How Long To Keep New Tattoo Out Of Sun?
How to Protect Your Tattoo From the Sun – @ girlknewyork Wear sunscreen: Sunblock is the number one form of protection for your tattoo. Applying sunblock will help prevent skin cancer, wrinkles, blotchy complexions, and other skin-caused damage. Any sunblock is better than no sunblock when it comes to preparing your ink for the sun, but most artists will suggest using a fragrance-free sunscreen with 30-50 SPF (try to stick to natural ingredients if possible, too).
- Whatever sunscreen you would normally use without a tattoo is fine — whether chemical or physical;
- According to Nussbaum, SPF is a critical part of protecting your tattoo against UV rays;
- “The most important thing when choosing a sunscreen is to make sure it is broad-spectrum, meaning it protects against both UVA, which penetrates deeper than UVB rays, causing free radical damage, and UVB rays, which damage the cell’s DNA and burn the skin,” she says;
“Sunburns and chronic UV exposure can damage the appearance of tattoos over time and lead to fading, wrinkles, and dullness/dryness. ” Nussbaum also says it’s safe to put sunscreen on a healed tattoo, but fresh ink will need to heal first (instead, cover it with a bandage or loose clothing).
Be sure to reapply your sunblock every two hours to ensure a continuous and solid layer of protection. Cover up: If you don’t want to deal with the hassle of reapplying sunscreen , the second-best option for sun protection is to ultimately keep your new ink out of the sun.
At the very least, make sure not to expose a new tattoo to direct sunlight for the first month of having it—especially the first two weeks. Not only will sun exposure cause the tattoo’s colors to fade, as previously mentioned, but it may also burn your skin and scar it from sun damage.
Keeping your tattoo out of the sun doesn’t mean you have to stay inside all day, though. Maintain your ink’s vibrant colors and linework by always wearing at least one layer while in the sun. It can be light—as long as it covers the tattoo design completely.
Get your tattoo during the winter : One of the easiest ways to prevent sun damage to your tattoo is to consider what time of year you’ll be getting inked. Getting your tattoo in the winter will reduce your bare exposure to sun, as chilly weather means more clothing to cover up with.
- However, the winter season also means dry skin;
- If your skin tends to feel dry, flakey, and itchy during the colder weather months, load up on moisturizing lotions;
- To protect your new tattoo, we love the original, unscented Aquaphor formula;
Slather on day or night for intense moisture and protection. (Or, try one of these tattoo artist-approved lotions ). If you get the tattoo too close to a vacation or beach day, you’ll spend the whole time out of the water with your ink-covered. While saltwater may seem like it’ll help ( chlorine water —not so much), any kind of soaking during your initial healing period may cause infection and damage the design work you paid for.
If you really want to get a tattoo during the summer, at least wait until you know you won’t be going on vacation for a month or so. And if you want to get tattooed while on vacation ? Just wait until the latter half of your trip, so you can still have fun in the sun and worry about aftercare once you’re home.
Moisturize often, inside and out: Nussbaum also suggests moisturizing often and drinking water every day. “Keep your skin well hydrated so that it can protect itself from external damage and maintain your skin’s natural moisture barrier,” says Nussbaum.
She also notes that hydration doesn’t mean more showers, though. “Skip the long, hot showers, which can strip the skin of its natural oils and lead to dry skin, and instead opt for a shorter shower (five minutes maximum) with lukewarm water.
” Check-in with your skin: Another essential thing to do if you expose your tattoo to the sun is to check your skin for any visible signs of damage. Aside from spot-checking regularly for any mole additions or changes (this should be a weekly thing, regardless of the season!), make sure to give your tattoo a good once over to ensure that the design hasn’t majorly warped.
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Can you put a new tattoo in direct sunlight?
At the very least, make sure not to expose a new tattoo to direct sunlight for the first month of having it — especially the first two weeks. Not only will sun exposure during this time cause the tattoo’s colors to fade, but it could actually burn your skin and scar it from sun damage.
How do I protect my new tattoo from the Sun?
Getting A Tattoo In The Summer | How to Protect Your Tattoo From The Sun
The sun is probably the worst thing for your fresh new tattoo. This is particularly hard to do in the summer months when we want nothing more than to wear as little as possible. So what do you do when you have a new tattoo and what to care for it, and protect it from the sun? Put lotion on your fresh ink.
How long should you wait to wear sunscreen after getting a tattoo?
Shun the sun while a tattoo is still healing – If you find yourself asking ‘when can I expose my tattoo to the sun?’, or ‘how important is sunscreen to tattoos?’, read on. “Tattoos take approximately three to four weeks to fully heal,” says Dr. Neil Tanna, MD, associate program director of plastic surgery and professor of surgery at Northwell Health.
Even if you’re slathering on your SPF 50, those three to four weeks still stand. “Until the healing process is completed, tattoos should not be exposed to the sun, even if sunscreen is applied. ” That doesn’t mean you can’t soak up some vitamin D eventually, however.
After a couple weeks of keeping a fresh design fully concealed from the sun, Prairie Koo , director and owner of Toronto based tattoo studio Ink & Water says that “when you are tanning, definitely apply sunscreen. ” Yet, even with a coat, any UV exposure can alter the depth and quality of ink designs because the sun “changes the pigmentation and can alter the look of the tattoo.
What happens if you leave a tattoo in the Sun?
Are New Tattoos More Susceptible to Sun Damage? – New tattoos are more susceptible to damage. A fresh tattoo is an open wound with no protection on it. If the raw wound were exposed to the sun, it may burn much faster than healed skin, meaning your tattoo could fade, crack, blister, or peel.
