Tattoo Kit Imports Are FDA-Regulated

A tattoo kit is a great way to start learning the art and there are many reputable dealers from which to purchase one. If you're living in a large city, or lucky, you may even be able to visit a shop that sells them in a store. If you're not that fortunate, however, you may find yourself purchasing a tattoo kit online. If that happens to be the case, there is something you will want to know before you hit that "buy now" button!

Tattoo kits usually come with everything you need to begin learning how to tattoo. The basic ones will have the gun and power supply (you'll want a foot pedal and clip cord to be included), sterile needles, tips for the needles, inks and ink cups. A basic kit may also include flash art (sample artwork to practice with), an instruction manual, and practice "skin" for you to practice with. You will want a good sturdy carrying case and most kits include this as well.

There are many reputable, quality tattoo suppliers here in the U.S. who will assist you with your beginning tattoo kit. But for those of you who are ordering online, there is one thing to be cautious of when making your purchase.

If you are purchasing your tattoo kit online, you will want to verify with the vendor that your purchase will be shipped to you domestically from here within the U.S. For readers not living in the U.S. this may be applicable to you as well at least as it regards your country's regulatory agencies, but here in the States, the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) regulates the importation of some of the components found in most basic tattoo kits. Actually, they regulate all the parts of the kits, but they have issues in particular with some of them.

What this means to you as an online buyer of a tattoo kit is that, as I stated previously, you will want to ensure that your purchase will be shipped domestically, from here in the States. If your shipment is purchased from an American company, but is directly shipped to you from the vendor's supplier, it could end up being imported from China for example. If that happens, you probably won't get your kit.

FDA regulates the following items often found in beginner tattoo kits. For tattoo ink, the FDA will ask for a Toxic Substance Control Act, the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic (FD&C) number for each color, as well as the batch number. The same applies for both the antiseptic soaps and the ointments that are commonly included. Not only that, but the sterile gloves offered in most kits may require FDA registration of the manufacturer of the gloves, a Medical Device List (MDL) number, and possibly a PreMarket Notification number, commonly referred to as a 510K number. With the U.S. Congress' recent spanking of the FDA, you're not likely to be given any slack in providing those details, and frankly, their often just not available.

So now your purchase is stuck in some bonded warehouse waiting for FDA to release it, which they're not going to do for the aforementioned items. You may ask to have those items removed, but it isn't quite that easy. The only entities allowed to manipulate your shipment is U.S. Customs and other governmental agencies, and they will charge you a fee, commonly $60.00 for each hour or part thereof that it takes to do the manipulation. All of a sudden your tattoo kit becomes a whole lot more expensive. All in all, you're much better off to make sure that the tattoo kit you are buying online is being bought and shipped domestically and avoid the whole problem in the first place.