The Truth About Pigments: What Ethical Artists Refuse to Use

By Ira Bale – Cosmetic Tattoo Artist, Melbourne, South Yarra and Toorak Village

Because the chemistry inside your skin matters more than the colour you see in the mirror.

1. Most Clients Focus on Colour. Ethical Artists Focus on Chemistry.

When clients come to Ira Bale Brows South Yarra or Toorak Village, they ask about shade, undertone, or how soft the healed result will be.

What they rarely ask is the question that matters most: What exactly is going into my skin?

The difference between good work and disastrous work usually comes down to pigment composition, not artistic talent.

Ethical artists reject entire categories of pigments because they know what happens beneath the surface. Cheap pigments do not just look bad. They behave unpredictably inside your skin for years.

This is the part of the industry most people never see.

Transformative Combo Brows featuring a blend of microblading and ombre techniques by Ira Bale.

2. The Pigments Ethical Artists Avoid Without Exception

There are three major pigment categories that responsible artists refuse to use.

A. Heavy Metal–Based Pigments

These pigments are inexpensive, easy to saturate and extremely long-lasting. They also contain metals such as:

• nickel

• chromium

• lead

• cadmium

These metals can cause:

• allergic reactions

• chronic inflammation

• uneven fading

• grey or blue undertones

• long term skin dullness

• difficulty during laser removal

They do not break down naturally. They do not fade predictably. They simply remain trapped in the skin until removed.

Ethical artists never choose longevity at the cost of safety.

B. Pigments With High Red or Orange Content

Low quality brown pigments achieve their “brown” shade by mixing reds and oranges with black. When the pigment fades, the black disappears first, and clients are left with:

• orange brows

• red brows

• rusty undertones

• pink halos

This is why many clients require correction. It was not the technique that failed. It was the chemistry.

An ethical artist will always use pigments engineered with stable brown and ash molecules, not artificial warmth fillers.

C. Carbon-Black Dominant Pigments

Carbon black is the darkest pigment molecule. It is also the smallest. Small molecules migrate easily in the skin.

This is why brows turn:

• blue

• grey

• smoky

• muddy

• over-dark

All because the pigment travelled beyond the initial design.

Ethical artists refuse to use carbon-black heavy formulas for brows. These should be limited to eyeliner by trained professionals who understand the risks, and even then only in regulated environments.

3. Why High Quality Pigments Cost More

Clients often wonder why some artists charge significantly more for tattooing.

High-grade pigments cost several times the price of cheap ones because they are:

• laboratory tested

• dermatologically safe

• oxidation controlled

• fade-engineered

• undertone stabilized

• free of heavy metals

• designed for even breakdown

• matched to Fitzpatrick skin types

You are not paying for colour. You are paying for predictable behaviour inside your skin for years.

4. The Science of Fade Behaviour

Good pigments fade like a watercolour painting. They gradually soften, lighten and maintain their undertone.

Cheap pigments fade like graffiti. They turn brassy, ashy, green, blue or red.

Why? Because of molecular weight and chemical stability.

High quality molecules are larger and designed to stay suspended in the upper dermis. Unstable pigments oxidise, break apart, and shift colour unpredictably.

This is why ethical artists plan for fading while poor artists fear it.

5. A Case From Ira Bale Brows: When Pigment Goes Wrong

A woman came into my Toorak Village salon with brows done by a discount technician who used an iron oxide pigment contaminated with titanium dioxide.

Her brows aged into two parallel colours:

• a cool grey shadow beneath

• a warm orange haze on top

This happens when different pigment molecules break down at different speeds.

We were able to correct it with a combination of selective neutralisation and controlled removal, but the emotional cost was significant.

She told me, “I thought choosing the darkest shade meant less fading. I did not know the chemistry behind it.”

Most clients do not. That is why ethical pigment selection is a responsibility, not a preference.

6. The Australian UV Problem Most Artists Ignore

Australia has one of the highest UV indexes in the world. UV does not simply fade pigment. It breaks molecular bonds.

Cheap pigments oxidise aggressively under Australian sunlight, often leading to:

• grey haze

• green undertones

• muddy colour shifts

• faster fading

• patchiness

Ethical artists select pigments that are UV-stable and tested in high exposure environments.

If a pigment looks good in Europe but not in Melbourne, it was never designed for our conditions.

7. Why Ethical Artists Say No More Than They Say Yes

There are pigments that clients request because they look good online. Some want intense chocolate tones. Some want rich blacks.Some want high saturation.

A good artist will reject these requests if the chemistry is unsafe.

Ethics means refusing short-term aesthetic pleasing shades that become long-term aesthetic problems.

This is why clients travel across Melbourne for work done at our salons. They want the colour that stays correct, not the colour that looks dramatic in the first week.

8. Lip Blush Pigments: The Most Misunderstood Category

Lip blush requires completely different chemistry. Using brow pigments on lips is one of the industry’s worst practices.

Cheap lip pigments contain unstable reds that turn:

• magenta

• fuchsia

• neon pink

• purple

Ethical artists use:

• organic hybrid pigments

• stabilised red molecules

• fade-aware formulas

• low-titanium blends

• pH compatible colour mixes

Lip chemistry is one of the most complex areas of cosmetic tattooing. This is why I do all lip tattooing personally. The risk of error is too high for juniors.

9. The Rule Ethical Artists Live By

If a pigment is unpredictable, unstable or untested, it has no place in a client’s skin.

Good artists care about healed results, not first-week results. Healed results depend on chemistry. Chemistry depends on ethics.

10. The Conclusion: You Are Not Paying for Tattooing. You Are Paying for Chemistry You Trust.

The real difference between cheap and premium tattooing is invisible. It happens below the surface.Years later, it becomes obvious.

High quality pigments age with you. Low quality pigments age against you.

If you want cosmetic tattooing built on safe chemistry, stable undertones and fade-intelligent pigments, both of our salons in South Yarra and Toorak Village use only premium, ethical pigment systems designed for long term beauty. What goes into your skin determines the next five years of your face. Choose accordingly.