Prevention of Your Tattoo From Fading

Many people assume that once a tattoo is made, it stays forever. It is rather true, but over the years, the vibrancy, color, brightness and attractiveness of a tattoo may fade due to reasons like natural aging process of the body, use of low quality inks, aftercare, and exposure to sun etc. This article gives you a few tips to retain your colorful and attractive tattoo from fading. It requires only a little effort but it is worth.

Quality of the tattoo

Placement of a tattoo in your body and the inks used decide its quality. The pigments in the ink penetrate into the middle layer if skin. If the tattoo ink remains near the upper layer of skin, the pigments gradually wears off as the skin’s topmost layer sheds its dead skin cells constantly and new cells take their place. With the pigments slowly wearing off, the brightness will diminish and the attractiveness is lost. Therefore, it is advised to get a tattoo done by an experienced tattoo artist. An experienced person will have complete knowledge of how to place the ink enough deep into the skin. Experienced artists may charge a little higher, but it is worth as the tattoo stays for a lifetime. There are many tattoo fraternities, which will help you find a good tattoo artist or parlor.

Aftercare for a new tattoo

Once the tattoo is designed on the skin, the care that should be taken for the next few weeks is very crucial as it decides its fading nature. The skin area where the tattoo is placed must not be scratched, as it may pull up some of the ink’s pigments. The area must be properly moisturized with aftercare lotions and ointments for the first two weeks. Cleanliness is very important to protect yourself from any possible infection.

Avoid exposure to sun

Sun’s ultraviolet rays are powerful and they can break down the color pigments in the tattoo ink. Whenever you go out in the sun, sunscreen should be applied to your tattoo, irrespective of if it is a sunny or a cloudy day. This helps you in protecting your skin from premature aging. A sunscreen with a minimum SPF of 30 must be used.

Color of tattoo ink

Choice of proper color determines the fading of a tattoo. The pigments used in the inks must be stable. Common stable colors are black and blue, while colors based on red pigments such as orange, yellow, magenta and purple require more maintenance as they are prone to fading. Remember this while deciding your tattoo colors.

Following healthy habits

One cannot stop the natural aging process of skin as it degenerates gradually. However, you can delay the aging process by following some healthier habits. Supply of essential minerals, vitamins and antioxidants help your skin to remain youthful. Smoking and drinking can cause irreversible damage to healthy skin cells.