How to Look After Your Tattoo This Coming Summer

Australian summer is not gentle on tattoos.

You've got UV that could strip paint, salt water, chlorine, sand, forty degree days where you're sweating through a t-shirt by 9am, and a solid three months of beach trips, backyard barbecues and camping. It's the best time of year and it's also the hardest one on your ink.

If you've got a fresh piece healing, or you just want the work you've paid good money for to still look sharp in ten years, here's what actually matters.

The Sun

This is the big one. Direct UV exposure is one of the biggest long term threats to a tattoo, and it affects fresh and healed ink differently.

Fresh tattoo. Sunscreen isn't recommended directly on unhealed skin. The safer approach is physical coverage, a loose shirt, a sarong, a spot in the shade, rather than putting sunscreen on an open healing area. Boring advice, but a fresh tattoo and the Australian sun are not friends, and no amount of aftercare undoes a sunburnt healing piece.

Healed tattoo. Sunscreen, every single time. It's genuinely one of the most effective things you can do to keep a tattoo looking sharp over the years. UV breaks down ink pigment over time, which is why tattoos that spend years in direct sun without protection tend to fade and blur faster than ones that have been consistently protected. Blacks go grey, colours dull, fine linework softens.

For the full breakdown on sun damage and treating sunburn on new ink, see Protect Your Tattoo from Sun Damage.

Swimming

The ocean is right there and you can't get in it. Sorry.

Pools, oceans and spas are all best avoided while a tattoo is healing, generally the first two to four weeks. Chlorine and salt water can irritate healing skin, and prolonged submersion isn't good for a tattoo that's still settling.

Second skin film included. Wrap Pro is water-resistant for showering, not designed for soaking, so wearing it doesn't buy you a swim.

Once it's fully healed, swimming isn't a concern for the tattoo itself. Sun protection still is.

Sweat

Sweat itself isn't dangerous to a healing tattoo, but it can sit against the skin for long periods in hot weather, especially under clothing, which isn't ideal.

If you're sweating a lot, gently rinsing the area more often within your normal wash routine and wearing loose, breathable clothing over it helps keep things clean and comfortable.

Heavy exercise is worth minimising during the first week or so anyway, both for sweat exposure and for reducing unnecessary movement and friction over the area.

Travel

Summer means you're going somewhere, and healing a tattoo away from home is entirely doable with a bit of planning.

Pack your aftercare products, including a wash, so you're not hunting for something suitable in a servo at 10pm. If the tattoo will be exposed at any point, going through an airport or at the beach, plan your coverage in advance. Skip pools, oceans and spas while it's still healing.

And if you're heading somewhere hot and humid, the healing environment changes. It's worth checking in with your artist about anything unusual, extended heat or sun exposure, rather than guessing.

Your Summer Tattoo Routine

Wash more often, not harder. Heat and sweat mean the area gets grubby faster. Gently wash with Foam Nurse and lukewarm water, morning and night, and after anything sweaty. Don't scrub it, and don't wash it ten times a day either.

Pat dry properly. Lint-free paper towel, then let it air dry for a few minutes before anything goes on. Applying cream to damp skin in humid weather isn't doing you any favours.

Thin layers, more often. In summer heat you want light and frequent rather than thick and occasional. A heavy layer sits on the surface, traps heat and feels horrible in thirty degrees. A thin layer of Remedy Cream absorbs and gets on with it.

Dress for it. Loose, breathable, natural fibres over the top. Tight clothing plus sweat plus a fresh tattoo is a friction problem waiting to happen.

Drink water. Less a tattoo tip than a summer tip, but comfortable skin is hydrated skin.

The Don'ts

Don't swim during the first two to four weeks. No pools, no ocean, no spas. This is the one people push and regret.

Don't sunbake it. Not fresh, not ever. Fresh ink stays covered, healed ink gets sunscreen.

Don't leave sweat sitting on it for hours after training or a day out. Rinse it.

Don't smother it because it feels dry. In summer, dry usually means it needs a light layer more often, not a thicker one.

Don't pick or scratch it. Heat makes the itchy phase worse and you will want to. Don't.

One More Thing 👀

Here's the gap in almost everyone's routine. You look after a fresh tattoo religiously for three weeks, moisturising twice a day, treating it like a newborn, and then it's out in the Australian sun for the next thirty years with absolutely nothing on it.

We've noticed. We've been working on it.

That's all we're saying for now. But if SPF has been the missing piece in your tattoo routine, this summer might be a good one to pay attention.

Watch this space. 🌞

As always, follow your tattoo artist's specific aftercare instructions, since they know your particular tattoo and healing history. For the full step-by-step on washing, moisturising and protecting a fresh tattoo, see the Tattoo Care Bible.

Ink Nurse is available at over 600 Chemist Warehouse stores nationally and at ink-nurse.com. Ink Nurse is also now available in the United States, stocked at Spencer's stores nationwide.

People Also Ask

Can you go in the sun with a new tattoo?
It's best to avoid direct sun on unhealed skin and use physical coverage rather than sunscreen during the first few weeks. Once healed, sunscreen is recommended to prevent long term fading.

Can you swim with a healing tattoo?
It's best to avoid pools, oceans and spas while a tattoo is healing, generally the first two to four weeks, due to irritation risk and prolonged water exposure.

Does sweating affect a healing tattoo?
Sweat itself isn't harmful, but sitting against the skin for long periods isn't ideal. Loose, breathable clothing and normal washing help manage it.

How do I care for a healing tattoo while travelling?
Pack your aftercare products in advance, plan coverage if the tattoo will be exposed to sun, and avoid pools, oceans and spas if it's still healing.