What to do about recalled tattoo & PMU inks?
Guidelines, recalls thus far in 2025 and issues with how they're reported
A guide to dealing with recalls on tattoo and PMU inks has recently surfaced.
Guide: Dealing with new bans on tattoo inks. What tattoo studios and retailers need to know.
It’s a collaboration between @doc_tattooentfernung and @murostar_tattoo_piercing (A tattoo supplier) and was posted on Instagram both invaluable follows if you’re interested in this tattoo inks, dermatology, laser, tattoo supplies and regulations surrounding all of this.
The guide is aimed at folks using tattoo and PMU inks (including studios) and suppliers selling (who sell it). It’s the first I’ve seen published and is a step in the right direction for setting some kind of standard in tattooing and PMU on this subject.
Recalled inks so far in 2025
Even though Christmas is over, the elves have been busy. So far in 2025 the following recalls have been initiated :
World Famous Limitless - Jay Freestyler Turquoise
BioTek (S-Pigment) - Bright Pink
World Famous - Limitless - Bright Orange
World Famous Limitless - Dark Blue 1 -v2
Honourable mentions
There was a recall on Intenze White but while looking at the images the label had spelling errors. I contacted Intenze with the given batch number and they said it wasn’t part of their current batch numbers (it was too high, they probably number them sequentially) and that they’d investigate. Also it was purchased from Temu and they said they don’t supply or sell on this platform. So this could likely be a counterfeit. Tbh if you’re buying your inks on Temu you deserve your ink to be recalled. I’ve included the link to the recall for reference but haven’t added it to the Inkflow system.
The FDA has another recall for Premier Pigments, a PMU brand, I wasn’t able to find much about them except they’re offered by various suppliers, no real website, SDS sheets or anything of the sorts, but still, it’s linked below.
Premier Pigments - Color is Everything - Brows Light Blonde Honey
If you use any of the above inks it’s probably a good idea to compare lot/batch numbers and expiry dates to ensure you don’t have any of the recalled batches in stock. If you’ve started using the Inkflow app then you’d have been notified if any of your inks (past and present) were recalled.
Not a great start to the year but even though they’ve appeared in reports this year, in many cases the recalls were initiated last year, sometimes even months before. bureaucracy at it’s finest.
The issue with the EU recall reporting system (RAPEX)
The EU reports dangerous non food products that require some action, via its’ web site, Safety Gate. It’s similar to the FDA’s Safety Alerts but in some ways a little more functional.
It’s updated almost daily and pretty easy to use.
The main issue with the system is there doesn’t seem to be any education or standardisation of it’s reporting when it comes to reporting tattoo and PMU inks.
Some of the issues I’ve run into :
Images supplied with the alert can be blurry, grainy (to the point of not being to read the label) or not contain anything of value in relation to the alert. I haven’t seen the FDA supply images at all. C’mon folks, it’s taking a photo of a static object!
There’s no standard in what is photographed for the images, what data is shown or how it is presented.
Sometimes the manufacturer of the product is recorded but not the actual brand. In the alert on S-Pigments, Bright Pink, the brand is stated as Biotek. They may be the underlying manufacturer of the pigments (as they have a line of pigments themselves), but the actual brand was S-Pigments. This was only apparent when I couldn’t find a the name of the colour stated, under the Biotek range. Investigating further led me to view the image which when zoomed in showed it was actually S-Pigments, who probably have their inks made by Biotek. This is actually an issue seen quite often in PMU inks. There’s a hundreds of brands but really they’re made by a select few manufacturers who themselves have big name brands. Kind of the white labelling of PMU pigments. If this isn’t understood, it affects the reporting of alerts and those reacting to them. If you see an alert for Biotek but you don’t buy from Bioteks’ range, you might ignore it, all the while using S-Pigments, unaware it’s made by Biotek. So I guess this could also be an issue with the education of the end user (me and you) and a gap in the knowledge of the inks they use.
Batch numbers and Lot numbers are sometimes mixed up in the reporting. Some inks only state a Batch# or a Lot# while others have both, but at times they’re reported interchangeably with a Lot# being recorded as a Batch# etc... Again, some sort of education is needed in accurate reporting by either the person raising the alert or the person recording it on the system.
Not all the information is consistently reported. Sometimes you have an Expiry or Manufacture date, other times not. While all inks should have and Expiry date on the bottle, at times it’s present on the images (although not always the entire date due to photo angles!), but it isn’t reported in the alert!
Alerts aren’t reported in a timely manner, the initial recall could be made by the manufacturer or another organisation but only reported on the relevant system a few months later. This is no doubt due to the bureaucratic process involved in confirming and adding items to the system. So you could be using an ink that has been recalled for bacterial contamination, a recall is initiated by the manufacturer but only appears on the system a few months later. The agencies involved need to streamline their processes. This is definitely a safety issue and if recalls can’t be reported in a timely manner what’s the point of reporting on them at all? So much time put into creating regulations but no standard for reporting them when an ink fails to meet them….
How recalls are reported in the app
The recall data used by the app is brought together by recording data from these various agencies when they make it available. As I mentioned above, the data provided isn’t always consistent and therefore with default settings in the app, a recall that matches an ink you add or currently have in your palette, will always notify you and allow you to compare the data to decide if you ink matches the recall. It tabulates a comparison of lot number, batch number, manufacture and expiry date with your ink and let’s you make the choice as to whether it matches. If you match a recall it marks the ink as recalled and automatically closes the ink, removing it from your palette and the ability to add it to a session. If it’s not a match it removes the alert and it’s business as usual.
If you want to know more about the recall you can access the original link under the inks’ Recall tab.
I have a recalled ink! Now what?
Well I guess it depends where you’re from? Does your country, county or state have a standard way for reporting this? And is it made aware to users of the products (tattooists, cosmetic artists and studios)? Thought not.
So best to read the article I previously mentioned and use it as a guideline until some form of official processes are set in motion.
Guide: Dealing with new bans on tattoo inks. What tattoo studios and retailers need to know.
A new version of the app will be available soon, I’ll write a blog about it soon, there’s a few new features and the direction the app is taking in the next blog post.
Oh, and Happy New Year
Needledrag