There’s only one way to make sure our ink goes in easy and heals bright. Our litmus for excellence starts with testing it on ourselves.
Sometimes tattoo ink can cause an allergic reaction. INTENZE ink uses a formula that eliminates known hazardous ingredients that are commonly found in other inks, but because we can’t test on everyone’s skin (only our own), there will always be a risk. We recommend before tattooing a client to conduct a standard skin patch test on the client at least one month before they will be tattooed. If a client’s skin reacts negatively, it will usually be instant, but in some cases it can take weeks — at least one month will tell you everything you need to know. You can find more general information on skin patch tests and how to do them on the web.
Unlike most manufacturers, we make our ink with vegan ingredients. And because it’s made for humans, it’s only tested on humans. It’s a humane approach, and it’s the right one to take.
It was INTENZE who was the first tattoo ink manufacturer to sterilize tattoo ink and raise the industry’s health standards to new heights. Using the cosmetics industry as a guide, INTENZE became registered and licensed as a cosmetics manufacturer under the New Jersey Board of Health in the United States and became compliant with all EU quality standards. We continue to raise the bar when it comes to these standards, and we offer consultation and advice in amongst our industry to ensure we are all moving forward together. You can learn more about our company history on this page.
After years of research and experimentation, it upset Mario Barth (founder of INTENZE) that there weren’t any rules or regulations for his industry by which products should be manufactured by. Mario Barth could not find any regulations, and he decided he would test the inks out on himself; he created every scenario he could think of to test the ink on actual skin, in order to discover and establish those regulations for his industry. Some of these tests involved deliberately avoiding proper cleaning procedures, just so he could better understand the risks and improve on the safety of his ink. INTENZE tattoo ink had to be the safest and best product for the industry out there, no matter what it took.
It was INTENZE that set the standards for the rest of the tattoo industry today.
A safer ink is good for you, the industry, and your customers. Every bottle we make is tested and verified by third-party labs according to higher industry standards and manufactured in a Clean Room.
We take customer and client safety very seriously. This is what drove us to become the first tattoo ink manufacture to independently sterilize our inks. It is why we developed our patented tamper free cap design. Tattoo safety is INTENZE’s primary objective at all times.
We designed each of our bottles with a responsive material that lets you pour more accurately.
Bringing your greatest ideas to life has to start somewhere. Bright colors that sing, works that set you apart—boil it all down and you end up with the fundamental—the pigments that let you build your best work off of.
If you were to rewind a tattoo created with Intenze ink, dissect the anatomy to its marrow, you’d find pigments that were crafted and produced with a mixture of quality and safety because we understand that incredible ink makes incredible tattoos, and that’s what we hang on.
Creating the best pigments we can starts with research. Our 3rd party hired bio-chemists and toxicologists begin on a molecular level to make sure our formulas are right. Then we source small amounts of organic pigments that we can control and formulate in incremental batches so we can provide them at an affordable cost down the line. From there, we grind, process, and turn the pigments into liquids and consistent formulas.
And if you’re putting it in your clients’ skin, we’re putting it in ours first. Testing is a critical part of our formulation process. We don’t just want to make sure the quality is superior, we want to make sure our pigments are easy to work with, no matter the piece or the artist.
When it comes to making pigments, we think about the long term. A lot of pigments look great when they’re first applied, but after the tattoo heals, they start to fade. Intenze pigments are designed to stay bright for years.
Safety, quality, and simplicity. That’s how we create our pigments and our formulation for success.
Each bottle of Intenze Ink contains the science and soul of tattoo. We always have been, and always will be, artists. It’s the lens we see our work through.
As artists, we set out to create a product that made us better, and as artists, we took a long look at where tattoo started as well as where it’s headed.
From the original homemade ink Mario Barth created in his kitchen and tested on himself to the advanced formulas we make in our Clean Room today (which Mario still tests on himself), we understand that the same principles that worked for the artists that came first still hold true today.
Capturing that legacy, however, is only half of the story. Advancements in science and technology mean we can make an ink that actually performs better—under any condition and on any skin.
It isn’t a new formula. Tattoo artists have been finding new ways to push their craft from the start. But today, tattoo ink—for the most part—has become little more than a supply, something that artists merely use during the process. It’s mass produced, under-analyzed, and overlooked. It often contains harmful metals, and it’s diluted. We’re out to change all that.
The way we see it, ink is connected to potential. Always has been. Always will be. And the higher the quality of ink, the higher quality tattoos we can help artists (and ourselves) create. Sound too lofty? Absolutely. But achieving the unimaginable is why we come to work every day. Anything else is just white noise.
From formulation to testing to your skin, we think about ink scientifically. For us, trying to create an ink that goes in smooth and heals bright is a never ending quest, but we’ve developed a process and a product that delivers on our promise.
First off, we’re picky about our suppliers and the pigments we get from them. Once we have the pigments, we start testing. pH levels, liquidity, temperatures, and viscosity all have to pass, and we have to make sure we get the formulation right. When it is, each receives a batch number. Next, we draw samples and test again. If the sample comes back negative, we don’t even try to repair it. We trash it.
Our mixing process makes sure each batch is consistent and that the colors are flawless, and the process takes 2–4 days to make sure the elements bind in our Clean Room. Once they’re tested again, boxed, and sealed, we sterilize them using a rigorous process that makes sure the ink is clean and ready for our customers. Science, the way we see it, is fundamental to art. By combining chemistry, technology, and a passion for tattoo, we’re creating better ink and superior tools for better art.
As manufacturers, we approach our work the same way. Invent, perfect, rinse, and repeat. It’s a process that doesn’t just keep us on our toes, it helps us reimagine new possibilities and bridge the gap between who artists currently are and who they want to be. It takes a careful, thoughtful examination of everything we do and everything we make.
Ink bottles have remained relatively unchanged for years, but we noticed there was a lot of room for improvement. By making a superior, better-performing bottle, we could improve the safety, longevity, and quality of the ink our clients use. And, in turn, we could give artists a better tool to create the type of art they’ve always imagined.
We started by replacing the PVC material to PET to reduce potential contaminants. Next, we turned our attention to the bottle cap. We patented a double sealed break off cap that doesn’t need an induction seal anymore, reducing the carbon footprint, and making a bottle that’s easier to use with a locking mechanism that clicks and stays closed. It makes the ink last and stay cleaner for longer. Additionally, each bottle of Intenze ink pours more precisely, eliminating waste and giving artists more control over their work.
A safer, more pure ink that lasts longer and performs under any condition all rolled into the most advanced bottle we could possibly create. It makes our inner perfectionist smile—at least for the time being.
It’s your body and skin. The ink you implement into your skin will stay with you forever and will become a part of you. That’s why the safety and health of the tattoo ink you use MUST be a necessary concern for you, and why INTENZE makes it our #1 goal to ensure the quality and safety of our inks not only meets global health standards, but continues to innovate.
If you have any questions on safety, health, tips on maintaining tattoos, tattooing, or anything else that is mentioned on this page, do not hesitate to reach out at sales@intenzeproducts.com. We are obligated to keeping you safe, healthy, and make it our mission to keep the world of tattooing a friendly and welcoming environment for all.
INTENZE ink is also a 100% vegan product. Some competitor tattoo ink most likely contains animal products. Some competitor inks may have even been tested on animals during production! In fact, your common black tattoo ink has been known to consist of crushed animal bone. Commonly, black tattoo ink was made with crushed animal bones. Even some types of glycerins in solutions that are mixed into some tattoo ink include animal fats. But INTENZE ink contains zero animal products, and absolutely never tests on animals — we don’t even test on other human beings. We only test on ourselves.
INTENZE employs a third party lab of qualified biochemists who are in charge of the testing and sterilization of INTENZE tattoo inks, and they keep our equipment and technology up to date so that we are always on the forefront of safety and hygiene when it comes to our inks. INTENZE sterilizes every single bottle of ink that we produce before it is sold to anyone. We are constantly looking for better and more efficient ways of stepping up the standards-game when it comes to our tattoo inks.
INTENZE was the first tattoo ink manufacturer to publicly disclose the ingredients in each one of the tattoo inks it produces. This information will allow customers and artists to know exactly what INTENZE inks are made with. To see all of this information online, you can visit our Material Safety Data Sheets page and our CTL Certificates page and view in-depth reports of the ingredients and other vital information pertaining to health and safety.