Organic vs. Inorganic Pigments
As a permanent makeup artist, understanding the tools and products you are using is key to creating long-lasting, flawless, healed results on your clients. A huge part of this education is understanding your pigments: especially their ingredients and formulations.
Knowing what is in your pigments and how these components will react over time in the skin will allow you to choose the best pigments to suit each individual client and treatment.
In this blog, we will talk you through the differences between organic and inorganic pigments and why understanding these differences is crucial when choosing your permanent makeup pigments.
What are organic and inorganic pigments?
Organic pigments are made up of carbon-hydrogen bonds whereas inorganic pigments contain ingredients derived from natural minerals such as iron oxide or titanium dioxide. From a scientific perspective, organic pigments have smaller particles and reflect more light than inorganic pigments, which tend to have larger particles.
Both organic and inorganic pigments are safe to use in cosmetic tattooing and are widely used within the industry. At first glance, you may not even be able to tell if the pigment brand you are considering purchasing is organic, inorganic or hybrid – this is why it is so important to educate yourself on the topic otherwise you will not fully understand what you are tattooing into the skin.
How are they different within the PMU procedure?
During the treatment itself, organic pigments are generally easier to implant into the skin and appear brighter or more vivid. Clients may require less passes to achieve the desired level of saturation when using an organic pigment range.
Inorganic pigments may require more passes to achieve the level of saturation required and may also appear more muted or earthy in tone, compared to organic pigments. However, it is important to always consider individual client skin types and the condition of the skin. If the client has any of the following: mature, dehydrated, thicker, oily or stubborn skin type – these factors can all affect the pigment implantation with both organic and inorganic lines.
How are they different once healed in the skin?
One of the main differences between these two formulations is how they react over time once the client’s treatment is fully healed. As discussed above, organic pigments are more likely to heal with a vivid, rich colour and more saturated look whereas inorganic pigments will heal a lot softer, more sheer, and earthy within the skin.
Over time, organic pigments will have better retention and pigment will fade slower, but they can be prone to cooling down.
Inorganic pigments tend to fade and soften much quicker within the skin and will require more regular touch ups to maintain the results.
Which is better: organic or inorganic?
There are pros and cons to both formulations and often it will come down to your client’s preference and their desired results.
The vivid, saturated look of organic pigments does last longer in the skin, so these are a great choice for clients who want less frequent touch-ups and longer lasting results. They are also ideal for clients who want a bold, dramatic, or more saturated brow style.
With their softer results and quicker fading, inorganic pigments are a better option for clients who do not want to commit to a permanent brow look. They are also better suited to clients seeking a natural, understated enhancement. With this quicker-fading, inorganic pigments are also a better choice for beginner PMU artists who may wish to leave room for improvement as they gain more experience.
Organic pigments do not leave much room for error, and it can be easy to over-saturate if you are newer to cosmetic tattooing. Organic-based pigments are also more prone to fading with cooler blue or grey tones over time, whereas the iron oxides within inorganics can lead to brows fading to warmer, red tones.
When you are choosing the right pigment line for you, it is essential to consider both your experience level and what the client wants from their treatment. If they are happy to commit to a bolder, more vivid brow look that will last a long time then you can go for organic. If they want a softer, sheer brow look and are nervous about the longevity of PMU you can opt for inorganic.
Over time you will also develop your own personal preference and know which pigments work best for you and your clientele.
What are hybrid pigments?
Hybrid pigments refer to blended formulations that include both organic and inorganic components. These hybrid blends can help to encourage more stable, neutral fading over time compared to the cool tones that appear with organic pigments or the warm tones that develop with inorganics.
It is considered by some to be the best of both worlds. ?
Fun fact: most pigments on the market today are hybrid!
Perma Blend pigments for example are thought of as an organic range but the formulation of most of their shades is a hybrid blend. However, Perma Blend do tend to have more of the organic ingredients and less inorganic, making them behave more like an organic pigment in the skin.
Different quantities of organic and inorganic ingredients are used in the formulations of pigments depending on what they are designed to achieve. Lip pigments are another example of this. Lip colours are typically bright and vivid so they tend to contain more organic components but will usually contain titanium dioxide (inorganic) to make them opaque and act as a bonding agent.
Understanding CI Numbers
If you are worrying about how you will be able to anticipate how these hybrid formulations will heal, don’t panic! Educating yourself about CI numbers will allow you to fully understand what ingredients are within your pigments and whether they behave more like an organic or inorganic pigments.
CI no’s can typically be found on your pigment label although it is more common now for new pigment collections to come with a full colour chart that includes details of the ingredients – like the Ready, Set, Go pigment set from Perma Blend.
Typically, the ingredients will be listed in order of quantity, helping you to identify that the formulation consists mostly of the pigments listed at the top – but this may vary depending on the pigment brand.
When looking into CI numbers, you may come across different CI no’s that indicate organic and inorganic versions of the same colour. For example: Yellow 138 CI 56300 and Iron Oxid Yellow CI 77492 – this means that these components will still behave differently in the skin, despite being the same ‘colour’.
Ingredients within pigments also differ when it comes to light fastness. Light fastness refers to a pigment’s resistance to fading or discolouration when exposed to light, which will typically indicate how long a pigment will retain within the skin once healed.
Ingredients like Carbon Black (CI 77266) or Titanium Dioxide (CI 17891) have a high light fastness meaning these ingredients will last a very long time in the skin, hence why pigments high in these ingredients are only recommended for experienced technicians.
Knowing how to identify these CI no’s will help you avoid pigment disasters if you are newer to the industry and want to avoid these ingredients.
Brands such as Perma Blend even provide additional resources which include handy charts detailing pigments, corresponding CI no’s, their light fastness and their opacity – helping you make the most informed decision when selecting your pigment.
Or if you want to become a complete expert in the chemistry of your pigments, Perma U offer a full online course on the Science Behind the Ink, taught by Brand Director and Master Educator Anne Marie Rubino.
Once you understand CI no’s and pigment science, you will have a much better understanding of how your pigments will heal in the skin and how they will develop over time – allowing you to create the most predictable, stable results that are best suited to your client.
What about REACH compliance?
REACH compliance is the legislation introduced by the European Union on 4th January 2021 which aims to protect individuals and the planet from any chemicals that may cause harm. This legislation restricted the use of specific chemicals within both tattoo inks and PMU pigments that could result in harmful effects.
This legislation meant that many existing pigment formulations were no longer available to purchase or distribute for EU PMU and tattoo artists. Artists were also advised to cease using these products on their clients in 2022. Most existing pigment lines were affected by these regulations however, these pigments are still available to purchase in non-EU countries.
At Killer Beauty, we have multiple REACH compliant pigment lines available such as Perma Blend LUXE, Quantum, Goldeneye and Biotek – meaning our European customers still have access to industry-leading, high-quality PMU pigments in a vast range of colours and formulations. REACH compliant pigments can also be used by non-EU artists depending on their preference, as they are available to purchase for all our customers.
What Organic-based and Inorganic-based pigments are available at Killer Beauty?
If you didn’t already know, our pigment range is HUGE… meaning we have a vast range of brands, including organic based and inorganic based pigment lines – giving our artists plenty of choice.
Organic Based Pigment Lines*
Tina Davies Professional I Love Ink
Inorganic Based Pigment Lines*
Tina Davies Professional FADE Collection (coming soon)
*As mentioned previously, most of these pigments are hybrid formulation, but they do lean more towards organic or inorganic due to quantities of individual ingredients.
When you are choosing between organic or inorganic pigments, we strongly recommend:
- Considering your experience level
- Considering your client’s desired results
- Educating yourself on CI no’s
- Become an expert in pigment science & fully understand your pigments!
You don’t need to put yourself in a box either… just because you are an experienced artist doesn’t mean you have to use an organic line. Plenty of established artists have years of experience under their belt and still reach for inorganic pigments because they love how they heal in the skin and how they age over time.
It really comes down to your preference. Just don’t forget – education is key!