One of the hardest decisions to make when selecting a tattoo is weather to go color or black and grey. There are benefits and downfalls to each. So today we’ll examine both types of tattoos.

Black And Grey Tattoos

Black and grey is the oldest form of tattoos and performed by the proper artist can produce stunning results. The work is described as black and grey because the highlights of the tattoo are natural flesh that is not tattooed, or occasionally some white for more dramatic effect.

Black tattoo ink is made from a variety of sources including Magnetite Crystals, Powdered Jet, Wustite, Bone Black, and Logwood. The same ingredients can be found in common India art ink.

Black and grey tattoos are the most resilient to damage from the sun. If you do a lot of work outside and refuse to wear sunblock you should get a black and grey tattoo rather then color work.

Full-Color Tattoos

Full-Color tattoos are by far my favorite type of tattoo. Color tattoos open up an entirely new realm of possibility.

There is a higher rate of ink rejection with color tattoos vs. black and grey due to the various compounds used to create color tattoo inks. Tattoo ink companies don’t have to reveal the ingredients in pigment products. These are closely guarded recipes and finding out exactly what is in your tattoo ink may be nearly impossible.

Color tattoos are created using a slew of compounds including, but not limited to, Ochre, Cinnabar, Cadmium Red, Iron Oxide, Napthol-AS pigment, Disazopyrazolone, Cadmium Seleno-Sulfide, Clay, Cadmium Yellow, Curcuma Yellow, Chrome Yellow, Disazodiarylide, Chromium Oxide, Malachite, Ferrocyanides, Lead Chromate, Monoazo Pigment, Phthalocyanine, Manganese Violet, various aluminum salts, Quinacridone, Carbazole, Titanium Dioxide, Barium Sulfate, and Zinc Oxide.

Don’t let that list scare you, rejection to tattoo ink is not very common. In the event that you do have a reaction it will likely be to only one specific color.

In order for color tattoos to retain their color you must keep them out of the sun. The suns rays can break down inks in a matter of years. Even a single bad sunburn could cause your tattoo to loose its original luster.

Which Hurts More Color Or Black And Grey?

Black and grey tattoos don’t hurt nearly as much as color. The main reason for this is that with a color tattoo you must apply pigment to every square inch of the skin. With black and grey the shading is achieved using less pigment then a color tattoo would require, therefore it hurts less.