Firediver
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Is it a good idea to dive a day after getting a tattoo?? or is it better a week later??
new Tatoo and Diving
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You are supposed to keep your new tattoo dry for a few days. I'd wait a week. You should wrap it before you shower as well.
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It is recommended that one avoid sun, salt & chlorinated water, or abrasion for at least 2 weeks following tattooing, longer if healing is impeded in some way. Keep the tattoo covered with A&D or Vit E ointment until healing is complete. Watch for infection.
After that, protect it from sun (e.g., sun block when it must be exposed) for the lifetime of the artistry. It will stay nicer longer if you also put on a thin coat Vaseline or the like on a daily basis.
Best regards.
DocVikingo
After that, protect it from sun (e.g., sun block when it must be exposed) for the lifetime of the artistry. It will stay nicer longer if you also put on a thin coat Vaseline or the like on a daily basis.
Best regards.
DocVikingo
OP
Firediver
Contributor
I am getting a tattoo on tuesday 21st and will be either diving the 25th<not comfirmed> but the 28th for sure and the 31st... the dive on the 28th, would it be a good idea to cover it with a vaseline gauze and duct tape??<duct tape the universal tool> at least to keep it dry? I am diving with a fairly tight semi-dry suit. with ashorty on top. I am getting the tattoo mid thigh. where my suite is the tightest and tends to stay some what dry.......... I do have a trauma kit with a bunch of fun stuff it it I could use....but I like duct tape 
heehee
Thanks for the advice about keeping it out of the sun will keep that in mind for next summer.... Vaseline every day to keep the tattoo looking good?? I don't understand what vaseline does for the tattoo
heeheeThanks for the advice about keeping it out of the sun will keep that in mind for next summer.... Vaseline every day to keep the tattoo looking good?? I don't understand what vaseline does for the tattoo
flima_brazil
Guest
Firediver.....
I would wait to get the tattoo done after the dives and would certainly wait a few weeks before getting it exposed at all. Just to wear the wetsuit it's gonna hurt a little bit. Tattoo is something for the whole life. You don't want to screw it just because you can't wait a week or two before getting it exposed. Even with vaseline, duct tape and the wetsuit, it'll still be kind of exposed.
Just my 2 cents.
Flavio
I would wait to get the tattoo done after the dives and would certainly wait a few weeks before getting it exposed at all. Just to wear the wetsuit it's gonna hurt a little bit. Tattoo is something for the whole life. You don't want to screw it just because you can't wait a week or two before getting it exposed. Even with vaseline, duct tape and the wetsuit, it'll still be kind of exposed.
Just my 2 cents.
Flavio
I'm new to diving, but not tatoo's or swimming. I grew up on a lake and I have 7 tatoo's. Do not expose your tatoo to salt water until it's completely healed. Approx two weeks. It takes a good 5 - 7 days for it to completely scab and another week to shed and grow that layer you just shed. Wearing a shorty, that will constrict on the tatoo, and rub it could tear the scab and cause infection and then it'll scar, seen it happen on an ex-husband. My opinion, either wait until you have two free weeks then get the tatoo, or get the tatoo and cancel your dives for two weeks. Also if you chose to get the tatoo and dive anyway, don't rip the scabs off with the shorty, it could bleed and then your color will bleed out. Tatoo's are expensive, and painful, not worth the risk as far as I see it.
Jane
Jane
OP
Firediver
Contributor
I can wear the semi dry withot the shorty and still be warm.. and the shorty is just above the knee.. could it still tear the tattoo that low???
hambleto
Club Web Master
If I were you I would not get the ink till after the diving. However if you can not and have to get the ink before the water, talk to the artist. He may have a suggestions on how to help to keep it dry. I myself never swim for at least 10 days after I get fresh ink.
One thing I have seen done. Although I would NEVER do it myself. Is to put a very thick layer of ointment on the tattoo (do not rub it in, you want a layer thick enough that you can not see the ink through it). Put plastic wrap over the tattoo gently so that you do not squeeze the ointment away. Now, tape around the edge of the plastic wrap so that there is a tight seal on the flesh. (This is the most important lawyer of tape because it will keep the ointment inside and on the tattoo) Then run more layers of tape over the flesh and the plastic wrap so that it covers the entire plastic wrap and a good bit of the surrounding tissue. The idea here is that that plastic wrap and first layer of tape will keep the ointment on the tattoo and not let it soke into the surrounding tape.
You will do what you will do, but I would not get the ink done before the water. And as always.. Think before you ink!
On a side note, if your tattoo forms a true scab over it, your artist is running the needles too deep! 20 years ago when artists were using true inks and felt that they had to be pusshed deep into the tissue to last scabs were normal. The new styles of ink available does not require this. If your artist has to run that deep, find a new artist and save yourself the pain. Besides it hurting alot more then it needs to, running to deep can cause scare tissue to form. If they are at the right depth the outermost layer of skin will flake off (and it will be colored), but you should not have a scab.
One thing I have seen done. Although I would NEVER do it myself. Is to put a very thick layer of ointment on the tattoo (do not rub it in, you want a layer thick enough that you can not see the ink through it). Put plastic wrap over the tattoo gently so that you do not squeeze the ointment away. Now, tape around the edge of the plastic wrap so that there is a tight seal on the flesh. (This is the most important lawyer of tape because it will keep the ointment inside and on the tattoo) Then run more layers of tape over the flesh and the plastic wrap so that it covers the entire plastic wrap and a good bit of the surrounding tissue. The idea here is that that plastic wrap and first layer of tape will keep the ointment on the tattoo and not let it soke into the surrounding tape.
You will do what you will do, but I would not get the ink done before the water. And as always.. Think before you ink!
On a side note, if your tattoo forms a true scab over it, your artist is running the needles too deep! 20 years ago when artists were using true inks and felt that they had to be pusshed deep into the tissue to last scabs were normal. The new styles of ink available does not require this. If your artist has to run that deep, find a new artist and save yourself the pain. Besides it hurting alot more then it needs to, running to deep can cause scare tissue to form. If they are at the right depth the outermost layer of skin will flake off (and it will be colored), but you should not have a scab.
I would suggest looking for some post operation waterproof bandages, i know 3M is one company that makes them. They are cheap and you should be able to find them at most pharmacies. You could cover the new tatto with vasaline to prevent the bandage from sticking. They worked perfectly for me on a recent dive trip during which I had a wound on the side of my chest that normaly would have ruled out diving but I was heading to Sipidan and would not accept the words NO DIVING. I did 20 dives in five days including a couple down to 120' and one bandage per day and not a trace of a leak.
RichLockyer
Guest
Just wait and get the tat after you get home.
I've spent over 14 hours "in the chair" with Celtic work on both shoulders and the back of my calf.
It really isn't worth the chance that you're going to screw it up, or worse, cause a serious health problem.
The tat is treated by the body like a burn, and it is just as suceptible to infection as a burn. You have two problems... seawater is LOADED with things that can cause infection, and even if you can seal it up so it doesn't get wet, you are still going to sweat A LOT while diving... the heat and moisture from the sweat creates an environment that infectuous "buggies" just love.
If you screw it up, it's screwed up for life. It MAY be repairable, but it may not be. Either way, coverup work is not cheap, and is often twice the size of the original mistake.
I've spent over 14 hours "in the chair" with Celtic work on both shoulders and the back of my calf.
It really isn't worth the chance that you're going to screw it up, or worse, cause a serious health problem.
The tat is treated by the body like a burn, and it is just as suceptible to infection as a burn. You have two problems... seawater is LOADED with things that can cause infection, and even if you can seal it up so it doesn't get wet, you are still going to sweat A LOT while diving... the heat and moisture from the sweat creates an environment that infectuous "buggies" just love.
If you screw it up, it's screwed up for life. It MAY be repairable, but it may not be. Either way, coverup work is not cheap, and is often twice the size of the original mistake.
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