In 2019 the Queensland Health Department advised APAN of their intention to regulate the pigments (or “inks”) used in body art and cosmetic tattooing. The COVID pandemic put that on hold until early this year. In December 2020, the European Union (EU, with 27 member countries) implemented new and uniform regulations on tattoo pigments. Queensland Health is using these as their model. It is expected that other Australian states and territories will follow similar regulations. The intention of the EU, Queensland Health, as well as NICNAS – the Australian Industrial Chemicals regulator, is to prevent potentially toxic and carcinogenic chemicals from being used in people’s skin. The new EU regulations restrict over 4,200 chemicals that could be found in pigments. With the regulations and how they are implemented being complicated and critical to all cosmetic tattooists, APAN asked Robert McGowan to represent our industry on the Queensland Health industry working group. Robert, who is the CEO of the Registered Training organisation Think Aesthetics, holds Bachelor and Master of Science degrees and has worked extensively on complex chemistry issues and also regulator negotiation. In his lecture you will learn:
- The chemicals in pigments that cause concern
- What the new regulations mean for business owners and technicians
- What you need to do, and by when
- Potential fines for non-compliance
