Do Tattoos Boost Your Immune System?

A series of popular science articles have recently been touting the health benefits of tattoos, specifically their ability to boost your immune system. Most are based on a study from Dr, Christopher Lynn and Johnna Dominguez at the University of Alabama. But is a little ink really the cure for the common cold?

The answer is, as is often the case, not as simple as many of these headlines might suggest. The study focused on a group of 29 people visiting a tattoo parlor in Alabama for a new tattoo. The researchers tested both the levels of cortisol—an indicator of our body’s stress response—and Immunoglobin A (an antibody that helps our body fight infections, called IgA for short) in each person before and after getting their new body art. In addition to monitoring our body’s response to stressful situations, cortisol also is known to act as an immunosuppressant, i.e. an inhibitor to our body’s natural defenses. The tests were meant to quantify any changes in the body’s immune system functions before and after getting a tattoo.

The study revealed that those with no pre-existing tattoos experienced a greater strain on their immune system (a larger dip in their IgA levels) possibly due to greater feelings of stress. Those on their second, third (or twelfth) tattoo instead experienced a surge in their IgA immediately following their inking session. Their bodies appeared to be less stressed by the experience having gone through the process at least once before. The researchers titled the paper releasing their result “Tattooing to Toughen Up.”

However, it’s not clear how long these surges in immune system strength last beyond the few minutes post-inking. The researchers also note the possibility that the pool of repeat tattoo customers could possibly be biased toward individuals with healthier immune systems in general. If someone with a weaker immune system has a bad response or a long healing period after getting their first tattoo, they may not return for a second.

How Do Tattoos Work?

Of course, we can only talk about possible health benefits for tattoos if we are talking in the context of ink applied via clean and sterile tattoo equipment. We are frequently shedding parts of our outermost layer of skin, called our epidermis, so to gain permanence, ink for tattoos is injected into the dermis, a lower, more stable layer of skin about a millimeter deep. So when you view a person’s tattoo, you are actually looking through their first layer of skin.

To get beneath the epidermis, tattoo ink...

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