Dry Skin & Tattooing

Maintaining your tattoo is very important to keeping its look.

Tattoos are everywhere. People young and old, professionals and misfits, celebrities and everyday folk all seem to be sporting tattoos. However, as they are becoming a popular trend it is becoming common for people not to care for them properly. A main issue is excessively dry skin after tattooing. This issue should be considered before getting a tattoo so you can be prepared to deal with dry skin.

Reasons for Dryness

Whenever you get a tattoo, the skin in and around your tattoo can become excessively dry and cause skin and tattoo problems. As your tattoo dries out and scabs form, the skin is still moist. Once the scabs heal, the skin is at risk of becoming overly dry. While some drying is standard, be aware of dryness that remains for weeks or months after the scabs disappear.

Before Taking Action

If you are concerned that your skin is becoming too dry, ask the artist what he thinks before doing anything. It is common to have some dryness and/or some minor changes to the skin when you have had a tattoo applied. He is the expert and may be able to save you from over-worrying or expensive treatment.

Creams

A very common remedy for dry skin in the tattoo world is to apply cream. Find a gentle cream that contains panthenol, or B5, as this is the main moisturizing agent. Apply the cream to the tattoo and cover ot with plastic wrap. The plastic wrap will keep the cream from drying out while protecting the tattoo from further damage. Reapply cream daily and only remove the plastic wrap to apply more cream. Repeat this process for three to four days.

More Options

Try an antibiotic ointment if there is significant scabbing. Many tattoo parlors recommend this and it will soothe the weak skin. Additionally, try a cocoa butter lotion as these have skin regenerating abilities. Stay out of the sun as much as possible to avoid further burning. A sunburn and the resulting peeling of skin will only worsen the situation.

If There is Damage

If the dry skin persists and no remedy seems to help, try using baby oil on it three times a day for a week. This has been shown to help with the dead skin layers and stop and negative effects.

Possible Touch-up Work

Unfortunately, at some point you may need to give up and have the tattoo reworked or fixed. Don't quit too early as tattoos can often take up to six months to fully heal. Go to the artist to discuss possible touch-up work.

References

• Captain Bret's Tattoo Shop, Inc.: Tattoo Care and Instructions: