Yes, water can cause tattoos to fade, especially fresh ones, because soaking or prolonged exposure (like in pools, baths, or oceans) softens scabs, opens pores, introduces bacteria, and chemicals like chlorine can leach ink, leading to blurriness, patchiness, and color loss; it's crucial to keep new tattoos dry and only allow gentle washing for weeks to heal properly.
Tattoo damage – Water can cause fading and discoloration for new tattoos. Salt and chlorine are both particularly harmful as they can pull ink from fresh tattoos and cause them to heal blurred or patchy.
While infection is potentially the greatest worry when it comes to swimming, exposing your new tattoo to salt water (or chlorine for that matter) also carries other risks. One of these is the risk of causing ink to leak from a fresh tattoo, making the colour less vibrant and causing your tattoo to fade prematurely.
Sun Exposure. The sun is your skin's worst enemy. UV rays break down tattoo pigments, causing fading, especially with brighter colors like red, yellow, and orange. Even black ink can fade into a blurry gray with too much sun exposure.
Lasers heat up the ink particles in your skin to break them down into smaller particles, which are easier for your immune system to remove. It can take multiple laser therapy sessions to remove a tattoo.
After getting a tattoo, avoid picking or scratching it, submersion in water, tight clothing, and exposure to direct sunlight. Avoid harsh products, including scented soaps, petroleum jelly, and medicated ointments, unless your artist or dermatologist recommends them.
Take these precautions to maintain your tattoo's appearance and protect your skin: Apply a waterproof tattoo cover before entering the water. Limit your pool time to 30 minutes.
After your tattoo has healed completely, you're free to go swimming. There are a few signs you can look for to know if your tattoo is ready to be submerged in water. One is the absence of redness, itching, scabbing and flaking. Wait until you have smooth, clear, healthy skin free of peeling.
No. Don't go swimming or immerse your new tattoo in water until every bit of scab and dry skin has fallen off. This can take as long as four weeks. There is a big difference between getting your tattoo wet (during a normal shower) and entirely submerging or soaking your fresh wound in still water.
We recommend waiting at least 3–4 days before exercising to allow your tattoo to begin healing properly. You should avoid swimming in the sea or at the beach for at least two weeks. For chlorinated pools, it's best to wait around three weeks before swimming.
Submerging your tattoo in a bath or hot tub can cause serious damage. So avoid doing that for at least two to three weeks. However, showering is perfectly fine, as long as you don't saturate your tattoo. If you get soap or shampoo on your tattoo, wash it quickly with water.
Bottom line: prolonged submersion of your tattoo in water leaves you at risk of infection, leaches ink from your tattoo causing fading and blurriness, and makes your skin itch and scab which takes the tattoo longer to heal.
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It's recommended you wait at least 24 hours before showering after getting a new tattoo. This allows the tattooed area to begin the healing process and reduces the risk of infection. Showering too soon after getting a tattoo may expose the open wound to bacteria and increase the chances of complications.
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The most commonly used neutralizing color is a deep orange to cancel out the blue and blue-green shades of common tattoo inks. For tattoos with dark black ink, you should use a deep red neutralizer.
A: Yes, when performed by skilled professionals like those at The Dermatology, Laser & Vein Center, laser tattoo removal is a safe and effective procedure.