Pro Tips: How to Prevent Your Tattoo from Fading

2023-06-16 16:00:00

Pro Tips

This is how you prevent your tattoo from fading

Ready for your first tattoo but worried about durability? Then there are a few tips you should know. An experienced tattoo artist will tell you.

published16. June 2023, 6:00 PM

To ensure that your tattoos stay beautiful for a long time, you should pay attention to a few things before and after getting them tattooed.

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Tiny, flat, consisting only of lines or faithfully reproduced in detail – Tattoos come in countless types and everyone has to decide for themselves what they like. But what nobody wants are washed out, faded lines and gaps in the tattoo because mistakes were made during the pre- or aftercare. So that this doesn’t happen to you and your tattoo stays beautiful for a long time, we hired an expert: Agata Haindl is the owner and resident tattoo artist at the Zurich tattoo studio Absolut Art and knows what is important.

Agata Haindl is the owner and resident tattoo artist at the Zurich tattoo studio Absolut Art.

Absolut Art

That’s why your tattoo fades

That a tattoo gets lighter over the years, is normal. As with wrinkles on the face, the aging process can be counteracted – but you cannot prevent it completely. After all, your body itself is one of the points that affects your tattoo. «Immediately after the piercing, the body does everything it can to heal the wound caused by the tattoo. In the process, some ink is also expelled from the body,” says Haindl. “On the other hand, the tattoo that sits directly under the first layer of skin ages with the skin.”

Next to this natural process is UV light, so Sun exposure (whether natural or through a tanning bed) the greatest enemy of tattoo ink. Like your hair, it bleaches it in the summer and makes your skin age faster.

Before stabbing

If you are well prepared, you can ensure that the tattoo stays beautiful for a long time when planning the tattoo. These points are particularly important:

The right place needs to be considered – not only because of the optics. The tattoo artist advises: “Anyone who works outside should look for a place that is not constantly exposed to the sun.” People who frequently disinfect their hands should think twice about tattoos in the same area. In addition, motifs on moving parts of the body such as the crook of the arm or the fingers never hold as well as on less moving parts.
The right motif also has an influence: Very finely engraved tattoos fade faster, broad lines or black areas are particularly durable.
The tattoo artist or the tattoo artist herself has a significant impact on how well a tattoo will heal and how beautiful it will look once it has healed. The expert warns: “Anyone who offers tattoos for 50 francs is probably not working very professionally. The equipment alone costs 70 francs per customer for us.»

After the sting

Right after getting tattooed, but also in everyday life, the right tattoo care helps ensure that your motif stays beautiful for a long time. You should pay attention to this:

“A freshly inked tattoo is like an open wound and should be treated as such,” says Haindl. In order for the body to regenerate, it needs your support. “Drugs, alcohol and nicotine have a negative effect on the healing process.”
If the tattoo is still fresh, the following also applies: “Before any direct physical contact, wash and disinfect your hands, clean the tattoo with lukewarm water and pat dry with a paper towel.”
Many people also make a mistake with the cream used to heal tattoos: “You should use an antiseptic, medicinal cream and apply it flat but very thinly over the tattoo.” Otherwise, the pulling action of the cream can have a negative effect on your subject and pull color out of the skin.
Particularly important: sun protection. In the first three to four weeks you should completely avoid sunbathing. Once your tattoo is fully healed, you should use a very high SPF to be on the safe side.
What keeps your skin young is also good for your tattoo: Moisturize your body from the inside with plenty of water and use body lotions or creams to prevent dry skin.