Weight Changing and Tattoos
Lots of people have been asking me recently about what weight loss and muscle weight gain can do to a tattoo, and I think this is something lots of people have questions about; “should I wait to get tattoos until after I do the muscle building I’m planning?”, “Do I have to wait until I lose weight to get tattooed.” A lot of that depends on your goals and your body but I can give a little guidance as far as things to consider and ways to work around weight fluctuations. As well as some things that you may want to avoid if you’re considering getting tattooed before you’re at your target weight. Ultimately get whatever you want whenever you want.
Weight Loss
An important factor to consider if you’re worried about the tattoo changing too much is placement, and this will be different for each person. Everyone carries weight differently so these are just some general guidelines that may be able to help you plan tattoos even if you’re not at a goal weight yet. It’s important to note that shedding a few pounds won’t change your tattoo too much since skin has some elasticity. A few tattooers suggest that you won’t start to see a tattoo deforming much until you’re losing over 20lbs and again it depends on your body, that may not change everyone’s ink. Changes will be more evident if the tattoos are in higher risk areas. Keep in mind everything here is a generalization since everyone’s bodies are so unique.
Some high risk areas that you may want to avoid if you plan on losing weight after a tattoo would be places people usually carry weight such as, stomachs, underarms, thighs, lower back and hips. Some other areas you might consider getting tattooed are places with lean muscle. These areas tend to change less with losing weight, such as forearms, wrists, ankles, upper back, calves or shoulder blades for some people. These places tend not to have skin move as much even with weight changes. That’s not to say you shouldn’t get a hip tattoo or that you can only get tattooed on your wrists and ankles, these are just some things to consider while you’re planning if you have worries.
Another thing to consider may be the shape of your tattoo, whether it’s the image you chose or a part of the design aspect. For example something geometric or circular, like a globe or pocket watch may look more deformed with fluctuating weight because of the perfect circles and symmetry shifting. Something more organic may be a better choice because there is more variation so they can be more forgiving as your skin moves. It is important to remember that no matter if you’re someone who’s planning on losing or gaining weight, there is regular wear and tear in your skin and tattoo. So it likely will move slightly over the course of your life no matter what.
Another risk is that the tattoo may lose some details or sharpness as the skin moves but again, it’s very subjective to each person. Depending on the tattoo, placement, and where you carry weight the tattoo may lose some details as you lose weight. This is less likely if you lose weight slowly. Dropping a lot of weight in a short amount of time will cause drastic changes in your skin and tattoo; however if you’re losing weight slowly or at a steady pace it gives your skin time to bounce back. There are some things you can do to help your skin and tattoo stay as close to how it is before losing weight! (See section at end)
This is a before and after of Amy Murphy @splattard as you can see she was careful with her placement and they still look great after! Go checkout her whole feature on Inked magazine for first hand experience losing weight with tattoos. https://www.inkedmag.com/original-news/tattooweightloss
Barriers
Along with this I want to go over some things that seem like barriers that actually can be worked with. Starting with stretch marks. A skilled tattoo artist will be able to either work around or incorporate stretch marks into the tattoo, depending on the severity. I can vouch for this, Chis @damncoyotechris did an illustrative portrait on one of my thighs and there is actually a stretch mark running right down her forehead. The way that he chose to do the placement, shading, and lightsource makes it completely disappear and she is beautiful, and if you weren’t me you probably wouldn’t know that there was even a mark there!
I’ve also heard people thinking that they can’t get tattooed if they’re bigger and I really want to clear this up. Any artist should be able to work with you to give you the best tattoo possible, unless you also have a skin condition or something else that makes tattooing difficult or not possible, fatty tissue can absolutely be tattooed and turn out beautifully.
Gaining Muscle Mass
I’ve been asked a few times about how gaining weight or more specifically muscle might affect a tattoo. Should you wait to get tattooed until you’re at your goal of having bulging biceps? The short answer is no, but I’ll elaborate. The skin is very elastic so putting on muscle mass shouldn’t affect the tattoo too much; unless you’re going full Arnold Schwarzenegger bodybuilding. If you are planning on body building maybe wait to get that tattoo but if you’re just going to the gym to get healthy and just bulk up a little go ahead and get that tattoo.
Putting on healthy muscle mass won’t change your tattoo too much, but be mindful of your design and placement. Something like a geometric design may shift just enough to look off because these designs rely on a lot of perfection. For the most part you shouldn’t see too much movement that isn’t comparable to regular wear and tear of skin and the tattoo.
Mitigating Risk
There are a few things that will help with skin elasticity and may help your skin either bounce back or stretch with the least amount of change to your tattoo. Skin gets its elasticity from collagen and you can do things to improve your collagen production. A healthy diet is a big one but you can supplement vitamins instead of changing your whole diet. Vitamin C and omega-3 fatty acids are what build collagen in your body, so taking these supplements could help with your skin elasticity and keep that tattoo in as best condition possible. People in North America are often lacking in Vitamin C (which also helps with blood pressure and your immune system) and Omega-3 fatty acids (which promote brain health) so for your tattoo and maybe just for yourself, take your vitamins. Another thing that is simple and often overlooked is staying hydrated. When you’re drinking enough water and your skin is hydrated it has more elasticity as well as feeding yourself enough and (somewhat) properly.
If you’re losing weight, refilling some of that skin with muscle can help keep the tattoo in shape. Just regular working out is enough (you don’t need to move into your local gym) and can show you some improvement, some even suggest that resistance training will give you the best results concerning tattooed skin. If you want more specific advice related to your body or your tattoo vision, I recommend reaching out to your artist for a consultation and just having a discussion about different possibilities for you.
At the end of the day, tattoos look wonderful on all bodies and everyone is entitled to getting exactly what they want when they want it (schedule permitting). I know this can be a sensitive topic so if you have anything to add or if I need to change something, as always please reach out. My email is in the contact section at the bottom of the site along with the anonymous Q&A feature if you’d like to give some anonymous feedback.
Sources:
- https://hpfreemanpni.org/do-tattoos-look-bad-after-weight-loss/
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uEP1nZHgIlY
- https://adrenalinestudios.com/where-to-get-a-tattoo-if-you-consider-yourself-overweight/
