In a small study, researchers say tattoos may change the way we sweat. This could have implications for athletes who have a lot of tattoos.

The tattoo on your body may be much more than a decorative statement.

It could be changing the way you sweat.

That was the finding from a small study at Alma College that examined changes in sweating function in tattooed areas of the body.

The researchers were led by Maurie Luetkemeier, PhD, a professor of integrative physiology and health science at Alma College in Michigan.

The researchers recruited 10 young men with tattoos on one side of their upper body but not on the other.

The researchers then used chemical patches containing a substance that induces sweating to stimulate the sweating process on both the tattooed and non-tattooed skin.

“This study is the first study of its kind to look at tattoos and sweating function. As such, we need to be cautious with interpretations, but we demonstrated that sweat production was about half in tattooed skin compared to non-tattooed skin. That may be very significant,” Luetkemeier told Healthline.

Luetkemeier has taught skin physiology, as well as the location and function of the skin glands, for years.

“I realized that the sweat glands were at the same approximate depth as the deposition of ink for a tattoo. It got me wondering if the tattooing process interfered with sweat function,” he said.

Luetkemeier said further study is needed to determine the potential ramifications of the findings, and to see if the same results would occur after exercise.

“In our study we used a chemical stimulant to stimulate the sweat glands. We did not heat anybody up nor did we have the subject perform any physical activity,” he explained. “Future studies need to be conducted to look at the risk of overheating when individuals are actually getting hot due to high environmental temperatures or heavy physical exercise.”