Contaminated China tattoo ink

Read an article from New Zealand talking about China tattoo ink sold on Trademe to be contaminated. Took a look at Trademe, the kits sold there are the same ones being sold on Ebay here. Trademe banned sales of kits with ink in them I think they should do the same here. I mean I've already heard of one guy that got lead poisoning from china tattoo ink, problem was, he didn't even know it was, it was a knockoff kuro sumi, bottle looked exactly the same as the original. Here's the link to the article http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10680801

Thanks...again this is the reason why it is so important to know who your supplier is and where it comes from! I recently did an informative blog on my site on the very same subject and can't stress to my clients enough the importance of going to someone who is reputable! I personally use ONLY starbright inks and buy DIRECTLY from Tommy's because I KNOW I am getting the best. I been dealing with Tommy's for a while now and although I have the privledge of living in the same state where they are I really did my research before settling into a company I can trust and who stands behind their products. I NEVER EVER EVER buy ink from EBAY...EVER. Thanks for the info again-and I hope it serves as a healthy warning to those who are new to the industry and looking to get lower cost products from unreliable sources---in the long run you end up losing BIG time-so it never is worth the risk.

yes thanks for the info this is one of the reasons this board is here! along with this info im wondering (and have for sometime) if this could be part of the problem or issue of the bumps showing up on some of these tattoo's being posted here.this just helps confirm my thoughts and suspissions. although im not 100% sure on this but it would make sense,and is a viable suspect.

Its so dam sad. Our Government is totally at fault. We have trade embargos, copyright infringement laws etc.etc.etc. YET keep allowing these countries to send this shit here. The US and Ebay should NOT allow ANYTHING from china OR other countries to cross our borders until they comply with OUR laws period. Its illegal to copy brand name items and sell them on ebay or elsewhere such as.....Rolex watches for instance....yet... I see Tommy's supplies 38 special, Sharps micro dials, copycat inks, Eikons power supplies etc. all fraudulently represented on Ebay and elsewhere all day long. The Chinese are even copying our rare coins...placing them in fraudulent encapsulation huggers complete with labels from PGS etc and flooding Ebay. The Koreans are counterfeiting our currency and have even set up a government controlled US mint!!!!!!!!!!!!!! When will we stop crying and do something? A bunch of Indian artifact collectors have gotten together and now monitor and control that whole group of sales on ebay. They police it for fakes and remove all dealers selling such. It seems plausible to think we might be able to do the same? Its just Ebay but I think that would be a huge step. Our Government is failing us miserably in this area. Just my two cents.

Does anyone have a name/label/bottle image of this product so that I can identify what it looks like, so I can avoid it? Would be great, thanks. Been looking up in google but to no avail.

I used some china ink that came with a kit every thing seems cool no infection or other things. I would still like to know what the damn ink looks like though. people keep talkin about how bad the china ink is yet don't tell you what kind not to use. I used Dragonhawk ink that comes with the kit. so I been lookin all over before I used the stuff didnt find anything so I used it. Did it just hit newzealand or something? well it seems fine to me. I'm using other inks now though and the Dragonhawk was a last resort anyway. Oh and I used it on myself first before tattin on my friend. shit was straight still.

Using ink bought from an Ebay kit is just irresponsible and not to mention dangerous. The fact that you did not have a reaction does not mean that its safe- it can be months to a year later when your skin reacts and you left with a nasty infection / ink rejection. Chinese ink is known to unsafe, look at the toys made with lead paint etc...it doesnt matter what the bottle looks like, because even in china they sell "Intenze" and Starbrite knock offs. The key here is NOT to buy ink of Ebay from overseas, or even overseas for that matter! Your risking so much and I'm sorry but saving a dollar or two is not worth losing my life or my home from tattooing irresponsibly.