Can You Drink Alcohol After You Get a Tattoo?

Getting a professional tattoo is reason to celebrate. However, drinking alcohol can turn a permanent piece of body art into a serious attack on your health. Given the right time to heal, your tattoo will look how it was designed to.

Immune System

• Our bodies treat alcohol as a poison that the immune system exerts energy to expel. Healing of a recent tattoo is delayed by the intake of alcohol, leading to a higher chance of infection.

Booze and Blood

• Alcohol increases blood flow to the skin, so the tattooed area bleeds more than it would normally, slowing the scab and eventual healing process.

Taking the Risk

• Drinking after getting a tattoo is not suggested but also not a guarantee of infection. The urge to subdue tattoo pain may be exceptional and easy by drinking alcohol, but be sure to limit your consumption and increase your attention to the tattoo wound.

Time Frame

• Everyone heals differently, so ask your tattoo artist for a specific time line and when it would be safe to drink alcohol.

  Most tattoos take two to three weeks to heal.

The Facts

• Tattoos create an open wound that requires tentative care. Like most wounds, they need to be cleaned regularly, with the right product and gently to prevent scars.

  Tattoos can be painful and are not for everyone. Think carefully before getting a tattoo; they are forever.