Everything ages at some point, including your tattoo. Fading and blurring are normal. We call this aging. Tattoo anti-aging deals with the ways to prevent it.
Admittedly, you cannott completely prevent your tattoo from aging. Even with the best preparation and care, your tattoo will age with you and your skin will lose elasticity and become drier, which will naturally affect the appearance of your tattoo. Here are a few tips on how your tattoo can retain its luminosity and clearly defined contours for many years.
Tattoo anti-aging – rules of conduct and care tips
You may be familiar with anti-ageing: it generally refers to creams, serums, lotions and facial toners that are intended to slow down skin aging, remove wrinkles and perhaps provide the skin with a little more elasticity. So what is tattoo anti-aging? Your tattoo does not have any wrinkles and does not need any help with cell renewal processes using obscure chemical formulas, since it has no cells that could age. After all, a tattoo only consists of pigments that lie deep in your skin.
That is exactly the problem: your skin ages, and the tattoo ages together with your skin. Tattoo aging takes place when colours appear paler and contours become less sharp. However, you can do something about it. One thing is to choose a tattoo studio or an artist from the outset to ensure high-quality tattoo inks and hygienic working conditions. Obviously, having the necessary experience is also advisable, as only a neatly engraved tattoo at exactly the right depth will sit and heal well. Scarring is undesirable because scars blur contours. Therefore, hygiene is really importamt so that your tattoo cannot become infected.
Sunlight and UV rays dry out your skin. Rough, cracked skin will make your tattoo look pale and blurry. You should always apply sun cream with a high sun protection factor (50+) if you do not keep your tattoo covered. Furthermore, UV rays also break down pigments when they penetrate into the skin. This results in your tattoo getting “less and less” visible after intensive sunbathing.
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It is best to consider anti-aging right from the start!
During the wound healing phase, you should follow the tattoo aftercare instructions recommended by our studio. Remember to get changed if too much fluid is collected underneath. Breathable plasters can remain on a tattoo for up to three days. Before you do anything to your tattoo, wash your hands thoroughly – with soap! From the fourth day onwards, a special healing ointment fosters wound healing, as it ensures that the scab remains soft and moist and prevents the new skin from tearing and scarring. This is why you should leave the scab alone and never scrape it off, since it protects your tattoo until its healing. Make sure you use a fragrance-free cream containing panthenol to help your skin regenerate and relieve itching.
Additionally, it is normal for colours to flow out with the wound fluid for up to four days after lancing. Your body cleans the wound and removes all foreign bodies that do not belong there, including pigments. This is normal, tattoo artists are aware of it and will use their knowledge to do their work.
Even then, your tattoo needs looking after. Special creams ensure that the skin on your tattoo remains supple. Only well cared for skin with sufficient moisture remains elastic and healthy. There are special care products for tattooed skin that are designed to maintain sharp contours and colour brilliance. Not unexpectedly, any care is better than no care at all. Apply cream to your skin regularly and make sure it is sufficiently moisturized.
Is your tattoo old yet? Tattoo anti-aging care still helps!
Ideally, you should take care of your tattoo right from the start. Nevertheless, many tattoo studios do not point out that a tattoo needs care once it has healed. You can also prevent old tattoos from fading further. However, once the color brilliance has been lost, it is really gone – daily care will not bring it back. Pay particular attention to suitable sun protection, because light and especially UV radiation cause your tattoo to fade particularly quickly, as pigments break down through photochemical processes. UV rays also provoke the formation of collagenases, i.e. collagen-decomposing enzymes, in the dermis, which is where the pigments of your tattoo are located. If the dermis, the technical term for this second layer of skin, loses its elasticity and resilience, your tattoo will lose its contours and colour. Sun care with a high sun protection factor prevents UV radiation from penetrating so deeply into your skin.
Is re-stitching unnecessary for tattoo anti-aging?
Even the best tattoo anti-aging care cannot completely prevent the skin and tattoo from aging. You may still like your design if it looks a little washed out and less bright. Shabby chic and retro are exactly your thing. A tattoo like this simply tells you how long it has been with you. Not your cup of tea? Then you can have your tattoo redone. The tattoo artist will simply redraw the existing tattoo when re-engraving it. This makes contours clearer and colours more brilliant.
Re-stitching is only an option six weeks after the tattoo has been done at the earliest. This is because the body is still trying to get rid of the colours under the skin. Even if the wound has already healed, pigments are still “on the move”, so to speak, and they are partially removed via the lymphatic system. Only large particles are stored in the skin cells in the long term and form the tattoo. That is why you will not see what your tattoo really looks like until a few weeks after getting it. Take care of your tattoo during this period and help your skin to regenerate! This protects your tattoo so that its colours stay brilliant for longer. The same applies to tattoo anti-aging care after re-engraving as after getting a new tattoo: with the right care, you can delay aging signs as long as possible.