As the popularity of airbrush tattoos and body art increases around the world, more and more companies are developing their own airbrush tattoo ink. Being an airbrush tattoo artist for over 6 years now, I have had the opportunity to try out many different brands of temporary tattoo ink. Outlined here are my findings from my own independent experiments.
When shopping for temporary tattoo ink, the first thing you should look for are companies that use only FDA approved ingredients. As of this writing, the FDA does not regulate temporary tattoo inks, so be wary of any company that says their inks are actually FDA approved.
The next point to watch out for is companies advertising concentrated ink. You do not want to change the chemistry of the inks you are spraying by reducing them yourself. Buy inks that are ready to spray. Sometimes you will still have to slightly reduce these airbrush ready inks in order to spray properly, but these minor adjustments will be far more consistent than having to reduce the inks from a concentrated form.
Okay, now let's get into looking at some actual inks. The first brand of ink I tried was Nazille sold by TATstore. Nazille is a very thick alcohol based ink. The ink requires 25-30 PSI to spray well. It stays in solution well, but still needs to be shaken occasionally. The durability of the airbrush tattoos sprayed with Nazille is very good. I used this ink at a resort pool where I set up frequently, and it was not uncommon for tattoos to last a week or more even with the kids swimming extensively in chlorinated pools.
The next ink I tried out was OCC temporary tattoo ink. This ink is very thin, and settles quickly. There is a good variety of colors. The ink sprays very easily, but tended to clog the airbrush up a bit when I did not shake it enough. The colors were vibrant. However I found this ink to not be very durable for airbrush tattoos on the general public. I think it is much better suited for professional applications such as photo shoots where the longevity of the artwork is of little concern. But tattoos did last an average of 3-5 days.
Another ink trial was done using ABA temporary tattoo ink. This ink is the cheapest name brand airbrush tattoo ink on the market that I know of. While not as thick as the Nazille ink, it is thicker than the OCC, and sprays very well at 25 PSI. There are almost too many different colors to choose from. This ink proved to be very durable for public tattoo use, with longevity ranging from 6-10 days for tattoos.
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