Tattoo Design Help

Often people do not think about how weight gain or weight loss will affect the tattoo in future. They do not think about what will happen to the tattoo over a long-term period, they are more concerned about having the tattoo quickly. Among few common questions regarding tattoo is “What will happen to the tattoo if I gain or lose weight, will it stretch or shrivel?” The other question which arises is “What will happen to the tattoo structure and color if I gain or lose weight, will the color fade?” Answers to these specific questions are obviously yes; the tattoo can elongate in size, shrivel and fade in color; all these depend on where the tattoo is placed and how much of an alteration your body has undergone.

The only areas where the tattoos can be prevented from stretching, shrinking, or discoloration are the skin surfaces under lower back, legs, arms, foot, ankle, wrist, shoulder blade, behind the ears, and the lower bikini area. Weight loss and weight gain both affect even the minute details of the tattoo, a gain or reduction of about 5-12 pounds does not matter so much but 20 pounds really matters a lot to the structure of the tattoo. One of my friends has a tattoo of her child’s portrait on middle of her back but due to continuous fluctuation of her weight over a period of one year she developed changes in lines of her tattoo. Few lines seemed curvy instead of straight at a certain angle of the tattoo. The only obvious reason behind this was the weight loss of about 50 pounds, which was the cause of this distortion. Further she gained some weight but the elevated skin was there for some period. Hence the tattoo was in the continuous procedure of stretch and shrivels.

A self-aware and thoughtful person will always think about weight issues before getting tattoos done. Some people think that overweight people take longer time in healing tattoos. This is definitely not a true statement. The process of healing tattoo may be different from person to person. Few people may only experience a little itch and no scab, while others might experience scab and itch both together. One to four weeks time is normally needed for the process of tattoo healing. The healing procedure has nothing to do with weight issues.

You should sit with your artist and ask about the best body parts to get the tattoo. It is recommended that never get a tattoo done on a body part that has stretch marks. Now a question arises that why is it not advised to get tattoo on skins having stretch marks to cover them? The natural answer that comes is when tattoo ink is applied on a skin having stretch marks, it leaves a very splotchy effect on the skin. The ink eventually penetrates the skin, which further makes the skin look distorted.