Berlin, Germany, and Providence, R.I. — A recently released study suggests that “permanent makeup” (tattooed eyeliner or lipstick) can cause serious problems for recipients — especially those with a history of allergies, reports HealthDay News.
The study, conducted by a former Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) researcher now at the Robert Koch Institute in Berlin, found that such “beauty-enhancing” procedures may result in unsightly side effects such as swelling or bumps.
The study adds, however, that most of the adverse reactions identified were caused by a single product line of inks, which was recalled in 2004.
HealthDay News quotes epidemiologist and lead author Masja Straetemans, M.D., as saying, “The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study confirms that permanent makeup can cause severe health problems in some women.” Dr. Straetemans was with the CDC at the time of the study.
According to Dr. Straetemans, 89 of the 92 study participants had been injected with ink from a single product line. That line of inks was recalled by its manufacturer, Premier Products, Arlington, Texas, in September 2004. Data on the ink used on the other three women was missing. Most of the study volunteers interviewed — 74 percent — had a history of allergies. The study found that people with allergies took twice as long to heal from the ink’s adverse effects, the study added.
Sixty-eight percent of the study volunteers were still experiencing a reaction at the time of the study interview, and the duration of symptoms ranged from 5.5 months to three years.
Meanwhile, the Associated Press reports that a new tattoo dye targeted for fall release may solve the problem altogether.
The permanent but removable ink is made by storing dye in microscopic capsules that will remain in the skin permanently. If the tattoo recipient wishes the tattoo removed, however, a single laser treatment will do the trick — as opposed to the often painful series of treatments currently required.
The idea was developed in the late 1990s by a Harvard University dermatology professor, who then founded the New York-based company Freedom-2 in 1999 to market the product.
With the Freedom-2 concept, ink particles encased in tiny beads can be broken down in one laser treatment: the polymers combust, and the fragments are released and naturally expelled from the body, says the AP report.
