EU REACH: the records a tattoo studio keeps

The EU REACH restriction on tattoo inks and permanent makeup (Annex XVII, entry 75) has applied since January 4, 2022. It limits a long list of substances in the ink itself, so most of the work sits with manufacturers. The studio’s part is the records: knowing what’s in each ink you use, which batch went into which client, and being able to show both.

This is a practical checklist, not legal advice. Your national authority’s guidance is the last word for your country.

Know what is in every color

Compliant inks carry an ingredient list on the label. Ask your supplier for the full list for every color, including each pigment’s Color Index (CI) number.

• Get the full ingredient list from your supplier, not only the safety data sheet.
• Check it against the restricted substances in Annex XVII, entry 75.
• Set aside any ink where the supplier can’t confirm restricted amines, PAHs or heavy metals are under the limits.
• Don’t assume a brand is still compliant because it was in 2022. Formulas change, and labels can lag behind.

If a supplier can’t tell you what’s in a color, stop using it, however long you’ve had it.

Safety data sheets: where to look

A safety data sheet (SDS) has 16 sections. For tattoo ink, three matter most: section 3 (composition: the ingredients and their identifiers), section 11 (toxicological information) and section 15 (regulatory information, where REACH is referenced).

Keep them where you can find one in a minute, not in a folder under the counter.

Batch records

A batch record means knowing which batch of which ink went into which client. It sounds like admin until a supplier recalls a batch. With a record, you can find the clients who had ink from that batch and contact them. Without one, you can’t.

In Limespun, each ink in the Ink registry (in Settings) has its brand, color, product code, batch number and REACH status. Your consent form carries a REACH ink disclosure in your own wording, which the client acknowledges before signing. After the session, the artist adds the brand, color and batch of each ink to the signed form, so the record stays with that session.

Log reactions, even small ones

Report serious reactions to your supplier and, where your country runs one, to the national reporting scheme. For your own records, set the bar lower: note anything the client mentions, even redness that settles by itself.

• The date the client told you
• The ink and batch used in the session
• Where on the body
• What happened, in the client’s own words
• How it resolved, or who you referred them to
• Whether you told the ink supplier

In Limespun, note it on the client’s record. An allergy noted there shows on every booking after that, which is how Elena R.’s red ink allergy reaches Dev before her next session in the Sample studio.

Ready for an inspection

Enforcement differs from country to country. Being ready doesn’t mean perfect paperwork. It means you can quickly produce three things: the safety data sheet for an ink you’re using, the ink and batch behind a given session, and the disclosure the client acknowledged before it.

Create an account and add your inks in Settings, or send us your ink list and we’ll bring it over when we move your studio.