Tattoo aftercare in Florida: sun, sweat and the Gulf

How long does a tattoo take to heal in Florida heat?

The same as anywhere: the surface closes in about two weeks, looks a little dull and milky for another two, and the deeper layers finish around the three-month mark. Heat doesn't speed that up. What it does is keep the piece wet with sweat for longer than it should be, and wet is where bacteria grow. So in summer the routine is the same routine, done more carefully: wash it more readily, dry it more thoroughly, and keep the ointment thin, because a thick layer in humidity is a seal over a damp wound.

The full routine, with how it heals week by week, is on the main page under Aftercare. What follows is the Florida-specific part.

Can I go to the beach with a new tattoo?

Not for three weeks, and that's the one people argue with. Three separate problems meet at the beach. Salt water soaks the skin and softens the scabs, so they come away early and take ink with them. The water is warm and shared with everything that lives in it: Florida's health department warns every summer against taking open wounds into warm salt and brackish water, and a fresh tattoo is an open wound. And then there's the sun, on skin that can't take it yet.

Once the surface has closed, three to four weeks in, the water is fine. The sun still isn't, not without sunscreen. Sand is its own small misery in the peeling stage; you'll be picking it out of flakes. Give it the month.

Pools, hot tubs and the Gulf

All of them wait. Chlorine irritates open skin, hot tubs are warm standing water, and the Gulf is above. Showers are fine from day one, kept short, and with the water running over the piece rather than blasting it. Baths wait with the rest.

What does the sun actually do to a tattoo?

Two things, at two stages. On a fresh tattoo, sun burns the skin that is trying to heal; a burn on a healing piece can blister and lift ink out, and you'll see the loss when it settles. On a healed tattoo, ultraviolet light breaks the pigment down a little every time, year after year, and that is where almost all fading comes from. Blacks go soft and grey, greys go faint. Nothing else, not lotion, not time by itself, comes close.

So: nothing on it until it has healed, then SPF 30 or higher, every time it's out, for good. Before it has healed, sunscreen doesn't go on it at all; cover the piece with loose clothing and keep it in the shade. In a state where it's sunny most days, this one habit is the difference between a piece that looks the same at ten years and one that doesn't.

Sweat, the gym and work outdoors

Sweat is salt water from the inside, and in the first few days it does what salt water does. Skip the gym and heavy sweating for the first three to five days, and if your work has you sweating outdoors, wash the piece as soon as you can afterwards rather than letting it sit. Loose, clean clothing over it; tight fabric rubbing a fresh tattoo wears line out of it. If you ride, cover it and wash it when you get there.

Second-skin dressings in humidity

The clear film dressings that stay on for three to five days work well here, with one thing to watch. In humidity, fluid builds up under them faster, and if the edges start to lift the seal is gone. A pocket of fluid is normal for the first day. If it keeps growing, if the film is lifting, or if it's uncomfortable, take it off under warm running water, wash the piece and carry on with the ordinary routine. Don't peel it off dry.

When to get it looked at

Redness that spreads or streaks after day three, heat in the skin, swelling that gets worse rather than better, pus, or a fever. Call the shop, and see a doctor the same day. Warm water and heat make infections move faster, so don't wait a day to see.

Questions people ask