What happens if you go tanning with a new tattoo

UV light is quickly absorbed into the skin, and it gets right to work dissolving the pigment in your ink. Not only is this damaging to the integrity of your tattoo, causing sharp lines and shapes to blur, it also sucks the life out of your tattoos. The color and vibrancy are the first things to go, leaving them somewhat lifeless and dreary.

Nobody wants dull tattoos, right? Even worse, some inks can change color entirely, for example, going from bold orange to a light pink color.

The sunscreen should be at least factor 30 in order to keep as many UV rays from penetrating the lotion and your skin as possible. In our opinion, these are some of the best sunscreens for tattoos currently on the market. If you find yourself outside and forget to apply sunscreen to your tattoo, wear clothing or stay in the shade as much as possible. Finally, being in water can greatly increase the detrimental effects of UV rays on your skin due to the reflection from the water meaning that the rays are coming from a greater amount of angles.

Tattoo fading is a gradual process. You must remember, though, that a tattoo is for life. You may be able to get away with tanning and lounging around in the sun with no protection for a few years with no visible sign of fading, but keep doing it over the years and you will definitely see the condition of your tattoo degrading. Tattoos in the sun constantly will not last well. Of course, if your ink has already considerably faded from tanning many times after originally getting it, an experienced tattoo artist may be able to redo the area and bring it back to life.

Sundays offers an incredible array of sun, spa and airbrush services and features the finest European sun beds, spa devices and automated airbrushing technology, ranked best in the world. News Sundays Sun Spa Shop. Tanning With Tattoos? Three Tips To Look Great. November 3, Burning the skin damages a tattoo even more than slowly tanning out in the sun. Again, if you must tan, protect your ink with some SPF.

Even if you aren't laying out or using a tanning bed, you are probably being exposed to more sun than you think. Riding with the windows down in your car or running errands outside expose you to the suns rays, even if it's not as intense as tanning.

Using SPF every day is important to protect your skin from signs of aging, but it also keeps your tattoo looking new longer.

Skipping SPF isn't ideal, but even covering your tattoo with clothes or staying in the shade can help protect it. Don't put sunblock on a new or fresh tattoo—follow your artist's aftercare instructions and keep your tattoo covered or shaded with clothing for the first few weeks. You can use sunblock once your tattoo has finished peeling and has grown its first protective layer of skin.

Sunblock alone is not going to be sufficient for a new tattoo if it is exposed to direct sunlight for long periods of time. A tattoo is usually considered well-healed after about 3 months. Luckily, self tanner is a safe option to achieve a golden glow if you have a healed tattoo. As long as your tattoo is completely healed, you can apply lotion or tanner to it like you would other parts of your body. Depending on the shade and color of the particular sunless tanning lotion you use, it may look a little funky over your ink.

Test how tanner will look by using a thin layer of lotion over your tattoo first. Your tattoo is an investment , so don't take a gamble by not properly caring for it.