--- title: Armpit Tattoos: Is This New Summer Tattoo Trend Safe? description: Are tattoos really safe when they're in the armpit? A doctor explains the risk linked to these eye-catching tattoos. canonical: https://time.com/4846218/armpit-tattoos-safe-underarm-ink/ author: TIME article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-07-06T15:27:42.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T16:26:48.103Z article:section: Health og:title: Are Armpit Tattoos Safe? og:description: A doctor explains the risk linked to these eye-catching inkings. og:url: https://time.com/4846218/armpit-tattoos-safe-underarm-ink/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte10317ff7d75ab72/6988d49097cdffd9a06b177e/gettyimages-686736051.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 5600 og:image:height: 3150 og:image:alt: Tattoo artist in studio preparing og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Are Armpit Tattoos Safe? twitter:description: A doctor explains the risk linked to these eye-catching inkings. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte10317ff7d75ab72/6988d49097cdffd9a06b177e/gettyimages-686736051.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Armpit Tattoos Are the Most Surprising Trend of the Summer—But Are They Safe? > Sponsored content. 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Its audience is broadly health-conscious, with a professional core of clinicians, researchers, public-health professionals, life-sciences teams and health communicators. by [Julia Naftulin / Health.com](https://time.com/author/health-com/) ## Julia Naftulin / Health.com Contributor Jul 6, 2017 3:27 PM UTC  Cape Town, South Africa,Tattoo Artist dipping ink in colour pallet Cape Town, South Africa,Tattoo Artist dipping ink in colour pallet Getty Images by [Julia Naftulin / Health.com](https://time.com/author/health-com/) ## Julia Naftulin / Health.com Contributor Jul 6, 2017 3:27 PM UTC You can get a tattoo pretty much anywhere on your body, and the underarm ink trend is living proof. Intricate tats in this sensitive area have been popping up all over Instagram lately, and it’s hard to stop scrolling through the [#armpittattoo](https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/armpittattoo/?hl=en) pics. But we couldn’t help but wonder, is it safe to get inked in your armpit? To find out more, we spoke with Dr. Pauline Jose, a clinical instructor in UCLA’s Department of Family Medicine. It turns out there is one real risk associated with prettied-up pits, and it has to do with your [lymph nodes](http://www.health.com/breast-cancer/lymph-system): “Tattoo pigments travel through the lymphatic system,” Jose explains. “Since lymph nodes are abundant in the armpit area, \[an armpit tattoo\] can pigment those lymph nodes, and mimic—or confuse—a cancer diagnosis.” Armpit tattoos can be especially problematic for people who develop [melanoma](http://www.health.com/melanoma), she says, because pigmented lymph nodes can look like metastasis. “All those pigmented lymph nodes, and the skin supplied by them, may need to be biopsied when looking suspicious.” **MORE**: [You Asked: Are Tattoos Bad For You?](http://time.com/4725634/tattoo-ink-dangerous/?iid=sr-link1) **_Health.com:_** [_7 Things Every Woman Should Know About Her Skin_](http://www.health.com/beauty/skin-facts/?xid=time) If you’re considering a tattoo, the armpit isn’t the only body part to avoid. Moles should never be inked over, because doing so can make it harder to detect any changes that could be a sign of [skin cancer](http://www.health.com/skin-cancer). And getting a tattoo near your eyes is also a bad idea, since the ink can pigment the eyes, says Jose. With any tattoo, it’s important to remember that ink is a foreign object in the body—and your body may react to it with inflammation, pain, itching, or in other ways that can be heard to predict. If you have an autoimmune condition, or if you experience many allergic reactions to food and medications, “it may not be a good idea to get inked,” says Jose. On a brighter note: Infections from unsanitary tools or facilities are rare these days, because tattoo parlors practice universal precautions. If you’re planning to get a tattoo, just be sure to avoid parlors that use heavy metal-based inks, says Jose. _This_ [_article_](http://www.health.com/skin-conditions/armpit-tattoo-risk-lymphatic-system/?xid=time) _originally appeared on_ [_Health.com_](http://health.com/?xid=time) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4846218/armpit-tattoos-safe-underarm-ink/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4846218/armpit-tattoos-safe-underarm-ink/"},"headline":"Armpit Tattoos Are the Most Surprising Trend of the Summer—But Are They Safe?","datePublished":"2017-07-06T15:27:42.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T16:26:48.103Z","description":"An MD explains the risk linked to these eye-catching tats","url":"https://time.com/4846218/armpit-tattoos-safe-underarm-ink/","keywords":["medicine","Viewpoint","Research","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte10317ff7d75ab72/6988d49097cdffd9a06b177e/gettyimages-686736051.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Julia Naftulin / Health.com"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte10317ff7d75ab72/6988d49097cdffd9a06b177e/gettyimages-686736051.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Tattoo artist in studio preparing","caption":"Tattoo artist in studio preparing","creditText":"Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/medicine/","name":"medicine"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4846218/armpit-tattoos-safe-underarm-ink/","name":"Armpit Tattoos Are the Most Surprising Trend of the Summer—But Are They Safe?"}}]}] ```