We know this is the last summer holiday and that Fall is just around the corner but that doesn’t mean it’s not still going to be hot - especially here in the South. We realize that there are still plenty of lake and pool days ahead so we just want to remind you of some very vital piercing and tattoo information to keep your investments in tip-top shape.

Piercings:

Piercings should heal for at least ONE MONTH before entering the water. Lakes and oceans - even though they’re vast - are dirty. They have bacteria that can cause some pretty intense infections. Pools have harsh chemicals that can cause severe irritation.

Fresh piercings should have limited sun exposure. The rays of the sun can cause excessive damage around a piercing that your body is working hard to heal. Sunburns can cause great irritation and flaking of skin around the piercing, compromising the new piercing and increasing the risk of rejection.

NEVER apply sunscreen to a healing piercing. The chemicals in sunscreen are extremely abrasive on broken skin and the sticky texture allows germs to stick to, and infiltrate, a new piercing which could lead to infection.

Tattoos:

Tattoos must heal for at least three weeks before entering water. Submerging a tattoo in water before it is properly healed can cause infection in the early healing stages. In the later stages, it can cause the fresh skin that grows over a new tattoo to swell up and slide off the body. It’s very painful, very itchy, and can reopen the tattoo to the possibility of infection.

NO direct sunlight. ZERO. Getting tattooed causes the same type and amount of damage as a severe sunburn. Adding more of that same type of damage on top of a concentrated area can have painful effects that cause your tattoo to heal very poorly and much more slowly.

Sunscreen should NEVER go onto a fresh tattoo. For the same reasons as it should not go on a fresh piercing. sunscreen should not touch a new tattoo for at least three weeks after getting it.

Healed Tattoo:

Always, always, ALWAYS apply sunscreen to a healed tattoo before exposing it to direct sunlight. This will help preserve the colors and not subject the tattoo to sun bleaching. For color tattoos, this will keep lighter tones (yellow, orange, pink) from fading into obscurity. For black and grey pieces, this keeps the black values as dark and rich as possible while preserving small, light details.

We here at Lighthouse Tattoo realize that summer can be a tricky time to get a new tattoo or piercing because well, it’s summer and they enhance the way a person looks and feels. Quite possibly, you want to show them off and we don’t blame you!! But we also want to remind you that just because summer is almost over doesn’t mean the aftercare changes in regards to sun exposure and submerging in water.

We hope this serves as a refresher course in proper healing and maintenance. Happy Labor Day and stay safe out there!!