Tattoos and Sun

June 9, 2008 7:50 AM

I have large, detailed, black-ink tattoos that take up my arm from elbow to shoulder. I like them very much and don't want them to fade (they're 2 years old).

I walk around outside a lot (not to mention the beach and park), and I would like to keep my tattoos as protected from the sun as possible. At the same time, though, it's very hot to wear sleeves, and if I only wear half-sleeves then I get a stupid-looking tan (especially when I will be attending weddings where I will be wearing spaghetti straps). Not to mention the fact that I enjoy them being visible in public.

Does anyone else worry about this? What do you do about it? Just put on sunscreen and forget it, or can you recommend some sort of lightweight but opaque-enough cover up? I've considered fake tanning the upper part of my arms and shoulders, but I'm worried the color will be really different from my forearms.

posted by unknowncommand to grab bag (10 answers total)

Keep in mind that an average white t-shirt only has an SPF of about 7. Wear sunblock every day, no matter what you're wearing, if you want to make sure your skin is protected.
posted by ferociouskitty at 8:03 AM on June 9, 2008

I have lots of tattoos and fair skin, so I wear high-SPF sunblock as a matter of course. Most of my friends with heavy tattoo coverage, particularly blackwork, also use high-SPF sunblock every day, whether they are wearing sleeves or not. They reapply a few times a day if they have skin exposed and are out for a while.

If you want to have an even tan, your best bet is to use self-tanner on your entire untanned arm, and then use sunblock. Or you can just embrace the pale look.
posted by bedhead at 8:18 AM on June 9, 2008 [1 favorite]

Sunblock, and reapply frequently. Otherwise you'll have to get the tat touched up periodically.
posted by knowles at 8:19 AM on June 9, 2008

It's vitally important to keep the ink out of the sun & out of a tanning bed. My upper back is also heavily tattooed with a lot of blackwork and some color (greens, purples, blues). After just one summer of tanning bed use a couple of years ago, most of the color disappeared out of my work and I had to have most of it re-done.

Like you, I'd rather not be glowingly pasty white in the summer, so these days I use the tan-in-a-bottle, fake self tanning lotion (Neutrogena is a good one) to get a bit of color, and slather up with spf 50 or 75 sunscreen on the tattoos when I'm outdoors. The bottled tan does mute the tattoo colors a tiny bit (not nearly as much as true sun-fade does), but instead of actually damaging the tattoos' pigment, the self tanner adds just a light temporary film of tan tint on top of the skin. And my art stays bright and fresh & undamaged.
posted by cuddles.mcsnuggy at 8:22 AM on June 9, 2008

Oh, I should add, I don't just use the sunblock on the tattoos: use it all over any exposed skin (being careful to make sure the tattoos are well-sunblocked especially). I also use the self-tanning lotion all over, so the color is uniform. Basically, all the tan on my body is from a bottle.
posted by cuddles.mcsnuggy at 8:25 AM on June 9, 2008

yep, you already got the answers. strong sunblock, uniformly applied. limited exposure to sun. when your tattoos are exposed, make sure it's all-or-nothing (ie sleeveless or long-sleeved).
posted by CitizenD at 8:35 AM on June 9, 2008

I use Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Dry Touch spf 50, and it works. I have a delicate greywork tat on my forearm, and some heavy blackwork on my shoulder (usually covered by a sleeve, but still), and I like this sunblock. Not cheap, but the tattoos weren't either, and neither is touch-up work.

I can't speak to tanning lotions, as I've never used them.
posted by rtha at 8:40 AM on June 9, 2008

I have tattoos on my lower thighs that are visible when I wear mid-length shorts or skirts, though I rarely wear them so they are only exposed to the sun 20-30 times/year. They've still faded somewhat despite prodigious amounts of sunscreen. That said, they're 10-15 years old (omg I feel old), and I'm very fair skinned so I burn like crazy. If you don't want them to fade AT ALL, cover up, use sunblock and only expose them when you're inside.
posted by desjardins at 10:24 AM on June 9, 2008

I have tattoos that are covered by casual clothes (eg t-shirt and shorts), and that only see the sun on rare occasions, like a beach vacation. Even so, there has been some fading, either from UV damage through my clothes, or the accumulation of a lot of "rare occasions" that maybe aren't as rare as I think they are. And from watching the visible tattoos on people I know, I'd say that sun fading is a really big deal -- maybe some inks are more UV sensitive than others, but I've seen some pretty new tattoos that are all blurry, faded, and so on, after just a short time in the sun.

So definitely use sunblock. Only slathering it on the tattoos can give a weird effect, though, where the tattoos are surrounded by whiter skin, with tanned skin around that.

Don't be afraid to accessorize in ways that help to block the sun, too -- I'm thinking broad-brimmed hat, parasol, etc, that will block the sun while allowing you to have your arms uncovered.
posted by Forktine at 11:28 AM on June 9, 2008

Basically you want to avoid getting any of that skin tanned. Enough sun to turn your skin brown is enough sun to fade your tattoos.

Sunblock will slow the tanning process but it doesn't stop it. The spf rating refers to how much it slows the process and correct application is necessary to get the rating listed on the bottle. Putting on the right amount (which is generally a lot so look up the amounts for your sunblock), regular re-application, and limiting your time in the sun will go a long way to helping prevent the fade.

Even better would be using a complete barrier cream (zinc cream is the old fashioned version) or proper UV blocking clothing to prevent the sun from getting onto your skin at all. This kind of ruins the idea of people seeing them sadly, so you have to figure out where the trade off is for you.
posted by shelleycat at 3:21 PM on June 9, 2008