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Touch-Up Tattoo: What You Should Know About Tattoo Retouching

It is important that your tattoo always looks vibrant, with solid lines and vivid coloring. What makes a great tattoo is the attention to the smallest details and the accuracy that can be seen within the lines, shape and color of a tattoo. In order for your tattoo to remain as vibrant and vivid as possible, you may need to go for tattoo touch-ups. Unlike cover-ups, a tattoo touch-up involves adding small bits of detail and fixing any small imperfections that may have formed. Tattoo touch-ups can be done on new tattoos as well as older ones that may have lost their vibrancy, helping to bring life back to an already existing artwork! Here at Cleopatra Ink, we are able to help fix new tattoos that may have not healed as well as you would have liked or add that extra bit of vividness back to old tattoos, all through touch-ups!

What Are Tattoo Touch-Ups?

Tattoo touch-ups refer to the covering up of certain features of your already existing tattoo, helping to redefine lines, improve the coloring and even redoing shading so that it is more even. You may be unhappy with the way your new tattoo has healed or you could even be looking to bring an old tattoo back to life with an addition of new and more vivid coloring. Whatever your needs and desires are, touch-ups on tattoos can be a great way to easily fix imperfections that may exist. While tattoos are permanent additions to your body, it does not mean that the imperfections they have cannot be adjusted by tattoo touch-ups! This is why faded tattoo touch-ups are so common and popular.

Why Do Tattoos Need Touch-Ups?

At some point, many people may want their tattoos to be touched up. This could be due to skin sagging, colors becoming less vivid over time or even the tattoo not having healed correctly. While you may be unhappy with the state your tattoo is currently in, a bit of extra ink through a touch-up can truly make all the difference! Most tattoo touch-ups have to do with skin beginning to sag and colors becoming duller over time. As your body gets older, it is inevitable that your skin will begin to change and this sagging could lead to lines shifting and dipping in places that may make your tattoo begin to look a bit scrappy. Tattoo touch-ups can easily fix these imperfections, with a few additions of solidifying lines and adding extra features, which will have your tattoo looking as good as new!

How Do You Know If You Need to Touch-Up a Tattoo?

One of the most basic things to look at when thinking about whether or not you need to touch up a tattoo is by looking at the lines and the coloring of the artwork. Are the lines correctly spaced? Are any parts of your tattoo beginning to sag? Is the color looking just a bit duller than you would like? Answering these questions and looking closely at the design can help you determine whether it is time to head back to the tattoo studio for a touch-up.

You may also want to look at new tattoos and determine whether or not they need a bit of a tattoo renewal. If a tattoo does not heal correctly, it may impact the shape, color and shading of the tattoo. If your tattoo is healing and you do not like how the shape looks on your skin, be sure to wait for it to be entirely healed before considering a touch-up. Inconsistencies may be due to the healing skin and could rectify by the time the tattoo is fully healed. This can sometimes take up to five months, depending on the person and their skin.

Which Tattoos are Eligible For Touch-Ups?

After your tattoo has fully healed and the skin has regenerated, you can go for a touch-up if you are not happy with how it is looking. Most of those who are hoping to make colors and lines more vibrant will go for a touch-up after about two to four years of getting the tattoo. Those who are looking to get a few aspects changed or imperfections adjusted on a new tattoo will wait around five months in order to give the skin enough time to fully heal.

When is The Right Time to Retouch Your Tattoo?

One of the most important things to remember when it comes to tattoo touch-ups is that the tattoo itself should be fully healed before any changes are made to it. While healing, your body is still adjusting to the ink on your skin and changes in color could be due to scabbing over the area that will eventually heal. If you are considering touching up a new tattoo, be sure to keep this in mind and wait until the area has fully healed before making a tattoo touch-up appointment.

What Happens If You Get a Tattoo Retouched Early?

Getting tattoo touch-ups before the area has properly healed can further aggravate your skin. As your skin heals and regenerates, the ink may scab and change. For a tattoo artist to be able to properly see what the tattoo looks like and make adjustments, they need to see what the skin looks like once it is fully healed. Getting tattoo touch-ups before the skin has properly had the chance to heal often leads to the artist not being able to properly determine which lines, colors or shades may need fixing. Before waiting for your tattoo to fully heal before thinking about getting touch-ups done!

What You Should Know Before Getting a Tattoo Touched Up?

Along with considering whether or not the tattoo is fully healed it is also important to remember that you are ultimately getting a new tattoo and the tattoo touch-up healing time will be relatively similar to when you first got the piece. You will need to follow the same processes of keeping the area clean and looking after it, so be sure to consider this when you are getting tattoo touch-ups!

Do Touch-Ups Hurt?

Getting tattoo touch-ups is very similar to getting a normal tattoo as the artist will still need to use needles and ink to complete the process. While the pain may still be the same, tattoo touch-ups usually take much quicker compared to entire tattoos! The length of time that it takes can be anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours, depending on what you are getting touched up and the size of the tattoo.

What Should You Do Following a Retouch to Your Tattoo?

After tattoo touch-ups, you follow a very similar process to when you first got your tattoo. Just like with any normal ink work, your skin has been irritated and aggravated just as with any open wound. It is important that you keep the area clean to ensure that it does not get infected, being sure to not touch it too much. Touching your new tattoo, or a tattoo that is healing from a touch-up can expose the area to germs and bacteria. If your tattoo gets infected, it can lead to the area being further aggravated and you run the risk of getting sick! Just like with a tattoo, it is still very important to let the skin around the area breathe, as this actually helps during the healing process.

How to Care for Tattoos That Have Had a Touch-Up?

By correctly following the aftercare instructions given to you by your tattoo artist, your tattoo touch-up should heal perfectly! The instructions would be very similar compared to when you got your original tattoo, so be sure to follow the care instructions given by your tattoo artist! Considering how the area looks both before and after tattoo touch-ups can help ensure that it heals properly!

Do Touch-Up Tattoos Heal Like Regular Tattoos?

Yes, touch-up tattoos heal in a very similar way to standard ones as they would have gone through very similar procedures. The only time that a touch-up tattoo may not heal like a normal one is when they are done when the skin has not healed properly or when they are not looked after. By being aware of when you get your tattoo touch-ups done and the tattoo touch-up aftercare instructions given by your tattoo artist, it should heal normally!

How to Avoid Touching Up Your Tattoo?

One of the most common reasons for people needing tattoo touch-ups is that they have not properly followed the after-care instructions when first getting their tattoo. Following the after care instructions can ensure that your tattoo heals properly without any inconsistencies in the coloring, shading and line work. Another very important consideration to make is the amount of sunlight that the tattoo is exposed to. Sunlight can have negative consequences as it leads to a tattoo fading far more quickly than normal. Tattoos should always have a high SPF sunscreen coated over it or it should be covered by material or by a bandage. If you are hoping to avoid color tattoo touch-ups, this will ensure that your tattoo does not fade over time. Getting a tattoo redone is a simple process, but if you want to avoid it, be sure to follow the above guidelines!

If you are wondering “Can I get my tattoo redone?” or are looking for an establishment that offers fantastic tattoos and tattoo touch-ups, look no further than any one of our Cleopatra Ink studios!