There’s a lot more that goes into getting a tattoo than just agreeing on a tattoo design and where it will go on your body. You need to prepare your skin and your body for the process. 

You need to eat and drink lots of fluids before going to your appointment and get plenty of rest. Your skin also needs to be prepared for the procedure. It must be cleaned thoroughly, removing any oils or creams on your skin. 

If the area on your body where you’re having the tattoo has lots of hair, you will need to shave the area. By shaving, you’ll allow the tattoo artist to complete the tattoo without any issues and will make sure that the stencil sticks to your skin properly.

Following the tattoo procedure, your tattoo will need to heal. The healing process requires lots of care and attention to get your skin back to its best condition and your tattoo looking stunningly perfect.

Will Hair Grow Back Over a New Tattoo?

The first few days following your tattoo procedure, your tattoo will be an open wound. You will need to care for it in the same way as you would any cut or graze. It needs to be kept clean at all times and moisturized but only with specific creams and lotions. You need to be careful to not use perfumed lotions on your new tattoo.

If the area where you have the tattoo didn’t have hair before the procedure, it won’t grow any hair after you get your tattoo.

If you had hair that was removed to have the tattoo, this hair will almost certainly grow back. It may take a little time as the skin was damaged during the tattoo procedure, and it will need to heal itself before any hair grows back. 

There’s no need to worry, the hair will start to grow back as normal after the first few days and will gradually look as it did before you got your tattoo.

Why Shave Before Getting a Tattoo?

Shaving the area before getting a tattoo makes it easier for the tattoo artist to complete the tattoo. This gives them a clear view of your skin without having to fight through a jungle of hair. 

Removing any hair will also allow the tattoo stencil to stick to your skin. The perfect stencil positioning will make sure that the design is transferred to your skin as a perfect representation of the design on paper. As the tattoo artist completes the tattoo, any remaining hair may result in interference with the needle and leave you with blank spots in the tattoo.

As the hair will grow back, there’s no reason why you wouldn’t shave before getting a tattoo. Shaving the area will give you the perfect results that you expect and dream about.

Ingrown Hair Worry

People do worry about ingrown hairs when shaving for a tattoo. An ingrown hair occurs when the hair grows back into the skin rather than out of the skin. This can cause pain and inflammation with bumps in the skin that can contain pus. 

It is possible that you may suffer from ingrown hairs after shaving. However, if you make sure that the area is shaved using shaving foam or gel, the chances will be reduced. Many tattoo artists will shave the area when it’s dry which will increase the chances of issues occurring. 

The direction that you shave also affects ingrown hairs. You need to shave the hair in the same direction that it grows to prevent any issues.

If you do have ingrown hairs, don’t touch, scratch, or rub them. They need to be left untreated until the tattoo has healed. You can then treat them as needed but be careful to not puncture the skin as this will damage the tattoo.

Conclusion

As you can see from our guide, hair will grow back over your tattoo once the tattoo area starts to heal. However, If you didn’t have hair there before, you won’t get any new hair after the tattoo process. The hair may grow back slowly initially but will be back to normal in no time.

Remember that the better you prepare your skin, the better it will heal following the tattoo process. This will also help to prevent any ingrown hairs or damage to your skin.

We hope that we’ve answered your question and you now feel a little more comfortable about shaving before getting a tattoo.