In a new study, researchers tested 75 tattoo and permanent makeup ink samples, in sealed containers, and found that a third of them contained bacteria, including some harmful strains.

The latest study tested 75 samples of sealed tattoo and permanent makeup ink sold in the United States by 14 manufacturers that were not named by the FDA. Some of the samples were labeled as sterile.

Some tattoo ink can contain potentially harmful levels of bacteria while other batches contain additives that are not labeled ...

Tattoo removal procedures spike post-pandemic 02:05. Nearly half of samples taken from permanent makeup ink products and close to a quarter of tattoo ink products were contaminated with bacteria ...

Tattoos were found to be more common among women than men (38 percent vs. 27 percent) and among younger adults (41 percent of those younger than 30 compared with 13 percent of people 65 and older).

Of the 40 tattoo inks specifically, nine (22 percent) were contaminated. Among all the ink samples, 49 were labeled "sterile" and, of those, 16 (33 percent) were contaminated.

The once-taboo "tramp stamp" — a derogatory term referring to the permanent ink on a woman's lower back that was popularized in the '90s — is now stylish, according to tattoo artists.

We walked down the narrow white hallway of the only tattoo shop near our Midwestern college and glanced at the sample tattoos lining the walls. My friends chose flowers and a lower-back tribal stripe.

In a new study, researchers tested 75 tattoo and permanent makeup ink samples, in sealed containers, and found that a third of them contained bacteria, including some harmful strains.

The latest study tested 75 samples of sealed tattoo and permanent makeup ink sold in the United States by 14 manufacturers that were not named by the FDA. Some of the samples were labeled as sterile.