How Can You Avoid Sunburn on Tattoos?
Tattoos involve inking the pigments on the top layers of your skin, and just because the skin has ink doesn't prevent it from getting a sunburn on your tattoo! During the summertime, it's very common for people to get tattoo sunburns, especially because regular sunscreens don't have the advanced properties necessary to keep tattoos entirely safe when exposed to the sun for long periods. That is why as part of our tattoo aftercare collection, we've launched our tattoo sunscreen developed for tattoo lovers! We developed this tattoo sunscreen to help prevent tattoo sunburns while giving the necessary moisture to keep your tattoo fresh and protected.
Why Sunburn is Harmful to Tattoos:
Sunburned tattoos are due to overexposure to the sun and can damage the skin, including inflammation, discoloration, and blistering. Sunburned tattoos can also cause itching, burning, and sometimes pain. A sunburn on your tattoo can take longer to heal than a normal sunburn on non-tattooed skin. Two kinds of ultraviolet rays come from the sun: UVA, and the other is UVB. These two UV rays will have different effects and can damage your tattoo in various ways.
UVA Rays:
UVA rays penetrate your skin much more deeply than the UVB ray will. So, the damage from UVA rays will stay for a much longer time. This ray can also affect the various inks used for preparing the tattoos. If the tattoo ink is thinner, it may fade away much quicker than dark ink due to sunburn. Pastel and white ink will get fade away the fastest.
UVB Rays:
UVB rays will affect the upper layers of your skin, and most tattoo sunburns are due to UVB rays. This is one primary reason Why you need to use tattoo sunscreen. Most tanning beds have a combination of UVA and UVB rays.
What To Do After Getting a Tattoo Sunburn:
With a sunburn, the best thing you can do to stop the inflammation is to make sure your body is hydrated, so drink plenty of water! Also, make sure your tattoo gets the proper moisture and learn how often to moisturize a tattoo! It's a good idea to take a cold shower or run cold water over the sunburned area, which can help reduce pain or blistering. If your skin begins to blister, don't pop the blisters! Let your skin take the natural healing process, and they will go away eventually. Most importantly, be more prepared next time to avoid getting a sunburn on your tattoo!
Making Tattoo Sun Protection a Priority:
If you want to keep your skin from the direct effects of sunburn, then you should cover the tattooed area of your skin with loose clothing so that you can avoid exposing the area directly to the sunlight. However, we understand this isn't ideal for beach days, so wearing a vetted tattoo sunscreen is highly recommended.
