Experiences with restrictions: The impact of REACH regulations on tattoo artists

Sammanfattning: On January 4th, 2022, new restrictions under the Europe-wide REACH protocol on chemicals hit the tattooing industry when the content of inks came under regulation. This essay seeks to find out how this directly has impacted tattoo artists and their ability to work. To achieve this a phenomenological approach was used, and data was collected through six semi-structured, qualitative interviews with individuals working in the industry. This was done to research a shared phenomenon and places an emphasis on the notion of personal experience to discover the essence of said phenomenon. Interviews were conducted with artists working in three different EU member states (Sweden, Denmark, and Italy) which are all subjects to the REACH legislative structure. The results show a frustration with the implementation of these new laws, as well as a very high inclination to improve the standards of tattooing and that these recent restrictions were, according to the professionals of the trade, not the right way to achieve such a goal.