So, on a whim, I got a tatoo on my shoulder worked on yesterday. It is an old tatoo that I always wanted to add to... I get a sick tatoo artist to ink me up yesterday. Afterwards, I was like, so should I stay out of the water for a couple days? He was like, "uhh, try a couple weeks". He told me to wait 10-14 days so i dont risk infection... Then I asked him if I taped it up with water proof bandages under my setsuit, if that would work and he still said no... What is everyone experiences? I got my first tatoo at 18 and was at Towson, obviosuly away from surf at the time... How long do you guys with ink wait?
Alright, you're going to hear people say they've gone in the next day with no problem and others who say wait this x amount of time. The end result will be based upon your choices. The reality is, you can go in when it is healed. Since tattoos heal differently on people, it may take person A 5 days to heal while person B takes 14 days. A tattoo is something that is on you for the rest of your life and the better you take care of it, the better it will look as you age. I mean, you live in CA and surf everyday. That 2 weeks out of the water won't kill you.
I waited 2 weeks for each tattoo I've gotten. Not completely sure if I needed to but figured I paid the money to get them...two weeks is not the end of the world.
Think of how a scab gets when it gets waterlogged... all mushy and gross. It definitley slows down the healing process when you get something soaking wet. When i was in the water every day for a month my cuts barely even healed at all.
I was told to wait 3 weeks. The salt water will cause the ink to spread and ruin the design. The risk of infection diminishes after about a week. I wouldn't risk it! I had to sit out overhead hurricaine swell while mines healed!
It's not just about healing... It's about the integrity of the tattoo. Once it scabs, if those scabs are rubbed off prematurely, it can take ink with it. I went in about a week and a half later, lubed it, plastic wrap, and tape under my suit, and still some scabs got rubbed off. In that spot now, there is a notiecable light spot
