Tattoo Touch Up

What is a touch up?

A touch up is tattooing over a healed tattoo to fix any areas that are patchy, uneven, and/or dull. Some areas of the skin take ink better than others. For example, when the skin is thinner like on the hands or feet, a touch is usually required. 

How will I know if I need a touch up?

• If your artist recommends it

• If your tattoo hasn’t healed well

• If your tattoo has a lot of colour

• If your tattoo is on your hand/fingers/foot/ankle (any thin stretched part of the skin)

Your artist will advise you, but in order to see if you would benefit from a touch up, you must wait until the tattoo is fully healed. This tends to be around 6–8-weeks after your tattoo appointment. You can seek advice from sending in a photo of your healed tattoo.

Do all tattoos need a touch up after they have healed?

Not necessarily. In actual fact, a large portion of tattoos do not actually need to be touched up. If the skin has taken the ink well and has healed perfectly, it is highly likely a touch up will not be required.

If you want to prevent your tattoo from fading, please avoid sun exposure. If you are exposing the tattoo, make sure you apply sun block with a high factor on a regular basis. When the skin texture changes from exposure to the sun this will affect how the tattoo looks. 

The tattoo will change along with the texture of the skin. In particular, if you develop a skin disorder or disease, if there is any trauma to the skin, or any side effects from medication, surgery or treatment, changes can occur. Natural skin ageing is also a key factor in how the skin looks and will thus effect how the tattoo appears over time.

Do you offer touch ups for older tattoos?

Older tattoos which have faded over time may benefit from a touch up. It is worth checking with us if this is possible, especially if you had the tattoo done elsewhere. It is worth noting that some of the original colours may not be available and can be difficult to get an exact colour match for older work.

You can send an email to us at bookings@origintattoolondon.com with a photo of the tattoo you required to be touched up and we will advise you further.