tattoo should not look faded. Unless it is in the scabbing phase or you exposed it to sunlight and as a result faded your tattoo. Apart from these two reasons if you notice your tattoo looks faded then there is a high chance your tattoo artist used ink on you that went bad.
Discomfort
It is normal to feel a mild level of discomfort after getting a tattoo. But if you feel unbearable inflammation, puss, swollen skin, fever, rash, etc. then your tattoo most likely got infected. And the cause of this infection could be the use of ink that went bad.
Health issue
Suddenly after getting your tattoo if you face health issues like tetanus, hepatitis, and non-tuberculous mycobacteria, there is a possibility your tattoo ink was stale.
FAQs
How long does temporary tattoo ink last?
Temporary tattoo ink can last around 4 years while on paper, but once you apply the ink on the skin it can last a few days to a week at most.
How long does tattoo ink last once open?
After opening the bottle tattoo ink can around a year at most, but it will mostly depend on how the container is stored as temperature and humidity levels will affect its shelf-life.
Final Thoughts
Using anything that I expired is never a good idea. And when it comes to inserting a foreign component into your body for a lifetime, it is definitely not a good idea. It is not likely to get ink that went bad into your skin nowadays as tattoo artists and clients both parties are both cautious regarding the ink condition. Getting a tattoo done with stale ink can cause tattoo fading/distortion, infection, health issues, permanent scarring, etc. A few easy ways to check if the ink went bad or not are checking the expiry date on the bottle, checking the liquidity of the ink, and checking the color of the ink. And tattoo ink can go bad for multiple reasons such as storing it the wrong way, breaking the seal and store again, and ink being too old. Now that you know every little detail regarding tattoo ink going bad and what happens if you still use it, make sure to avoid using stale ink.
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