Fading

[cuzzo]

I have a skull and crossbones tattoo on my calf that I only got about 5 years ago and it is already really faded. I put lotion on it a lot and I was really careful while it was healing so-- why is it already fading and what can I do to make it look like it did when I first got it?

[DanGer]

cuzzo,

It depends on how often you are in the sun. The sun is the worst enemy of your tattoo and if it is on your calf and you wear shorts a lot the chances are you will have some fading. Now 5 years is not long at all so im wondering if your artist didnt press down hard enough to get your colors really set deep. Unfortunately it will never look like the day you first got it but you can contact the guy or gal who did your work and ask them if they will do a little touch up session for you.

[EatWORLD]

5 years sounds too soon for your tattoo to be fading. I would have someone redo the outlines and darken it back for you

[Gonzo]

I would see if you can go back to the original artist and try to have him use the same colors so you dont change anything

[various]

How come nobody has invented a type of coloring that doesnt fade in the sun?

[hatcher]

The sun fades everything and there is nothing you can do about it

[Familia]

hatcher wrote :
> The sun fades everything and there is nothing you can do about it

How often can you go get it retouched?

[BlackFlag]

Familia wrote :
> hatcher wrote :
> > The sun fades everything and there is nothing you can do about it
>
> How often can you go get it retouched?

As long as you are fully healed as many times as you want there is no limit.

[Barney]

Gonzo wrote :
> I would see if you can go back to the original artist and try to have him
> use the same colors so you dont change anything

Best advice.Using the original artist guarantees it will be the same as before

[WallE]

various wrote :
> How come nobody has invented a type of coloring that doesnt fade in the
> sun?

That ink would cost a fortune which would make the tattoo unaffordable