Short answer – some are, most aren’t. Why should it matter to your tattoo studio? Because plenty of alternative individuals are interested in getting a tattoo, and veganism is a diet often pursued (although not exclusively) by alternative-minded people. If you’re not stocking vegan ink options for your tattoos, then you’re cutting yourself out of a sizeable portion of the market.
Not only does it not make any business sense for you to neglect your vegans, it’s also unethical to make your tattoos inaccessible for them by failing to stock vegan ink. If you’re a consumer reading this and you agree, share this blog with your local tattoo parlour!
As a business, you might have some questions regarding the performance and costs of vegan ink, which is perfectly reasonable and will be answered later on in this blog.
Firstly, we’re going to ask the question about what you need to change to make a tattoo vegan, and why many tattoos aren’t vegan in the first place.
Why Vegan Tattoos are Important
Some people become vegans for dietary reasons. For example, those who are lactose intolerant will be relieved to be able to go to a restaurant and pick out a vegan option, knowing that there will be no dairy products to upset their bodies. Others might turn vegan as an exercise to lose weight, or as a method for exercising their self-control.
For other vegans, the reasons behind their way of life stems from ethical arguments about the treatment of animals. The result is that many of these vegans are against the consuming of products that cause harm to animals during their production, and this may include faux leather shoes, cruelty-free make-up and vegan tattoo-inks.
For these individuals who are changing their lifestyles to fight for animal rights, the option to get a thoroughly vegan tattoo is very important and should be available. If you stock vegan ink, then you can market yourself to these groups of people. You can even create a subsection in your portfolio for pro-vegan tattoo designs.
What’s in My Tattoo?
General tattoo ink may contain a range of non-vegan elements, including but not limited to bone char, glycerine (animal fat), gelatin, and shellac. This use of animal products, however, is not necessary. Vegan inks will replace glycerine content with a vegetable version.
Other points of the tattoo inking process which may contain animal products include stencil paper and razors which might have been constructed with lanolin and gelatin. This means that creating an entirely vegan process could require you to look deeper than your tattoo inks, but changing your ink is probably a good start.
Design Benefits to Vegan Tattoos
As the vegan population continues to grow, you may also benefit from establishing yourself as a vegan-friendly business early on. If you develop your image as the most vegan-friendly parlour in your area, you might be able to capitalise on the entirety of this market for your business.
Some people argue that a tattoo made from vegan ink could be likely to retain their colour for longer. This is based on the idea that inks using natural compounds are less likely to be rejected by the body. However, there are no scientific studies that can either confirm or deny this.
If you’re a consumer looking for a guide to tattoo maintenance (or a budding tattoo parlour looking for guides to share with your consumers), then we recommend that you check out our handy blog: 3 Stages of a Healing Tattoo.
Health Benefits to Vegan Tattoos
You may have non-vegans entering your parlour enquiring about vegan inks too! This is because the best vegan inks will also avoid hypoallergenic ingredients like lanolin. Of course, if your client is worried about allergens in your tattoo ink, your parlour should always be careful with its ink, and consider running controlled tests with the individual before scheduling their full tattoo.
Vegan Ink Benefits for Businesses
Some trendy parlours argue that vegan tattoo inks are healthier than the average non-vegan inking, but various sources claim that this statement is currently unfounded. One of the greatest benefits to stocking vegan tattoo inks are that you open up your business to a new market. 6% of US consumers claimed to be vegan in 2017, whereas the vegan population in the UK was recorded at 1.16% in 2019. This means that out US investors will make more from stocking our vegan ink brands, although the UK still has a substantial market to benefit from.
Our best-selling vegan inks include Kuro Sumi and Fusion, but you may also be interested in sourcing vegan aftercare products from us too, such as our Spirit stencil cream. Contact us with any further questions you have regarding our tattoo supplies or services and we’ll look to get back to you ASAP.
