Are Tattoos Vegan? | Guide to a Vegan Tattoo

Are tattoos vegan? As a vegan with ample tattoos, I’m asked this quite a lot. In this video I address exactly what ingredient and products can make tattoos not vegan- some of which are rather obscure- whether is it possible to get a 100% vegan tattoo, and how to you find a vegan tattoo shop or artist. For further information on this topic and for a list of vegan-friendly alternative, see the blog post here: http://www.BiteSizeVegan.com/VeganTattoos

Tweetables:
Are Tattoos Vegan?:
Get Inked the Ethical Way:
Make Sure Your Tattoo for the Animals Doesn’t Have Them In It:

Videos Mentioned:
My Personal Tattoo Tour:
Is Wool Vegan?:
The Animal Testing Series:
Where DO I Get My Protein:
And More on Protein:

Bite Size Vegan is veganism [simplified]. subscribe for fun, friendly, and fast information on how and why to live vegan!

Awesomeness:
★Subscribe: http://bit.ly/BiteSizeSubscribe
★FREE eBook: http://bit.ly/Ebook4Free
★Support BSV & Get Rewards!- Join the Nugget Army On Patreon: http://bit.ly/TheNuggetArmy
★ Support BSV- Give One-Time Donation: http://www.bitesizevegan.com/one-time-donations
★Work With Me!: http://bit.ly/1vPNWQg
★Visit: http://www.bitesizevegan.com
★Shop: http://www.bitesizevegan.com/store

Follow Me:
★Instagram: http://instagram.com/bitesizevegan/
★Twitter: https://twitter.com/BiteSizeVegan
★Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BiteSizeVegan
★Tumblr: http://bitesizevegan.tumblr.com
★Google Plus: http://bit.ly/16BQDP7
★The Vegan Nugget Playlist!: http://goo.gl/x6RzBX
★Blog Post for This Video: http://www.BiteSizeVegan.com/VeganTattoos

Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, parody, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use.

We vegans can be an expressive and passionate
lot. And a number of us, like any number of

any grouping of people, like to express that
passion with visual representations in the

form of tattoos. Of course, given that we
often express our passion for animals, it’s

important to ask, are tattoos vegan? Well
I can tell you one thing- if they’re not…

...this is going to be quite awkward.

Hi it’s Emily from Bite Size Vegan and welcome to another vegan nugget. Being vocally vegan

and amply tattooed, the question of tattoos’ vegan-ness is posed to me quite often.

Though still not as often as where I get my protein.

My tats have also inspired some of the more

creative personal attack comments on my channel like “I don't like your tattoo, it's not

sexy at all! For a lady to have all this tattoos, it's just ewww. I'm a vegan my self, I don't

find you as an inspirational person at all!”
and “Tattoo ink contains bone char and animal fat.

But hey, as long as you're not eating
dead animals, it's all good, right?”

Now that last one has a point- in some instances.
And maybe the first one does too.

Everyone's entitled to their own opinion.

If you want to know more about my personal
tattoos and their significance, check out

my vegan tattoo tour in this video. And, just
to let you know- I’m hoping to get my leg

piece finished at the end of May after over
a year of waiting, so I’ll be sure to take

a camera with and to show you the process. Stay
tuned for that.

So, what is it that makes tattoos not vegan?
What do we vegans need to look out for and

is it possible to get a 100% vegan tattoo?
And how do you find a vegan tattoo shop or artist?

Let’s find out!

First off, a little about tattoo ink: Tattoo
ink is formed from a pigment, which gives the

ink its color, suspended within a carrier
solution. The pigment is usually derived from

plants or metal. Now what my astute commenter
was referring to with the bone bit of his

comment, however, is black ink, also called
“bone black” which can- but doesn’t

always- contain charcoal and soot derived
from the charred bones of animals.

Now the suspension in which this pigment is…well…suspended
keeps the ink evenly mixed and aids in the

ease of application. Carrier solutions generally
contain purified water, ethyl alcohol, propylene

glycol and glycerine and may also contain
witch hazel. For vegans, it’s the glycerine

we have to watch out for. It can be either from
plants or from animal fats depending on the company.

Aside from bone char pigment and glycerine
carrier solutions, there are other animal

bits in tattoo inks to keep an eye out for.

Some inks also use gelatin, which is extracted
from the skin, bones, and connective tissues

of animals such as domesticated cattle, chicken,
pigs, and fish, and shellac a resin secreted

by the female lac beetle.

So what’s a vegan to do ink-wise? Well,
luckily there are plenty of vegan inks on

the market, some of which have the bonus of
being non-toxic. I’ve supplied a list of

vegan ink brands on the blog post for this
video along with other resources and links

for further information. You can find the
link to the post itself in the video description

below or in the sidebar right there.

Outside of the ink itself, other elements
of the tattoo process can be animal-laden.

Many artists use Vaseline or petroleum jelly
during tattooing to help their tattoo machine

glide more easily over the skin. Petroleum jelly itself
can by and large be considered animal-free,

although it’s a byproduct of the oil industry,
which is a bit concerning, and the Vaseline

brand itself can contain bone char depending
on the country and definitely is tested on animals.

There are a number of alternative that you can
use to lube up your skin during your session,

but of course it will be up to the individual
artist as to whether they are comfortable

using them. Options I’ve come across
were shea butter, jojoba oil or olive oil.

Personally, my artist just dry runs on me
and it works out just fine.

Another lovely element of tattooing is that
you get to be shaved by another person.

This can be an issue for vegans, or people with
boundary issues, but that’s for a completely

different reason, because disposable razors
may contain a glycerin “moisturizing strip”

and are by and large almost always tested
on animals. Which doesn’t really make any

sense…but then again, what element of animal
testing does?

So, as an alternative to the animal fat-lined
razors that you can always shave yourself prior

to coming with your own cruelty-free razor
like the lovely Preserve brand and/or bring

it with you. If you really want that stranger-shaving-you-in-public
experience.

If being shaved by another person wasn’t
invigorating enough for you, they will also

partially bathe you by soaping up the area
to be worked on. Most shops use what’s referred

to as 'green soap'- presumably because it’s
green. However, the Vegan society has not

been able to get confirmation from green soap
producers as to their glycerin sources and

potential animal fat content, and the information
online is highly conflicting.

The best alternative I’d recommend for this
is Dr. Bronner’s soap, the baby mild kind

ideally. It’s hypoallergenic and tattoo
friendly. Just grab some and bring it with.

One lesser-known hidden animal product in
the tattoo experience is the lanolin in transfer

paper, which comes from sheep’s wool. If
you’re not sure what the big deal is about

sheep’s wool, be sure to check out this
video.

You see when you get a tattoo, unless you
have a badass freehander, your artist will

draw the image out on what looks like tracing
paper and apply it to your glistening moist

skin to leave an outline to follow. This allows
your artist- and you to work out ideal positioning

and allows you a bit of a preview.

Luckily there is a vegan transfer paper out
there by ReproFX. You can ask your artist

to order some if they don’t use that brand
or be a dear and purchase some form a tattoo

supply shop online. I have links to that as
well in the blog post for this video.

So now that we’ve gone over the whole process,
what about aftercare? Many aftercare lotions

and ointments include beeswax, lanolin, like
A&D ointment, or cod liver oil. There are

plenty of vegan aftercare alternatives, which
are also listed in the blog post for this

video, again down there and up there. What
I tend to do is dry heal for the beginning

and once it gets to that really nasty, flaky,
itchiness, I’ll use some organic coconut

oil for moisturizing.

So there you go- the whole tattoo process
from start to finish. As for finding a vegan

tattoo artist, I’ve included a list of vegan
tattoo shops on the blog post- there are more

and more cropping up all the time- but with
this video guide, you can get a vegan tattoo

at any shop. Just work with your artist and air on the side of providing as much as you

can to make it less of a hassle for them.
A lot of time you’ll find artists are already

using vegan ink without really knowing it
as a lot of the vegan ink brands are highly

used and respected.

Now I’d love to hear from you- do you have
tattoos? If you’re vegan, did you know about

the animal products within the tattoo process?
Have you found your ideal artist? What ink

are you sporting? Let me know in the comments.

If you liked this tatted-up video, give it
a big thumbs up and share it around to help

other vegans looking to get inked. If you’re
new here be sure to hit that big red subscribe

button down there for more awesome vegan content
every Monday, Wednesday and some Fridays.

I would love to have you as a subscriber.

To help support Bite Size Vegan in continuing
the mission of effective vegan education,

please see the support links in the video
description below or for perks and rewards

for your support, click on the Nugget Army
icon there or the link in the iCard sidebar.

Now go live vegan, get inked up, and I’ll
see you soon!

Let's pull up some other gems real quick.

'How could you desecrate your body like that with all of that nasty-ass ink?'

'Don't you know that there are animals in tattoo ink you ___ hypocrite?'

There was a nasty word in between "you" and "hypocrite."

'I can't listen to anything you say because I'm so distracted by your disgusting tattoos.'

'I just can't take you seriously advocating for animals and stuff...'

They used a good word there before the "stuff."

'...because your gnarly-ass tattoos contain the bodies of the animals that you say you love.'