What is the pH of India ink?

Answer 1

Although I am not going to answer your question, I will give you a bit of advice on this issue. India Ink is meant for, and should be used for NOTHING other than calligraphy pens. Although it is primarily composed of natural, non-toxic materials, it is a much soupier recipe than any other professional black ink that you would find, and it is for that reason that this should never be used for a tattoo.

The first reason for this is that the ink is so thin that once you push it under the skin, it bleeds into the surrounding tissue either slightly to moderately, so if you are working on something with intricate lines, you've just wasted your time and your friend's pain. Secondly, due to it being so thin, a lot of the ink will fall out of the skin during the healing process and you will have light spots everywhere. Thirdly, and most importantly, once healed the color of the ink will be more of the appearance of gray or blue, as opposed to truly black as it should be, thus making it look just REALLY substandard and cheap.

With all this said, I am not a snooty artist who scoffs at beginners. I tend to light a candle rather than curse your darkness. If you are tattooing out of home, use common sense….it really goes a long way. You can buy honest to god tattoo ink off the internet, eBay specifically, if you do not have a Business Tax ID number to buy from a reputable supplier. For professional ink, stay away from Scream Ink, Skin Candy Ink, and most of the inks sold from China. The price is seductive, but the results are bad. Instead use either Intenze Ink or Starbrite Ink, the price is right and the results are great.

I know other rockstar artists whom would want my head on a plate for helping "scratchers", but this mentality that pervades the industry frankly sickens me. EVERY artist who holds a machine started out as a know nothing beginner, and they should always remember that. The internet is there, and so are the supplies, so we as professionals should at least promote common sense in home tattooists, and vaguely point them where to get decent gear, rather than ignore the issue and continue to let them keep butchering people with complete crap. But even with that, if you are serious of becoming an artist, than get an apprenticeship. There is an oceans worth of techniques, health guidelines, OSHA regulations, tattoo and medical terminology, machine know how, electrical know how, and many other things that you will not learn on your own, and your art will suffer as a result.

So….be smart, be vigilant in what you do. Even at a home level you have a responsibility to both your clientle as well as yourself to treat tattooing with respect, and use practicality in making sure that you are not infecting people or yourself. So in summation….leave the India Ink in the art supply store. Thank you.