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Tattoos have become wildly popular over the past couple decades.

In fact, when I think back to growing up in the early 1990s, practically nobody had tattooed skin unless they were a gang member, a biker, or a sailor.

But today, almost everybody, from your mother and father to your grandmothers, grandfathers and all your cousins too, have at least one custom tattoo.

In fact, according to one study by the Pew Research Center, 32% of Americans have at least one tattoo, and 22% have more than one.

Which is all fine and dandy, but that left us wondering about the risks associated with getting a tattoo.

Namely, we got curious as to whether or not there’s any link between tattoo ink particles and developing certain types of cancer later in life.

So are tattoos carcinogenic and do they pose a serious threat to public health?

Are specific ink colors more dangerous than others?

And are there any other unique aspects of tattooing that you should know about that can impact your health?

Does Tattoo Ink Cause Cancer?

Many clinical research studies do show an increased cancer risk among individuals with tattooed skin, particularly lymphoma and skin cancers.

Researchers believe that longer-term exposure to tattoo ink particles may be responsible for an increased occurrence of skin cancer, such as squamous cell carcinoma.

And because the tattoo industry is often unregulated, there’s no telling what types of chemicals or toxins may or may not be present in tattoo ink used at your local parlor.

Certain pigments of tattoo ink have been shown to contain all sorts of carcinogens, ranging from aromatic amines to hydrocarbons and heavy metals.

So when tattoo ink penetrates your skin, you’re essentially exposing yourself to all of these unknown chemicals.

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The Danish Twin Tattoo Cohort Studies

To date, there have been a number of clinical research studies that have looked at data from a Danish twin tattoo cohort study, which dove into a variety of factors that might influence individuals to get a tattoo.

So what exactly were the findings from all these studies?

• Skin cancers – One study found that there is an increased risk of skin cancer in individuals who have tattoos compared to those with non-tattooed skin. Individuals with tattooed skin are 1.62 times more likely to develop skin cancers or show signs of abnormal cell growth.
• Size matters – An increased risk of skin cancer has also been linked to the size of a tattoo. Skin cancer cases are more prevalent amongst those with tattoos larger than the palm of the hand.
• Lymphoma – These is also an increased risk of lymphoma in individuals with larger tattoos. One study showed that the prevalence of tattoos was 22% in individuals diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma and 11% in those with non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
• Blood cancers – There is some, although limited evidence to show an increased risk of certain types of hematologic cancer subtypes, as well as other types of abnormal cell growth.
• Red ink – Certain pigments of red ink are known to cause allergic reactions more often than others. But there has been no association found showing that red ink particles are any more carcinogenic than other tattoo ink colors.

Different Biological Mechanisms Can Influence Cancer Risk

So yes, according to previous research, there are some causal links between skin cancer cases and tattooed skin.

But because there are so many variables and environmental factors at play in the development of any disease, it’s hard to pinpoint exactly what caused the cancer occurrence in the first place.

According to one study, researchers found that getting a tattoo is nearly twice as common in individual who have always smoke as it is with those who’ve never smoked.

So does smoking influence your risk of getting a tattoo or does having a tattoo mean that you’re more likely to smoke? Is it the tattoos or the smoking that mess with your immune system and influence cancer risk?

Either way, the studies don’t lie!

And there is a link found between people who have been exposed to tattoo ink and cancer diagnoses, particular skin cancer like squamous cell carcinoma.

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Interest in the history of tattoos? Check out this cool blog post about when were tattoos invented.

Are There Other Health Consequences You Should Know About With Tattoo Ink Exposure?

Yes, any time you’re putting foreign substances into your body, such as tattoo ink, there is a certain level of risk involved.

After all, ink particles are a foreign substances and until you get tattooed, there’s no real way to know how your immune system is going to react.

So what other health consequences should you know about?

Pigments Can Migrate And Cause Inflammation

Tattoo ink penetrates more than just your skin and tattoo placement doesn’t matter…

It’s a well-known fact that tattoo ink migrates from your skin into your bloodstream, and it can begin to accumulate in the lymph nodes.

And there’s no real way of telling what kind of long-term harm this can cause.

Some researchers believe that when ink particles accumulate in the lymph nodes, they can cause the immune system to react, inducing chronic inflammation.

Allergic Reactions Are A Very Real Health Risk

For the most part, tattoo ink is considered safe. And it’s relatively rare for people to experience immune reactions.

But it does happen.

In fact, your body perceives tattoo ink as a foreign substance, which means that being tattooed will have a direct effect on your immune system in some way.

For most tattooed individuals, however, this reaction is relatively mild and symptoms subside relatively quickly.

Reactions can manifest themselves as redness, itchiness, skin irritation, hives or blisters.

A little redness or swelling is normal.

But it’s important that if you notice any of these symptoms getting worse after being tattooed, seek medical attention promptly.

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Bloodborne Diseases And Illnesses

The majority of tattoo shops these days are very safe and your artist should adhere to strict tattooing practices when giving you that cool tattoo.

But whenever you’re dealing with blood, which you are when you’re being tattooed, there’s always a risk of contracting bloodborne diseases such as Hepatitis B and C.

These viruses can be passed around when tattoo artists don’t use sterile equipment.

So always make sure your artist uses clean tattoo gear, and their entire shop is kept in tip top shape.

Conclusion – Mixed Signals From Different Studies

At this point, we want to mention that it’s hard to determine a direct causation between tattoo ink exposure and cancer diagnoses.

Yes, there have been links found between an increased cancer risk and tattooed skin.

And it’s true that ink particles can accumulate in your lymph nodes and that can lead to chronic inflammation.

But as the old saying says…

Correlation Does Not Imply Causation.

We all have different lifestyles, which means some of us may do things in our daily lives that expose us to a greater number of potentially harmful substances, regardless of whether or not we have tattoos.

So even if there is a link between people with that tattoos and cancer risks, it’s practically impossible to tell whether it was the tattoo or any other environmental factor that leads to the cancer diagnosis.

Plus, there’s typically a rather long incubation period between tattoo ink exposure and the development of cancer.

So it becomes extremely hard to determine which factors actually led to the cancer over the course of an individuals lifetime.

More Studies For A Better Understanding Of More Ink

Finally, another study that used data from the Danish twin tattoo cohort states that there is a “severe lack of empirical evidence pertaining to carcinogenicity of tattoo ink.”

In fact, many of the previous research that’s been done suggests that more systematic reviews need to be done to determine a direct effect and clear link between cancer occurrences in tattooed individuals.

Stronger methods need to be used to determine the direct biological mechanisms that influence cancer risk to give us a better understanding of whether or not tattoos cause cancer.

But it’s true that both tattoos and skin cancers are becoming increasingly common.

And these diseases do put a persistent strain on the public health systems of the world.

A Higher Occurrence Of Cancer In Tattooed Individuals

So, yes, there have been links identified between tattoo, lymphoma and skin cancers.

But that doesn’t mean that all tattoo pigments are carcinogenic or that getting a tattoo will automatically lead to dead by cancer.

Ultimately, it’s important to understand that there are risks to human health at a molecular level when getting tattooed and you should be aware of those risks!

And if you ever have any concerns about getting a tattoo or the ink that your tattoo artist is using, just ask them about it!

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