Tattoo + Sun Screen = Fading?

For all your guys with tattoos what do you do to keep them from fading (too fast)? What SPF sun screen or I know that they make tattoo specific sun screen which is quite expensive? Any suggestions!

I don't have a problem rocking SPF 50 every time, the kids and myself slap it on in the mornings and maybe need to re apply once during the day. Mine are all black and gray and the look great for how old they are.

I sometimes use sunscreen and sometimes I do not. All my tatts are black and no color and I have had no issues. When I do wear sunscreen I use Bannna Boat sport. 30 on my bald head and 15 every where else. It is good stuff and not greasy.

Yea mine is just black. Eventually will it look more charcoal than black with sun exposure?

I have 4. one on my arm, 1 (down each side) and 1 on my back. My arm one is the oldest and i guess you can say it has faded some. It is more of a flat black then a gloss. Best way I know how to say it. It is about 5-6 years old so I might get it touched up this winter I havent decided.

I was always told that the whiter the skin, the darker the tattoo. The tattoo is under several layers of skin. As the skin darkens over the tattoo, the ink looks weaker. In the summer my tattoos look faded and come back to life in the winter. I am no expert by any means but this theory sounded reasonable.

i'm using the hawaiian tropic 70 on my sleeve right now...better safe than sorry, that and the sleeve is only outlined right now and still needs color

I'm getting a tat next tuesday, how long should I wait to ride again?

sorry for the hijack, my gf uses bull frog spf 30 on her tats

It took mine about a month to completely heal. It depends on the size of it, obviously you will still have spots that are not fully healed and therefore more likely to get messed up. I personally would wait a full month. 2 weeks at least.

It really depends on where on your body you get the tatt. If you really want to ride, you can ride about a week after you have it done. Just goop it up with a layer of vaseline so the water doesn't get to it, and your good.

I would use extra Vaseline if you ride in dirty river water like I do. Than once you get home take the hottest shower you can handle to get that Vaseline out or it can mess up the ink and lengthen the healing process.

I wouldnt recommend vaseline on a tattoo... I did that years ago and the tattoo looks muddy. I bascially now have a full suit; arms, back, chest, stomach and neck and have only used lubriderm unscented or aquaphor (vaseline feel) The higher the SPF the better. You will still color (tan) but will block out the nasty UV rays that bleed out your tat, cause skin cancer and wrinkles... unless your going for that Don Knotts look, knock yourself out and paste yourself with baby oil. Two weeks you could be back in the water, it all depends on how your skin reacts to the tattoo. Some body's heal faster than others and like the above it also depends where.

The place where I got mine done offered a 60-day free touch up unless you didn't follow the directions. One of the ways to void the free touch up was to use Vaseline once you get it done. So at least to them it is not good.

Let me clarify, I wasn't meaning that you put vaseline on it ALL the time, only when your going to be in the water for any length of time. As soon as you get out, wipe it off. You just can't have the tattoo be submerged under water very long, and the vaseline doesn't allow the water to get to the tatt.

I always use a sunblock of 30 or higher, and re apply a few times a day.

I just use the SPF 50 baby sunscreen for my tats. They're both less than a year old w/ color so I don't want em fading!