Pounded Ink

Now here’s a novel idea. Get a tattoo that no one can see. Yes there are actual glow in the dark tattoos as well as UV reflective tattoos. These are permanent and if applied properly completely undetectable.

Now, before you get immersed in the idea of a stealth tattoo take your time to think about what makes something either glow in the dark or react under UV light. This will require breaking down both what makes something glow in the dark and what makes something react to blacklight.

Glow In The Dark Tattoo Ink

All things that glow in the dark by themselves contain phosphors. A phosphor is a substance that radiates visible light after being energized. These types of inks have been used in tattooing but not a single “glow in the dark” tattoo ink has every been approved by the FDA. The main reason for this is that phosphors are known cancer causing substances. To make phosphors more visible and retain more energy, or light, you must add a radioactive substance of some sort. This is used in the manufacturing of high quality watches.

You have probably noticed already that none of these elements are good for the human body. If someone wants to give you a tattoo that glows in a dark room with no light source, just say no. This stuff is poisonous and though available from overseas is not approved by any medical authority.

UV (Blacklight) Reactive Tattoo Ink

There are approved inks for blacklight reactive tattoos. Blacklight tattoos will not glow in the dark but will seem to glow under a blacklight. The inks are made of material that is florescent. What does that mean? Hopefully it means there is no phosphorus in my florescent tattoo ink, because until just recently UV reactive inks were made with phosphors.

There are a lot of everyday materials that fluoresce, or glow, when placed under a (Ultraviolet) blacklight. A blacklight gives off highly energetic ultraviolet light. You can’t see this part of the light spectrum, which is how “blacklights” got their name. Fluorescent substances absorb the ultraviolet light and then re-emit it almost instantly. Some energy gets lost in the process, so the emitted light has a longer wavelength than the absorbed radiation, which makes this light visible and causes the material to appear to glow.

This Is Really Cool - I Want A Glow In The Dark Tattoo

Not so fast cowboy. It’s important that you realize and understand that this is a very new technique of body modification. The oldest studies date back only 10 years. In that time they have still not approved the original idea of a glow in the dark tattoo, but developed an alternative. That doesn’t sound to safe to me.

Blacklight ink may be approved for use throughout the states but it does have a very high rate of being rejected by the patient. I have read many accounts of the feeling that their blacklight tattoo is aggravating and something is just plain wrong here. I’ve even seen accounts of heavily tattooed indivduals getting laser removal of UV tattoos due to complications with the ink.

If you do want an ultraviolet tattoo, I wish you good luck. Most reputable tattoo shops do not offer ultraviolet tattoos due to the high rate of complication associated with this process.

My tattooist won’t touch a glow in the dark or ultraviolet tattoo and I don’t think it’s a good idea either.