Can I Wear Long Sleeves Over A New Tattoo?
Introduction
Getting a new tattoo is exciting and you would do anything not to ruin it. New tattoos are sensitive because they have to go through a healing process. A lot of things can ruin a tattoo in its healing stage. One of those concerns is whether you can wear long sleeves over a new tattoo.
The answer is yes, only if the clothes are loosely fitted. You must avoid clothes that are tight-fitted and that touch your new tattoo. It’s best to prefer wearing light, loose, non-irritating clothes over a new tattoo. Tight garments may slow healing and harm your tattoo. A new tattoo may leak and stick for a few days.
You should stick with this article as it also covers specific types of clothes you can wear and things to avoid in the tattoo healing process.
Can I Wear Clothes Over A New Tattoo?
Anything that restricts airflow around a fresh tattoo can prevent healing. Always keep it covered. Depending on the tattoo’s location.
The healthiest decision is to wear light, flowy, non-irritating garments over a fresh tattoo. Tight garments may make the situation worse because the fabric may rub against the skin, get stuck to the tattoo, may introduce bacteria to your tattoo, and may inhibit clotting of the tattooed skin.
If possible, completely avoid wearing garments over a fresh tattoo. If you must wear clothes, choose loose ones. Blood, plasma, and ink may stain garments and irritate or infect a tattoo. These stains might be difficult to remove.
What Are The Risks Involving Clothes Over New Tattoo?
A lot of factors in clothes can do harm to your precious tattoo. So, it is important to understand the threats from clothes so you can be careful to avoid ruining your new tattoo.
The Fabric Will Rub Against The Tattoo
Since the new tattoo functions as an open wound for the first few days, this poses a double problem: the tattoo is continually exposed to pollutants and germs, and it is constantly reopened. Therefore, the tattoo will have a more difficult time drying and sealing throughout the healing process.
The Tattoo Might Get Bacterial Attack from The Fabric
Tight clothing increases the risk of transferring germs and other pollutants to a fresh tattoo. This may lead to the tattoo being infected, red, swollen, itchy, and painful.’
Problems like these may ruin your tattoo’s intricate details, leak ink, and irritate your skin. If you suspect you have an illness, seeing a doctor and getting expert guidance is your best bet.
Clothes Might Lead to Clotting And Scabbing Of The Tattoo
The tattoo will need to cease bleeding and seeping in order for the wound to dry up and shut. Wearing tight clothing that rubs against a tattoo may slow the clotting of blood and prevent the creation of scabs.
However, swelling and infection may develop if there is too much moisture in the tattooed region.
What Type Of Clothes Can You Wear Over A New Tattoo?
Wearing loose-fitting clothing is recommended after having a tattoo and throughout the first and most essential stage of the healing process, which may take anywhere from two weeks to a month.
Of course, that’s assuming the tattoo isn’t on your neck, head, or feet. Pay extra care to those spots if you’re getting a tattoo there, particularly if it’s on your feet (the issues of wearing socks and shoes). In order to keep the tattoo safe, wear baggy clothing. Less likelihood of the cloth becoming stuck on the tattoo and bringing germs and dirt with it.
The tattoo’s healing time and risk of infection will be greatly reduced since there will be no rubbing or contact between the textiles and the tattoo.
What Type Of Clothes You Should Avoid Over A New Tattoo?
Jeans and other tight-fitting garments should be avoided by both sexes if they have tattoos on their hips, glutes, thighs, intimate zones, lower or middle back, or lower abdomen.
Tight jeans and trousers should be avoided since they might cause discomfort by pressing on the skin and limiting circulation. So, too, with slim jeans and leggings. Instead, you should wear sweatpants, baggy trousers, or baggy shorts.
If you have a tattoo on your foot, you should spend as much time as possible without shoes. Tight-fitting footwear, such as socks, boots, heels, or strappy sandals, are not permitted.
Avoid having your shoes or socks rub against the tattoo by opting for slides or flip-flops. Leggings, shirts, yoga pants, gymnastics apparel, and so on should all be avoided because of how closely they fit the body during exercise.
Not only does this kind of clothes fit closely, but it also stretches. So, it may pull the treated region taut and extend over the tattoo. This may cause a lot of discomforts and might even lead to an infection.
Do Long Sleeves Protect Tattoo From Sun?
Yes, there are Long-sleeved shirts that are specially designed for tattoo owners. These shirts provide better protection than sunscreen. The fabric used in these sleeves blocks out 98% of the sun’s damaging UV rays, keeping your tattoos in pristine condition.
The fact that the long sleeves are effective in both air and water is an added bonus. After being removed from the water, the sleeves dry quite rapidly. For this reason, this is an excellent strategy for protecting your tattoo at the beach.
How Long Should You Wait Before Putting Clothes Over New Tattoo?
For the first two weeks, you shouldn’t wear tight clothes that might rub against your tattoo or sleep on it. Both of these things could slow down the healing process.
Treat this protective measure as if you were protecting a burn or wound. You don’t want clothes sticking to your wound as it will worsen the situation. Note that if you are wearing tattoo wrap you can certainly wear loose clothes over it.
6 Tips to Prevent Damage to Your New Tattoos
These are things that you have to absolutely avoid to make a mess of your new tattoo.
Avoid Sleeping Over Tattoos
Does letting your tattoo breathe by wearing baggy clothing imply you’re done caring for it?
A tattoo should not be pressed against when sleeping or sitting, even if you are wearing appropriate clothing (depending on the placement). Adjust your sleeping or sitting posture for the first week to help prevent any problems.
Do Not Exercise During The Healing Process
Healing of your tattoo is aided by a dry atmosphere, thus physical activity will delay the process.
You’ll also be exposing the tattoo to perspiration, which is full of bacteria- and virus-causing pollutants. Tight-fitting clothing traps perspiration, which may lead to infections and other health problems if worn for an extended period of time.
Wrap The Tattoo During Bedtime
Wrapping your tattoo means generally putting a protective layer of plastic which is also known as cling film. For the first few days it is important that you keep your tattoo wrapped to protect itself from outside harm.
Even though it’s not recommended, you can rewrap a new tattoo the first few nights to keep it from sticking to your clothes or bedsheets. This will also help keep everything clean. If you rewrap the tattoo, it won’t get on your pajamas or sheets and ruin them.
Exposing The Tattoo
The sunlight is bad for your skin, and prolonged exposure won’t help your tattoo heal any faster. Wearing sunscreen protects our tattooed skin from the sun, regardless of how well we’ve adapted to it.
However, make sure you don’t put any sunscreen on your tattoo while it’s still raw, but after it’s all healed, you’re good to go. Fading, discoloration, and skin damage may all be avoided with the aid of sunblock.
Scabbing The Tattoo
While it’s true that some individuals have trouble resisting the need to pick at their scabs, you shouldn’t count yourself among them.
Not picking at your tattoo’s healing scabs is particularly important since doing so exposes the wound to infection from dirt and other impurities. It takes around six weeks for a new layer of skin to grow and the old one to fully peel away. In the first several weeks, it is important to avoid touching your scabs at all costs.
Taking Long Shower
In the first several weeks after receiving a tattoo, you should avoid taking lengthy, hot showers. To keep your tattoo looking its best, you should clean it at least several times a day and take brief showers. The tattooed area may be washed and cleansed, but prolonged immersion in water should be avoided to prevent water-borne germs from infecting the open wound.
Both newbies who just received their first tattoo and seasoned ink masters may benefit from researching and following best practices for tattoo maintenance.
Conclusion
So, you’ve got the answer regarding whether you can wear long sleeves over a new tattoo.
As long as it doesn’t limit ventilation, you may wear a long sleeve over a fresh tattoo. Choose breathable, light, and not-too-tight clothing. Choose a long sleeve that doesn’t rub. You must know the tattoo aftercare technique.
