What changed in the EU
A REACH restriction that took effect in January 2022 set strict purity limits and prohibited a long list of hazardous substances in tattoo and permanent-makeup inks across the EU/EEA. From January 2023, two widely used pigments — Pigment Blue 15:3 and Pigment Green 7 — became specifically prohibited, pending assessment.
The immediate effect on lip artists was small (lip pigments lean on iron oxides, not blue/green), but many brands reformulated whole ranges and re-labelled products as 'REACH compliant', and some older stock became illegal to use.
Elsewhere
The United States regulates tattoo pigments as cosmetics; the FDA has authority but historically light enforcement, with colour additives technically requiring approval and MoCRA (2022) expanding oversight. The UK retained REACH-style rules post-Brexit with its own list. Australia and Canada apply general cosmetic and consumer-safety law plus state/provincial health rules.
What a practitioner should do
Buy only from brands that publish full ingredient disclosure and current compliance statements for your market, keep the batch numbers and SDS for every pigment you use (many jurisdictions require it), and re-check compliance whenever you reorder — formulas and legal lists both change.
