When weighing up the health risks of getting a tattoo, most people are concerned about the risk infection.

But recently the ingredients in tattoo ink have come under the microscope, with some being identified as potential carcinogens.

Norman and Tegan take a look at the many substances used to create permanent art, and whether they carry any real harm to humans.

References:

• Why Tattoos Stay Put | UCSF Synapse
• What's in my ink: an analysis of commercial tattoo ink on the US market - PMC
• Much ‘tattoo’ about nothing; Tattoo pigment mimicking breast microcalcifications on mammography
• Tattoo ink exposure is associated with lymphoma and skin cancers – a Danish study of twins | BMC Public Health
• Melanoma Arising in Tattoos: A Case Series and Scoping Review of the Literature
• Does tattoo ink give you cancer? - Cancer Council Australia
• 2016 report from the Australian Government’s Department of Health, National Industrial Chemicals Notification and Assessment Scheme