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Tattoos damage skin sweat glands, landmark study claims
Sep 28, 2020
Do tattoos impair the skin’s ability to sweat? Despite the global ubiquitousness of tattoos this question has received surprisingly little research attention. A new, first-of-its-kind study is suggesting inking skin may damage sweat glands and reduce the body’s ability to rapidly cool itself.
Back in 2017, Alma College’s Maurie Luetkemeier conducted one of the first rigorous modern studies investigating whether tattoos interfere with the basic function of our sweat glands. The researchers used a tool called the Macroduct Sweat Collection System , which uses a small electric current to induce sweating and is commonly used to sweat-test newborns as a way of early screening for cystic fibrosis.
Luetkemeier’s initial study provided the alarming finding that tattooed skin seemed to produce around half the amount of sweat as clear, non-inked skin. The sweat arising from tatted skin was also found to be significantly saltier that normal, suggesting the tattoo ink could be disrupting the function of the sweat glands.
“However, we are somewhat cautious about our results,” Luetkemeier noted back in 2017 . “The process we used for stimulating sweat glands differs from the normal process, which involves cooling yourself following a rise in body temperature.”
Last year, a team of Australian researchers followed up on Luetkemeier’s experiments, testing how tattooed skin responds to real-life exercise conditions . That study essentially measured individual sweat rates across different skin locations in 22 subjects. After 20 minutes of exercise the researchers saw no difference in the volume of sweat produced between inked skin and non-inked skin.
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