Including Ashes In To Tattoos.
Adding ashes into tattoo ink means taking a small portion of a loved one’s cremated remains, preparing it carefully, and combining it with tattoo ink so that the finished tattoo holds a part of the person or pet you lost. At Bubblegum Ink ®, a specialist studio in Sandbach, Cheshire, this preparation is the centre of the work, refined over around 20 years of specialising in ashes tattoos within a tattooing career of roughly 30. Done properly, it is the closest thing there is to keeping your loved one with you, carried in your own skin for life.
The crucial thing to understand is that almost all of the skill lies in what happens to the ashes before they ever reach the ink. That preparation is the difference between a memorial tattoo that heals cleanly and lasts, and one that should never have been attempted.
Why Ashes Cannot Simply Be Mixed Into Ink
It is tempting to imagine the process is as simple as stirring a pinch of ashes into a pot of tattoo ink. It is not, and a studio that treats it that way is doing something that should genuinely be avoided. Straight from the urn, cremated remains are coarse, unsterile, and wildly inconsistent in particle size. Tipped into ink untouched, they do not pass cleanly through a tattoo machine, they can compromise how the skin heals, and most of the ashes never make it into the tattoo at all, remaining stuck in the ink rather than settling into the skin.
The result, in the wrong hands, is a memorial piece that may not heal well and may contain almost none of the loved one it was meant to hold. For something that can only be done once, that is not a risk worth taking.
You only get the years of experience in this bespoke art from Bubblegum Ink ®.
When Bubblegum Ink ® many years ago started to include ashes right into tattooing ink, we discovered that our clients had a much deeper admiration of reconnecting with their loved one. Not simply were they pleased with their brand-new tattoo inks & design, they were also thrilled to have their loved one totally apart of them.
Along with substantial research study as well as being seen at the UK’s leading professionals in this service, our company can definitely say we are leading the market place when it relates to ashes into tattoos.
How the Ashes Are Prepared
At Bubblegum Ink the ashes are treated with the seriousness they deserve, and prepared through a careful process before any tattooing begins. A small portion, around a teaspoon, is all that is needed. That portion is brought down to the correct, consistent particle size, cleaned, sterilised to a clinical standard, and cleared of contaminants, before being prepared into the ink that will be used on the day. The work is slow and exact, and it is what allows the prepared ink to behave just like ordinary tattoo ink, passing cleanly into the skin and healing as soundly as any other tattoo.
This is also why the ashes can be properly carried into the tattoo rather than left behind in the pot. The preparation is the whole point, and it is the part that two decades of doing little else has refined. We do not reveal the finer detail of the method, but the principle is simple: prepared correctly, the ashes become a safe, stable part of the ink, and a permanent part of you.
You can read more about why this makes the finished tattoo safe on the are ashes tattoos safe page.
The Ashes Stay in Your Sight Throughout
Because this is your loved one, nothing is done out of view. The portion of ashes you bring stays in front of you the whole time. You watch it being prepared, and you watch it become part of the tattoo, from beginning to end. Nothing is taken into another room, and nothing is left for you to take on trust. If handling the ashes yourself feels like too much on the day, you do not have to; that part can be done for you, gently and with respect, while you watch or look away as you need. What the appointment itself is like, from start to finish, is described on the tattooing ashes into clients page.
A Tattoo for Any Loved One
The same careful preparation applies whatever the loss. Whether the ashes are those of a parent, a grandparent, a dog, a cat, a horse or any other pet, the ink is prepared the same way and to the same standard. The design itself is entirely yours, from a handwriting piece taken from a card they wrote to a portrait, a date, or a small private symbol. The ashes are carried within whatever form your tribute takes.
A Studio Known Beyond Cheshire
Bubblegum Ink ® has welcomed clients from across the UK and from overseas, and its work has been featured by the BBC and by national and international press. Paul Cutler, who runs the studio, also founded Cremation Ink, which makes specially prepared ashes-infused tattoo ink available to clients and artists more widely; you can read about that at Cremation Ink. For all the reach the work has gained, most people still arrive on the recommendation of someone who was looked after here and never forgot it.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much of my loved one’s ashes are added to the ink?
Only a small amount is needed, around a teaspoon. You bring the whole container and just that small portion is used, so almost all of your loved one’s ashes stay with you. There is nothing to measure or prepare in advance.
Does the prepared ink work like normal tattoo ink?
Yes. Once the ashes are properly prepared, cleaned, sterilised, brought to the right particle size and cleared of contaminants, the ink behaves just like ordinary tattoo ink. It passes cleanly into the skin and the tattoo heals exactly as any other would.
Can ashes really be added by any tattoo studio?
It should not be. Raw ashes mixed straight into ink are unsterile, inconsistent and can compromise healing, and most of the ashes never reach the skin that way. Proper preparation is a specialist process, which is why this is not something to leave to a general studio.
Will the ashes ever come out of the tattoo?
No. Once prepared and worked into the skin, the ashes are permanently part of the tattoo, settled in the dermal layer alongside the pigment. They remain part of you for life.
Do you keep the ashes you do not use?
No. Only the small portion needed is used, and everything else goes home with you. Nothing is kept back. Many people also choose to keep the remainder for a future tattoo, which is perfectly possible.
Talking It Through
If you are considering a memorial tattoo and want to understand the process before deciding anything, you are welcome to ask. A first message commits you to nothing, and many people get in touch simply to understand how it all works before they are ready to book.
Call 01270 385001, email info@bubblegumink.com, or use the contact page or the contact form at the foot of this page. Bubblegum Ink ® is a private, appointment only studio in Sandbach, Cheshire. The main ashes tattoo hub page is a good place to read more broadly about the work.
Written by Paul Cutler, founder of Bubblegum Ink ®. He has worked as a tattoo artist for around 30 years and has specialised in cremation ashes tattoos for roughly the last 20, developing and refining the preparation behind this work. He also founded Cremation Ink, which supplies prepared ashes-infused tattoo ink worldwide. His memorial work has featured on the BBC and in national and international press. Read more about Paul.
