Taking care of your tattoo begins at the moment when it will become part of your body. Your skin and, the tattoo seek sun care cosmetics all year long. However, this is not entirely true. The summer, despite the other seasons, is the time of the year when your skin (tattoo) is exposed to the intense action of the sun’s rays, no matter if it is about sunbathing, an outdoor activity, sporting, etc. Not to be misunderstood: The sun and the exposure to it have their advantages, but everything comes down to the right dosage at the right time.
The UV rays which can be harmful to your tattoo can also be reduced in a few ways:
- With the physical coverage of your tattoo, mostly with some parts of your wardrobe (T-shirts, shirts, trousers…);
- With the use of protective creams with high SPF, for example, SPF 50.
I guess that for most of the tattoo owners (especially those with high-quality ones), the idea to cover their “investment” in color with shirts and T-shirts with long sleeves in summer is not that logic. To be sincere, I would not do that too. That is illogical because to damage the skin and, therefore, the tattoo when exposed to sunbathing; there is no need for hours spent under the sun. The damage can be done for ten minutes only, so coverage with wardrobe should be done in exceptional cases, which does not include the day-long beaching.
The use of protective creams that I strongly recommend is also raising several questions. What kind of cream? When? How often to use it?
My logic says this: If you don’t know what kind of cream to buy, you can get baby cream with protective factor (SPF) 50. With baby protective cosmetics for sunbathing, there is almost not a mistake. You should be careful to see SPF 50 on the bottle, it should also be waterproof, and there should also be a note that it has UVA and UVB protection. The UV radiation is composed of UVA and UVC radiation. The UVC radiation is mainly prevented by the ozone layer, which means that manufacturers of sunscreen creams are concentrated on the UVA and UVB protection. All better quality creams have protection from UVA and UVB radiation. If the offer on the market allows, you can also use creams without paraben and aluminum, which are proven to be bad for your skin.
When we are talking about when to apply the cream on the skin, it is imperative to know for what kind of product we are talking about. The more serious manufacturers of cosmetics for sunbathing have products for which they claim that there is no need to wait between the application of the cream and the exposure to the sun. However, from my own experience, 15 to 20 minutes is quite enough time between the application of the cream and the exposure to the sun.
When it comes to “how often,” I will also return to my own experience, and to the many conversations which I had with a few top dermatologists, it will be ideal for applying protective creams on each 50 to 70 minutes. Typically, this figure is flexible because it is important if, in that one hour, you are active, swimming, sporting, or simply you are lazing around.
End Of Part 1
