Yes, tattoos can significantly affect your life, influencing self-expression, identity, mental well-being (boosting confidence or serving as reminders of past trauma), and even career opportunities, while also carrying health risks like infections or allergic reactions and requiring careful consideration of ink composition and placement. While once stigmatized, tattoos are now common, but their impact varies widely, from empowering self-art to creating workplace challenges or health concerns.
Tattooing also can lead to keloids. Keloids are raised areas caused by an overgrowth of scar tissue. Diseases spread through blood. If equipment used to create a tattoo has infected blood on it, you can get diseases that are spread through blood.
Older adults can get tattoos, but expect slower healing, higher infection and complication risks, altered appearance (blurring, loss of vibrancy), potential interference with skin cancer detection, and more frequent maintenance or removal difficulties.
Research on tattoos older than 40 years shows that ink particles remain in the deep dermis and local lymph nodes. According to the WHO data from animal experiments, black and red tattoo ink particles reach the liver, and titanium dioxide (white pigment) reaches the liver, spleen, and lung (4).
Bacteria can be introduced into the skin which may cause infection and abscesses. Blood poisoning can sometimes occur which can be fatal. If an infection does occur, you may also experience some permanent scarring.
But some of the inks tattoo artists use are derived from toxic heavy metals and dyes. These substances have been found to damage DNA and to be carcinogenic. Tiny nanoparticles from the ink can enter the bloodstream and spread to the lymphatic system and the liver.
24% of tattooed Americans regret at least one tattoo (Pew Research Center, 2023). Regret rates increased from 14% in 2012 to 24% in 2023. 32% of American adults (approximately 88.5 million people) now have at least one tattoo.
“Tattoo ink can technically move through the body, but it does not usually travel very far,” explains Ploch. When ink does move, it's because the immune system has broken the pigment down to a size where it can be fed into our lymphatic system, which drains into lymph nodes.
Yes, you can donate blood if you have tattoos
The same rules also apply to ear and body piercings.
Heavy Metals in Tattoo Ink
Common metals that can be found in tattoo inks include: Lead and Mercury: These toxic substances may cause long-term health problems, including kidney damage and neurological issues. Nickel and Chromium: Known allergens that can trigger reactions, especially in sensitive individuals.
Gen Z is regretting tattoos due to impulsive decisions driven by social media trends (like fine-line or patchwork styles), getting inked during emotional highs or lows, a lack of personal meaning, and changing aesthetics (e.g., moving from WFH casual to needing to cover up for office jobs). The visibility of this regret on platforms like TikTok, combined with evolving personal identities and the desire to fit new trends, highlights a growing disillusionment with tattoos that once felt significant but now feel dated or embarrassing.
Individuals with tattoos were more likely to be diagnosed with mental health and anxiety issues and report sleep problems, according to Mortensen K et al. 2019 study titled, “Are tattoos Associated With Negative Health-related Outcomes and Risky Behaviors?” published in the International Journal of Dermatology.
If you have a medical problem such as heart disease, allergies, diabetes, skin problems like eczema or psoriasis, a weak immune system, or a bleeding problem, talk to your doctor before getting a tattoo. Also, if you get keloids (an overgrowth of scar tissue) you probably should not get a tattoo.
For many people, getting a tattoo is a way to show the world that they are confident and proud of who they are. For instance, people who have gone through a tough time in their lives often get tattoos as a way to show that they are survivors.
After getting a tattoo, avoid scratching, picking scabs, submerging it in water (baths, pools, hot tubs), prolonged sun exposure, tight clothing, and using harsh/fragranced soaps or heavy petroleum jelly; instead, keep it clean with unscented soap, moisturize lightly with artist-recommended lotion, and let it heal naturally to prevent infection and fading. Always follow your tattoo artist's specific aftercare instructions for best results.
Scientific research shows surprising health and wellness benefits associated with getting inked. From immune system boosts to increased pain tolerance, stress reduction, psychological empowerment, and social bonding, tattoos offer more than just a form of self-expression.
Reactions include aseptic inflammation, allergic reactions, and hypersensitivity to the tattoo ink, especially red ink, but also to chromium in green ink, cadmium in yellow ink, and cobalt in blue ink. The risk for adverse effects on health increases in individuals who obtain a tattoo in an unauthorized facility.
Tattoos naturally change with age due to environmental exposure and your body's natural processes. While some people love the vintage look of older tattoos, others see fading, distortion, or blurring as reasons to remove them. Natural Fading: Sunlight is the primary culprit behind fading tattoos.
Tattoos and Blood Donation
If you received a tattoo in a state that does not regulate tattoo facilities, then you must wait three months after it was applied. For a full list of states and regulations, visit the Eligibility Requirements page.
Red ink is still the most likely color to cause skin problems. Why? Red tattoo inks are the most likely to cause health complications, including rashes and pseudolymphomas, both symptoms of an allergic reaction.
A recent review found that the number of skin cancers in tattooed skin was low, and therefore seems coincidental, however a number of carcinogens that have been found in tattoo inks have been associated with cancers elsewhere in the body, such as the liver or bladder.
With the help of some other cells, macrophages form a wall of themselves to imprison the larger ink molecules. We've capitalized on our skin macrophages' unending loyalty to the dermis to get life-long works of body art. But though our tattoos last forever, over time they start to lose their pop.
With tattoo removal becoming an increasingly popular option for those looking to get rid of their ink, nearly 1 in 4 (23%) Americans plan to have tattoos removed in the future. In fact, 51% plan to have one tattoo removed. Nearly 3 in 4 (73%) Americans like tattoos and 39% proudly bear their own ink.
Tattoos generally do not increase the risk of skin cancer. However, the Skin Cancer & Dermatology Institute does not recommend tattooing over moles or getting tattoos in body areas with many moles. This can make changes in moles harder to detect.
The usual “job stopper tattoo” don't get regretted often – neck tattoo and hand tattoo was regretted by only 7% for the former, and 12% of the latter among our surveyors. Least regretted tattoo placement is the hips and feet. Small tattoos are regretted the most, with 60% of people preferring not to have gotten it.