It's best to apply sunscreen every few hours for optimal tattoo sun protection. Sunscreen can sometimes be the easiest way to cover your tattoo if your tattoo is located somewhere you cannot easily cover with UPF 50+ fabric, like your ankles, or feet—as long as you are diligent about reapplying.
Keep it covered while it heals (initially with the bandage provided), then with long sleeves (miserable in the summer, but you really don't want an infection) until it heals. Once you're healed, keep a high-test sunscreen on it (Neutrogena makes a stick one that works incredibly well).
To protect a tattoo from fading, it's advisable to apply a broad-spectrum sunscreen with a high SPF on the tattooed area when exposed to the sun, and to avoid excessive sun exposure whenever possible.
Like everyone here is saying, covering up the tattoo with a thin long sleeve shirt is the best option to keeping the sun off your new tattoo. Anything made from cotton or UV protective beach/fishing shirt will be your best bet. Both of these options should be available to you at a store like Walmart.
It's generally not recommended to tan with a new tattoo. Here are a few reasons why: Healing Process: A new tattoo is essentially an open wound that needs to heal. Sun exposure can irritate the skin and delay the healing process. Fading: UV rays can cause the ink in your tattoo to fade.
You shouldn't wear sunscreen for the first four weeks after getting a tattoo. However, if you've had your new tattoo for over four weeks and it has healed, sunscreen is a great way to protect it in summer. Another way to protect your fresh tattoo against sun exposure is by wearing long-sleeved shirts or pants.
Apply a quality sunscreen to protect your sensitive skin from UV damage, a waterproof dressing, and ensure your tattoo does not come in contact with sand. Chlorine is drying for the skin, but applying barrier creams or ointments and a waterproof bandage can help divert chlorine from affecting your new tattoo.
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.
Bare minimum, for at least the first 10-14 days, you have got to stay in the shade, or keep your new tattoo well under cover during any exposure to direct sunlight. In fact, some professional tattoo artists actually recommend you should keep your tattoo covered for up to three months to insure it's fully healed.
Use the Aquaphor for the first 2-3 days then switch to a regular FRAGRANCE-FREE lotion such as Lubriderm, or any other fragrance-free brand. 5. Fresh tattoos sometimes “weep” during the first couple of days, meaning that plasma and ink form a thin moist coating on the skin. This can be DABBED with a clean paper towel.
Any amount of sun exposure damages your skin, and prolonged exposure for your tattoos will give them that blown out, faded look after a few years. We all want to avoid that, and the best course of action is to cover up. Again, light materials like linen, cotton and hemp are a great choice for summer weather.
Black ink tends to outlast any other color because it is super pigmented. Other darker colors like dark blue, dark green, gray, and dark purple will have a similar lifespan to black ink. Lighter inks like yellows, reds, oranges, whites, and any pastel tones tend to fade a bit more quickly than darker inks.
Exposing a new tattoo to sunlight can cause fading, and the ultraviolet (UV) radiation can cause a tattoo to scab over, which can interfere with healing. People should avoid sunbathing and other types of sun exposure for 1–3 weeks while the tattoo heals.
Limit sun exposure: Fresh tattoos should be kept out of the sun as much as possible. UV rays can cause significant damage, including fading the ink and increasing the risk of sunburn on the sensitive skin. Wear protective clothing, stay in the shade, and cover your tattoo with a breathable bandage if needed.
Wash the tattoo regularly but gently, especially after dirty or sweaty activities. Drink plenty of water to help keep the skin moist and supple. While healing, cover the tattoo with clothing or a bandage whenever it might be exposed to the sun.
Moisturize regularly. Avoid tight-fitting clothing around your tattooed area for the first two weeks. Avoid sun exposure whenever possible with UV-blocking sunscreen and UPF clothing, like our men's sun protective tees or our women's UPF 50+ shirts.
“Water in a pool, lake, or the ocean has bacteria that can potentially get into the newly tattooed skin,” she adds, adding that salt or chlorinated water can be irritating and delay the healing of your new tattoo. Valentine adds that swimming can also affect the final result of your tattoo.
In fact, you shouldn't tan after your tattoo until it has fully healed past the scabbing phase. The recommendation of how long this time period is differs, depending on the tattoo studio's advice, with the most common recommendations being anywhere from 8 weeks to 3 months.
Conclusion and Best Practices. Protecting your new tattoo from the sun's harsh rays is crucial, especially in sunny locales. Until your tattoo is fully healed, steer clear of sunscreen and sun exposure.
At best, a sunburn on a new tattoo will extend the time needed for the tattoo to fully heal. In extreme conditions, it can distort the lines and coloring of the tattoo. Ink loss and distortion is most likely to occur as a result of a blistering sunburn.
Since oxygen itself plays a huge role in allowing the skin to heal properly, covering a new tattoo in plastic wrap or smothering it in petroleum-based products that limit oxygen supply can further complicate the healing process.
You can shower 3-4 hours after getting a tattoo, if you have a Saniderm bandage on, however, if you have a plastic wrap wait 24 hours to unwrap your tattoo and shower. In either case, shower in cold or lukewarm water and avoid prolonged soaking or submerging your tattoo in water for 3-4 weeks.