REACH SVHC Pigment Checker

What is the ECHA SVHC Candidate List and why does it matter for tattoo studios?

The SVHC (Substances of Very High Concern) Candidate List is maintained by the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) under the EU REACH Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006. It currently contains over 240 substances identified as carcinogenic, mutagenic, reprotoxic (CMR), persistent bioaccumulative and toxic (PBT), or endocrine-disrupting.

For tattoo studios and jewelry manufacturers, this list is critical because any article containing more than 0.1% w/w of an SVHC triggers mandatory disclosure obligations to customers and the supply chain.

Which SVHC substances are most commonly found in tattoo inks and body jewelry?

In body art products, the highest-risk SVHCs fall into four groups: heavy metals (nickel, cobalt, cadmium, lead, found in alloys and certain pigments); polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons or PAHs (found in black and dark-colored inks derived from carbon black or azo dyes); phthalate plasticizers (DEHP, DBP, occasionally found in flexible packaging and vinyl gloves); and aromatic amines (from azo dye breakdown). EU Regulation 2020/2081 (Annex XVII) specifically restricts many of these in tattoo inks and permanent make-up from 4 January 2022.

How do I use a Safety Data Sheet (SDS) to screen for SVHC substances?

Section 3 of a Safety Data Sheet (Composition/Information on Ingredients) lists all hazardous components with their CAS numbers and concentration ranges. To screen for SVHCs, extract the CAS numbers from Section 3 and check each one against the ECHA Candidate List.

This tool automates that process, paste the full Section 3 text and it will extract all detectable CAS numbers and ingredient names, flag any matches against the SVHC list, and provide direct links to the ECHA substance registry for verification.

If an ink pigment appears on the SVHC Candidate List, does that automatically mean it is unsafe for tattooing?

No, and this is where a lot of the panic comes from. The SVHC Candidate List is a hazard-based early warning, it flags a substance's intrinsic properties, not the actual risk of using it in a given product.

Real risk is hazard multiplied by exposure. That said, do not dismiss it either. Some azo pigments, for example, can break down under UV into aromatic amines that are genuinely carcinogenic, and tattoo ink sits permanently in the dermis, which is a plausible exposure pathway.

So the sensible move is to check whether the pigment also carries an Annex XVII restriction and whether the manufacturer has third-party migration testing. If you cannot get that reassurance, choose an alternative pigment rather than gambling.