An emerging group of permanent cosmetic technicians and body artists is expressing concern that inaccurate reporting and industry infighting regarding a recent recall of pigments used in cosmetic and tattoo applications is confusing the public and damaging the members' livelihood.

The Alliance for Safe Practice, an independent group of permanent cosmetic and tattoo practitioners, is urging permanent cosmetic technicians to report allergic reactions or other problems directly to the FDA, not to supply companies. According to Alliance spokeswoman Rebecca Woods, some supply companies are collecting information under false premises in attempt to sensationalize and distort the facts involved in allergic reactions. This is not in the best interest of the industry.

The mission of The Alliance for Safe Practice is to advance safe practice in the permanent cosmetic and tattoos industries, and to be a source of accurate and unbiased reporting for the industry and the public.

"We do not favor any particular distributors," said Trudy McClure, coordinator for the grassroots organization. "We just want this uncalled-for negative publicity to end. It hurts all of us when suppliers use biased information to mislead the media and the public in an effort to gain a perceived competitive advantage."

Other members of the Alliance have spoken out:

-- Janice Lewis, permanent cosmetic practitioner: "The biggest outrage to the permanent cosmetic industry has not been the recent recall of Premier True Color Concentrates. It has been the deliberate negative publicity and hype created by supply companies. These groups of people have only their own pocketbooks in mind. Their attacks have not been in the best interest of the public, and certainly not for the technicians within our industry, as they claim. It has been a very sad and disgusting experience for those of us who practice good business ethics."
-- Colleen Weston, a practitioner from San Francisco who has performed over 40,000 documented procedures: "I have performed thousands of procedures, using the original colors listed on the FDA alert and I have never had an allergic reaction."
-- Trinkette Parker, a technician in Pensacola, Florida: "Suppliers using rare cases of allergic reactions to pigment in an effort to incite clients and inflame the media are destroying the entire profession. My business is down by more than 40% and I am furious with the negative publicity generated by unethical vendors."
-- Polly Dogan, director of education for the Tennessee Institute, is calling on permanent cosmetic technicians to report directly to the FDA: "The FDA has authority over pigments used in our industry – not people pretending to protect the public. The people making these claims have one goal in mind - they want to increase their revenues at the expense of technicians in our industry."
-- Dee Dee Crider, seasoned technician: "A client scheduled for an areola procedure following mastectomy reconstruction canceled because of the negative hype. This is a woman who could have greatly benefited both physically and psychologically from the procedure, but she is now too afraid. That is really unfortunate."
-- John Shulz, a freelance writer and representative for the grassroots group: "These individuals claiming to be operating in the best interest of the profession are misleading technicians and their clients and it is obvious to me that they are operating in their own interests and not in the best interest of our profession.”

The Alliance for Safe Practice wants the public to know the facts:

-- All invasive medical and cosmetic procedures involve some level of risk.
-- Allergic reactions to permanent pigment are a risk associated with all permanent cosmetic and tattoo procedures. Allergic reactions are very rare (one in every 250,000). Allergic reactions to pigment can be difficult to treat and may require laser removal.
-- Premier Pigments voluntarily recalled Premier True Color Concentrates over a year ago because they resulted in some allergic reactions. Tattooing over recalled pigments can stimulate a delayed allergic reaction.
-- Allergic reactions should be reported to the FDA