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It’s hot out there and if all the tattoos you’re seeing at the pool are motivating you to make an appointment, there are some things you should consider before you come in. You need to protect your skin from the sun with a high spf sunscreen ahead of your appointment, and if possible, cover up the area you want to tattoo with clothing. Nothing is more disappointing to the artist and client than a surprise sunburn when you come in! It takes weeks to heal even a mild burn, so the best solution is prevention. Reapply sunscreen as often as necessary too, even if you “don’t normally burn”. Sunburns are really damaging, and regarding your proceedure cause increased blood flow to the area, which means a lot of bleeding and possible rejection of the ink, inflammation which means more pain, and a much worse heal- unnecessary scabbing and irritation. My job is to give you the best tattoo in the least painful manner, and in short I will not tattoo over a sunburn. Sometimes you may not even think you are still burned once the redness fades, but there have been many times I began a tattoo only to start fighting with a bunch of shedding skin. That usually means a future touch up that could have been avoided.

Ok, so you have come in with healthy skin, you’re good to go, right? Yes! But you may want to wash more often and moisturize a little less if you’re sweating more than normal in the summer heat. Keep everything clean and dry, and never use suncreen on a fresh tattoo. It is not the same as lotion and you may end up with an infection or scab. Just cover the new tattoo with clothes and avoid direct sun exposure for a few weeks until initial healing is done.

And you already know that swimming is prohibited while your new tattoo is healing- even for a quick dip. The risk of infection is great and soaking is not recommended. It is also not recommended to get tattooed before any trips…camping is fun but it’s difficult to keep things clean and airports are dirty af. Ew!

Hope your summer is full of fun outside adventures and with a little forethought, you can still get tattooed! Hope to see you soon.

 

Sailor Jerry designs