Managing Tattoos and Contact Sports in South Florida

We live in South Florida. SoFl plays hard all year round – the joys of living in the Sunshine State! We also know summer brings school sports specifically back into play – often before school is even back in session! Managing tattoos and contact sports in South Florida can be a challenge. Sometimes your sport of choice is swimming (soaking in water, especially chlorine water, is a big no for a fresh tattoo). Or beach volleyball (sand is abrasive!). Or tackle football. Or soccer. You’re looking for SoFl sports & tattoo information, it’s probably soccer. That ball impacts all sorts of body parts. Keeping that in mind, we have some thoughts to share in regards to sweaty contact sports and how they mix (spoiler: they don’t!) with fresh new tattoos. Don’t worry piercing enthusiasts, we wrote this companion article just for you!

Much like the piercing article, we know it’s November and this is a little late. A lot late. As stated in that article, this is the type of information we take for granted and don’t necessarily think to share until someone asks. Then ten more people ask. Then we realize this information isn’t readily available and maybe we should do something about that. So we are.

New tattoos require care and a gentle hand. Sports are often the exact opposite, making your new sports schedule something to take into consideration before getting a new tattoo. We hear quite a few local schools also prohibit the display of any tattoos when participating in sports, if not the tattoo itself in general. A new tattoo can be as unwelcome in the changing room as it is on the field.

Average Timelines for Resuming Sports

Tattoos Under Two Weeks Old

If your tattoo is under two weeks old, your skin is definitely still healing. Depending on how long it’s been, it may still be red and tender to the touch. If you got Saniderm™ or another adhesive bandage film, it may still be on your tattoo. That is both good and bad. Good because it helps provide a barrier from dirt, germs, and unintentional rubbing. Bad because it means your tattoo is very fresh and maybe sports aren’t the best idea just yet. Especially if your sport is swimming!

Generally speaking, keep a new tattoo away from water sources. Avoid soaking it in a bathtub, an ice bath, a hot tub, a sauna, a pool, or the ocean. We suggest staying away from activities that will leave you excessively sweaty. Also, avoid activities that involve bodily impact, as they could further damage your healing skin. That includes sports like football, basketball, soccer, hockey, and baseball.

Some solo sports can cause problems with fresh tattoos as well. Weightlifting is one example. Dirty equipment could potentially rub against your tattoo and lead to infection. Additionally, those doing heavy lifting might stretch the skin, causing tears in the healing tissue. We’ve seen it happen.

If your tattoo is in a spot with minimal friction from movement, you can enjoy non-contact sports. Bowling is a fine option if your arm stroke doesn’t rub against yourself. Golf works, too, if your tattoo is not where it would rub during your swing.

Tattoos Two to Six Weeks Old

If your tattoo is two to six weeks old, your skin is still healing. Your bandage film should be long gone. It is probably less tender than it was when your tattoo was freshly applied, but don’t let that trick you. You should still be washing it gently and moisturizing it a few times a day. Swimming/soaking should be ok by this time. Excessive stress from body movement can harm the thin layers of fresh skin. Your clothes rubbing against it can also cause damage. Additionally, other humans or sports balls slamming into it too soon risks damaging the new skin. This is not the ideal time to jump into an IRONMAN Triathlon.

Healed Tattoos

If your tattoo is already healed, you can generally pretend your tattoo is not there for the duration of your game. What we mean is, by now it’s just skin. Pretty skin, but just skin and not a wound. We prefer not to deal in absolutes. Your body is unique to you. What works for your bff may not work for you.

We hope we haven’t scared you off of managing new tattoos and contact sports in South Florida. It isn’t that it’s hard. It will require some pre-planning to make sure you aren’t in a healing phase during the big game. Or during summer scrimmage. Or even just a pick-up game. We want your tattoo to heal beautifully. We aim to provide you as much information as possible to help that happen.

If you have basic aftercare questions, you can reference our aftercare suggestions right here. If you can’t find the answer to your specific question or need more clarification, give us a call or text and we’ll be happy to chat about your tattoos. They’re kind of our business. Don’t have a tattoo yet but have questions about what to expect? We love to go over that information too!