Is a Tattoo touch-up necessary?
Tattoos become part of your body and will remain with you for the rest of your life. So just like the rest of your body, you need to take care of the tattoo too.
Now as the tattoo has become a part of your body, it will degrade, fade, smudge, and stretch over with time because your body is changing. This is due to external factors like sunlight, and friction too. This doesn't happen in a week or a few months, but it's likely to happen over a few years. Not all tattoos will require touchups, but some will require 1 or even 2 touchups over the year.
Here are 6 factors that determine if you really need a touch-up:
1. Your tattoo has faded
Tattoo touch-ups are often necessary after a tattoo fades away. Exposure to external factors, as well as your skin regenerating itself constantly, are two of the main reasons why tattoos fade away. Colored tattoos suffer the most impact as different colors might fade at a different rate as well as depending upon your skin tone too the appearance of the tattoo might change.
There is a difference between a fresh tattoo and a faded one. Your tattoo will take weeks to heal and settle. A healed tattoo won't be as bright as a fresh one.
An example of a faded tattoo:
2. You want to improvise the design
As time passes, you might want to add a few elements to your tattoo, so you might need a touch-up and improvement session. This can happen in the case of overlapping elements or elements that are very close to each other. It can occur as soon as the tattoo is healed.
Here’s an example of an improvised design along with a touch-up.
3. Your tattoo has smudged
When tattoos are done by a professional, the ink is placed correctly in the “dermis”, which is below the epidermis layer. Here the tattoo ink doesn't smudge much and the tattoo remains clean and sharp over time.
When tattoos are done by amateurs, they usually etch too deep and tattoos smudge over time while healing, which is also called Tattoo Blowout. Smudged tattoos are tricky to fix but an experienced professional can make the absolute most of them. Here is an example of a smudged tattoo done by an amateur.
4. Your tattoo was infected
A tattoo may become infected while it is healing, acne may develop, boils may form, or even some severe bug bites will produce pus. Sometimes along with pus, some ink comes out too. Infection can be due to a number of reasons like poor aftercare, unsanitized equipment, allergic reactions, etc. The most effective way to get around this is to be patient while the tattoo heals and always stick to an experienced artist with hygienic equipment.
5. Tattooed area was injured
Since a tattoo is part of your skin, if there was any sort of scrape or injury, it might also be affected.
Not only could it be due to scraping, but tattoos will also most likely fade when undergoing surgery. This is because itches and incisions leave a permanent mark on your body, as do tattoos. More severe injuries like a third degree burn due to fire/acid will also damage the skin and so will your tattoo.
6. Tattoo has become too old
Over time, your tattoo will age with you, your body and skin will age too, and your skin may stretch or loosen. This will happen at various stages of life.For example, a tattoo on the abdomen will suffer due to pregnancy. Also, due to wrinkles with age, your tattoo might look smudgy. An experienced tattoo artist can help improve this.
As we wrap up the article, we can say that your tattoo will most likely require a touchup over a lifetime. Therefore, hiring a well-experienced tattoo artist who is knowledgeable is definitely worth the investment.
