Tattoos are a lifelong commitment that you’ll want to keep looking as fresh as the first day you got them. However, our bodies will age with time and your ink may start to fade. You can schedule touch-ups to get ink looking bright again, but age will start to blur the fine lines and some colors may not blend as easily.
So, the best answer to maintaining your tattoos as you age is to simply take care of your skin. Let’s sound off on a handful of things you can do to make sure your aging tattoos stay bright and your skin healthy for a lifetime.
1. Moisturize Your Tattooed Skin
Tattooed skin is still skin. The largest organ on your body needs to be moisturized if you want it to feel healthy and keep its elasticity over your lifetime—especially tattooed skin. Consider moisturizing your skin every day with a daily lotion or balm. Ideally, a lotion that is petroleum-free and lanolin-free as those ingredients can fade color quicker.
Certain parts of your body like your hands, knees, face, and elbows tend to dry quicker throughout the day because they tend to be the most exposed. You may want to use lotion on these parts of your body a couple of times a day to keep tattooed skin from drying. Tattoo Goo’s Mini Tattoo Goo Balm is specially formulated to keep tattooed skin moisturized and healthy with natural ingredients that mimic the natural oils in your skin. The balm is designed to heal the skin and protect the brightness of your ink as you go about your daily life.
2. Safely Clean Your Tattooed Skin
Sticking to your recommended tattoo cleaning routine when you first get a new tattoo is crucial to the lifelong health of the tattooed skin. But this is only the start to keeping your tattoo clean and healthy.
You’ll want to make sure your daily body soap doesn’t use alcohol or intense fragrances as a major ingredient, as it can lead to dry skin and fade the tattoo ink. Consider using an alcohol-free soap that doesn’t leave behind drying residue like Tattoo Goo’s Deep Cleaning Soap. The goal is to keep your skin clean without stripping your natural barriers and oils, causing too much irritation.
When you shower, use cool water and a fresh washcloth to clean your body, being especially gentle around tattooed skin. When drying, refrain from rubbing your skin dry and instead pat dry.
3. Be Mindful of Sun Exposure onto Tattooed Skin
The number one enemy to tattooed skin is the sun. If you’ve ever left a t-shirt out in the sun for too long, then you’ll know how harsh the sun is to color. Whether you spend a lot of time outside or you’re planning on suntanning, you’ll want to be mindful of how long you expose your tattooed skin to the sun.
Consider using a SPF lotion to protect your skin from the sun. Covering your skin with an umbrella or clothing can help, but the real harm comes from the UV rays that penetrate and damage the skin. Even a rainy winter day won’t stop the UV rays from damaging your skin.
4. Some Areas of Your Body Will Age Tattooed Skin Differently
There’s only so much you can do to keep your skin from showing its age. There is no foolproof method to protect your skin from the effects of natural aging. The best we can do is care for our bodies and incorporate tattoo aftercare into our daily routines.
If how a tattoo looks after it ages is a major concern, consider where you’re getting your tattoo. As mentioned before, your hands, elbows, knees, and face are typically your most exposed parts of your body. They’re also the parts of your body where the skin flexes the most. Pregnancy and weight gain or loss throughout your life are also major events that stress the skin and can cause your tattoo to fade with age.
The best places to get tattoos are your back, upper thigh, shoulders, calves, and inner arm. These parts of your body are typically the least exposed and will experience the least amount of stress from fabrics.Like the tattoo, maintaining its bright colors and sharp lines is also a lifelong commitment. You’ll want your beautiful art to stay fresh for as long as you can. Keep your skin moisturized, practice tattoo-safe habits like cool showers with tattoo-friendly soaps and limiting your exposure to the sun. Get everything you need to help heal your tattoo in one convenient Tattoo Aftercare Kit by Tattoo Goo. The kit comes with the Tattoo Goo Deep Cleansing Soap, protection balm, light lotion to moisturize the skin and prevent scabbing, and an all-natural SF30+ sunscreen.