*disclaimer: all advice shared in this blog is not official medical advice and if you're ever having an issue with your tattoo you should always consult a medical professional - we are simply sharing tips to prevent common and avoidable issues that could become a more major medical issue if left untreated. Always use best judgment when getting and healing a tattoo :) *

Have you heard the rumors that you simply CANNOT get tattooed in the Summer?

You can absolutely get tattooed in the Summer and have your tattoo heal just fine as long as you follow this guide to aid in healing your tattoo quickly, and tips on how to treat your tattoo if you get exposed to anything out there, so you can get back to the fun in the sun...

Now, what are the most common fears or concerns about getting tattooed in the Summer?

They are usually

• Heat
• Sweat
• Harmful UV rays from the sun / sunburn
• Exposure to bodies of water (pools, lakes, the ocean, hot tubs, etc.)
• Sand / Dirt exposure from enjoying the outdoors
• The exposure of your tattoo to daily contaminants such as pet hair whilst wearing less clothes

Let's break each one down and give you a definitive answer as to how to approach each "no no".

Are you with us? Let's go!

First up, we have HEAT

Yes, heat is a concern due to the fact that heat opens your pores and with a very fresh tattoo this could affect your skins ability to heal back over quickly and can expose you for more days to possible contaminants. It can also make you sweat (let's save that for the next section). The way around heat being your nemesis is honestly just avoiding being in a heat prone situation for at least 2-3 weeks. This of course would be difficult if you're about to go on vacation or you're into hot yoga, but the best thing to do is plan you tattoo so that you have a good 10-14 days to avoid sitting in excessive heat for a long period of time. A short hot drive to work, or a quick walk with the dog won't cause you harm as long as you wash your tattoo promptly with antibacterial soap and take some time to cool off, and if your tattoo is especially hot get in the AC or apply some ice in a clean plastic bag with a paper towel to cool your skin down after washing it.

Next up, let's get to SWEAT

Ok, so if you didn't know, sweat is how we cool our body off as well as to remove toxins from the body. This means that sweat contains electrolytes we sweat out (SALTY!) as well as triggering the bacteria that lives naturally on your skin to start havin' a par-tay! If you sweat on/around your tattoo (which you shouldn't be much since you're staying out of the heat, right?) we're going to do the same as before, promptly wash your tattoo with antibac soap and cool down if you need to. You don't want that bacteria salt party sitting on your open tattoo for long, it could lead to infection since bacteria is the ENEMY after all.

Alright, now onto the big bad SUN and it's scary UV Rays

Now, this one is important because it's a bit complicated with a new tattoo and it's important to remember for the life of your tattoo as well. In the first week or 2 after you get a tattoo, your upper protective layer of skin is, well, basically gone. We had to tattoo through it to get your ink where it needs to be in your skin. That upper layer contains melanin and protects your vulnerable lowers layers of skin from the big bad sun and it's tend to want to burn you. You really want to take the same care to stay out of heat as we want to stay out of direct sunlight. If you get your fresh tattoo out in a ray of sun, you're going to know right away because it's going to be HOT. it's a good reminder to run back into the shade and keep your fresh ink safe. Now, when your tattoo is only 3 or less days old you really shouldn't be putting anything on it but antibac soap and then a thin later of healing ointment a few times a day. Your tattoo is still too new to slather it with 50 SPF and call yourself safe from that big glowing meanie. You're going to need to stay out of those rays for a few days at least 5 would be nice. By then your tattoo will be in the peely stage and you can apply moisturizing lotion as well as a high SPF sunscreen if you plan to dip in the sun a few times in the day. We're not saying you can go have a tanning session by the pool, but you could get away with a quick sit at a cafe for lunch. Our biggest concern is a burn, which would of course hurt so much more than a common burn and would prolong the healing of your tattoo, but with none of that helpful melanin to kick into gear and create a protective layer of sorts, you're upping your risk of literal melanoma, which is super scary. You can wear a long sleeve or a fancy UV resistant shirt over your tattoo in those first vulnerable weeks or really, every time you're going to be chillin' in the sun for any length of time. The thing is, the sun is your worst enemy aside from just skin aging over time for the look of your tattoo over your lifetime. The sun CAN and WILL sap color especially from your tattoo and can turn your pastels and whites a warm/yellow tone (ewww). Black and grey tattoos fare a bit better in the sun due to the heavy pigment in black ink, but all tattoos should be covered with SPF every time you go in the sun for the life of your tattoo to keep it looking as good as possible for as long as possible. Even if you're someone with pretty melanated skin (dark skin) it is still good to put that sunblock on your tattoos to keep them looking sharp/bright for as long as possible.

Phew! ok next up we have WATER

This one is a hot topic because people are just totally confused and freaked out. And honestly, it's fair because like, guys, water holds lots of microbes and bacteria that we don't want INSIDE our body. When you have a fresh tattoo you essentially have lots of tiny open holes in your skin for those little guys to climb right in and do some things to your skin that you don't want. We do want to avoid submerging your tattoo for at a minimum 2 weeks and if you can make it 3, that's better. This includes lounging in a bubble bath as well. The reason for this is when you sit in water, your pores open, sort of like how heat opens them, and anything IN that water is going IN your skin. This is why you can get away with a quick shower because you're not really in long enough for your skin to suck in all of whatever is in your shower water, and our water in our home is nice and treated for daily use on our skin and even to drink. The water in your pool and hot tub is treated, but it's treated with some pretty harsh chemicals that can be extremely drying and they only cut down on what's in the water, they don't completely eliminate what's in it 100% especially if the person who treats the pool or jacuzzi is a little lazy with their treatment regemine. Think about hot tubs at a hotel, there are so many different people with different kind of bacteria sloughing off into the water...you do NOT want that all up in your tattoo. It might seem like a good idea after a hard seltzer and a long week at work, but it's not worth risking your tattoo getting infected or healing badly.  This isn't really something you can do for a short period and wash off with that trusty antibac soap and be safe from harm, the water submersion REALLY opens your pores and that stuff can get in there deep and wreak havoc on your skin for days. If your new tattoo is on your shoulder or upper arm, you could totally sit by the pool with your feet in and cool off a bit, but you should definitely avoid jumping in until you hit that 2-3 week mark. oh, and PONDS, LAKES, etc. Honestly, you shouldn't even put your head under or get that water in your mouth even if we're not talking about tattoos. Don't even look up what kind of bacteria can go ham on your skin and in your ears and eyes in those untreated stagnant bodies of water. Just stay away from them in general, ha! Ocean water is also dirty, salty, and filled with tiny particles of sand, and other sea creature and human excriment. People are peeing right next to you, promise. If you wouldn't pee on your tattoo, don't swim in the ocean. And you really don't want a fleck of sand sitting in your tattoo for days, it won't produce a pretty pearl, it will produce a bill for urgent care to get antibiotics or worse. IF you happened to fall in a pool or something crazy with a fresh tattoo, get out quickly and go wash with antibac soap and let your skin dry out completely before you apply your ointment or lotion (depending on where you are in the healing process). The goal is to not go in but if you were to fall in, just don't STAY in.

Into gardening? Ok let's talk about DIRT

Now, a little dirt ain't so bad, you ever listen to a country song? they'll tell y'all all about it. But we don't want dirt or the microbes and bacteria that love hot wet dirt in the summer to settle into your tattoo. If you need to get down and dirty, you must cover your tattoo up with long pants/sleeves/ or the like. You don't want to get it wet or too hot so stay away from WET dirt, let the friends or spouse deal with the wet dirt areas for the week while you play in the dry stuff. You always want to clean your tattoo once you're done out there with our friend the antibac soap and cool water if you got a little hot. let you skin dry out completely before you add any ointment or lotion.

Last but not least, exposure to CONTAMINANTS

such as dog hair, saliva, poison plants, pollen, etc. due to your tattoo being uncovered while wearing less clothes than other months.

OK, yes this one is a concern, but we think you can do great to avoid most of this stuff by simply wearing a lightweight clothing option that still covers your tattoo like a long skirt or canvas pants rather than sweats. As with all contaminants, if we intervene right away and we mean right away with antibacterial soap, you can really narrowly avoid most issues. One good thing to do regardless of the time of year is wash all your bedding before you tattoo appt. so it's not all covered in dead skin cells, dried sweat, pet hair, dander, and maybe more? Wash it. Another great product to use this time of year is TECNU (or something like it). It removes the oils that make you get a poison ivy, oak, or sumac rash. You don't want to use TECNU or a similar product in the first 3-5 days after you got your tattoo as it can be stripping and drying but if you feel you were exposed to one of these scary plants, it's good to wash the whole limb or even your whole body so a bad rash doesn't spread and make it's way to your tattoo, once the rash spreads it's really hard to slow it down without medical intervention so it's good to have this product on hand if you ever go out in semi-woodsy areas or even have a woodsy yard. Dogs can carry these oils into your home too, so keep an eye on the pups, keep them out of deep brush and dense wooded areas so they don't transfer it to you.

We know this stuff can be a bit scary, but as long as you know what to avoid, and what to do if you're exposed - we can de-mystify the fear of getting tattooed in the summer and collect some sick ink all year round.

If you cannot avoid it within the first 2-3 weeks and are going to a concert, or somewhere else where you may be exposed to something like sweat, dirt, water, spilled beer, or who knows what you can purchase a product like THIS recovery brand black second skin. This will protect your tattoo from all the yucky stuff (aside from your own sweat) AND it's black and blocks out those UV rays. We do recommend this product in the summer. You will still need to avoid HEAT (it's black so it will get HOT in the sun) and excessive sweat. You should get it off and clean under there with antibac soap at least every 24 hours or less and put a new piece on for your next adventure like going out on the kayak or something. We don't recommend leaving products like these on for days, it's better to get under there and keep that antibac soap doing it's job to kill all the stuff that lives on your own skin that's trying to attack your tattoo (Why is everything trying to attack us!?)

If you have any questions or comments about our summer tattoo healing tips in this blog, feel free to fill out the contact form on this site to continue the conversation and we hope this helps you to feel more prepared to get tattooed in the summer. You can also share this post using the social buttons below if you enjoyed the read :)

Armed with information we can make great decisions for our tattoos and protect them while healing and for life.

Thanks for reading!

~ Neon Moon Tattoo