Tattoos need to be taken care of. During sunny periods, and therefore especially in summer, certain practices are necessary to prevent them from deteriorating. Follow the leader.
On the edge of a river or on the terrace of a café, summer is often synonymous with lighter outfits to survive the heat. This is also the time when you want to show off your tattoos, hidden under sweaters or pants during the winter.
But exposing yourself to the sun, beyond the carcinogenic risks, can also damage your tattoos and change the color. ” Cool shades darken, brown and take on a mottled texture (spots) with the action of the sun “explains tattoo artist Aurel Rondl in an Insta post.
“ I think there is still a lot to do from a sun education point of view. “, he adds to Numerama. ” It would be necessary to start by breaking a little the received ideas. Because even if a tattoo remains a foreign body that has weakened the skin, prolonged exposure to the sun can have health effects. In addition to premature aging of the skin, this can promote cancer, burns or sunstroke, recalls the Health Insurance.
“Avoid tanning or getting sunburned”
This is why, the first year after a tattoo, exposure to the sun is strongly discouraged. It is necessary to wait for complete healing before going out with bare arms, even if your tattoo seems completely healed. Because the dermis of the skin takes longer to fully regenerate. ” It is really necessary to avoid tanning or getting a sunburn so as not to alter the tattoo », continues Aurel Rondl.
For the first few weeks, we also avoid baths, swimming, the hammam or even intensive sports. Perspiration like water may cause your tattoo to bleed, which will lose its color and have a less clean line.
Another false good plan to avoid: put a bandage on your tattoo. This will not protect it from the sun and can also promote its degradation due to the lack of breathing and the perspiration that accumulates. A word of advice: prefer loose clothing that allows air to pass through without too much exposure to the sun. If your tattoo is less than a month old, also avoid light colors to prevent ink stains from permanently imprinting in your favorite floral shirt.
Index 50+, even in the shade
After a year, your tattoo can come out in the open air, but again, not just anyhow. We cream our tattoo with an index 50+, even if it’s to stay in the shade, because UV rays are also present. ” If the sunscreen is mineral and natural, it is better », adds Aurel Rondl.
There are also clothes specially designed to resist UV rays. Decathlon has a whole range of anti-UV t-shirts. This can be very practical, especially if you plan to stay at the beach for a long time, at a festival or if the idea of reapplying cream (very) regularly seems untenable to you. There are also sleeves designed specifically for tattoos. In both cases, the clothes were designed to be worn in the summer, so they don’t keep you warm.
To avoid deforming this little butterfly at the top of the left buttock, we also avoid monoi oil, milking fats or any other oil that aims to make you look like a roast chicken forgotten a little too long in an oven. We also think about hydrating our tattoo well. This requires moisturizer (non-healing) but also by drinking plenty of water.
Finally, if your favorite tattoo artist is visiting France this summer and you want to come and see her, know that it is quite possible to be tattooed during very sunny periods. But again, it is advisable to avoid the sun before getting tattooed.
” The sun will dry out the skin, make it brittle, change its color and therefore change the rendering of the tattoo. “warns Aurel Rondl. Beyond the aesthetic aspect, exposure to the sun beforehand will make the tattoo session more painful. ” The skin can ‘break’ and be damaged during the session. The colors do not render well and dry out very quickly and the skin puts on a ‘white film’ on top. Which makes the room very dull and bland. Healing can then be a little more difficult because the skin will feel ‘attacked’. The more the skin is hydrated and healthy, the more you will have a beautiful tattoo, an ease of session and an ease of healing. » And the more your mother will be able to tell you that she was not in favor of it but that « well, it’s not so ugly ».
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