Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - Does road rash destroy tattoos?

I thought this would be a question best asked to hipsters. I'm getting mine colored today (for a pretty penny) and have been wondering if it is possible to ruin tattoos with scaring, etc.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jonnystiles/sets/72157602821135391/

A guy here in NYC took a good gash from a dooring a while back, and had a clever doc sew him up in such a way to (mostly) preserve the integrity of the tattoo.

I don't know about road rash. My guess is, probably.

It depends on the person, how they heal and how deep the road rash is. But yes, a deep road rash can wipe a tattoo out or parts of it.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jonnystiles/sets/72157602821135391/

A guy here in NYC took a good gash from a dooring a while back, and had a clever doc sew him up in such a way to (mostly) preserve the integrity of the tattoo.

I don't know about road rash. My guess is, probably.

That's pretty gross. But also awesome.

I've took a slide on my shoulder some years ago, and my ink is noticeably lighter in the area where I was scraped up.

So the consensus here is:
Tattoos can be damaged by scarring.
Tattoos can not be damaged by scaring.
That about right?

If it's a quality tattoo, and you did a good job of healing, then you may lose some color but you won't "erase" it. You will need to get it touched up every once in a while. I have a pretty solid leg sleeve and two arm sleeves in progress (but both underside of forearms and elbows are done).
I've taken hits on my skateboard and lost pieces of skin, but the ink remains. Where are you getting this tattoo and how soon after getting it are you planning on eating some pavement??

inform yourself more about how tattoos work and this question will become self evident


it's kind of stupid in the first place considering in the american school system, you have to take a human biology class to get a diploma

Oh and I recently had a fairly heavy session of black on my other leg, and everyday since I've ridden my bike with shortpants, once in the rain. And it's healing fine.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jonnystiles/sets/72157602821135391/

A guy here in NYC took a good gash from a dooring a while back, and had a clever doc sew him up in such a way to (mostly) preserve the integrity of the tattoo.

I don't know about road rash. My guess is, probably.

I've seen this tattoo post-accident many months later and was impressed with how little damage there was to his tattoo.

hey one time i got road rash on my arm, on top of my partial "sleeve", and put neosporin on it everyday and my tattoo is fine.

unfortunatly the neosporin didn't fix the fact that my arm tattoos are corny.

so i think if you use stuff that's made to prevent scarring you'll be fine. but tattoos fade eventually anyway, especially from riding a lot, so don't get one if you're afraid of wear and tear. or if you're afraid of it being corny in five years.

pics or it didn't happen

short answer- yes.

Tattoos are usually 1/16th to 3/32 deep. So if your road rash goes that deep and there's ink there, yes.

I knew a kid who got rid of his with sand paper and battery acid.
I cant imagine his scar looking better than whatever was on his arm.

Tattoos are usually 1/16th to 3/32 deep. So if your road rash goes that deep and there's ink there, yes.

I knew a kid who got rid of his with sand paper and battery acid.
I cant imagine his scar looking better than whatever was on his arm.

this is the best answer in this thread. as a person who is moderately to heavily tattooed, i have had my share of cuts, rash, lots of grip tape burn. Most of my personal experience comes from skateboarding and bmx/mt. bike. As i have only been riding a fixed gear for about a year, and have yet to really eat **** on it. it all depends on how deep the cut, road rash goes. i have some ****ed up tattoos from getting hit by my skateboard. and my right shoulder lots a lot of ink from skating with no shirt and hitting the ground. but that is what touch ups are for. as long as the scar tissues isn't to bad getting a cover up/touch up isn't a problem.

The ink is under you epidermis layer and settles in you dermis. if you get cut or tear up that much skin, you are going to hurt the tattoo. no matter what the injury is from. if you are not allergic to neosporin like i am, use that to help heal the wound. it works great for minimizing scaring and speeds up recovery,.

Neosporin is garbage. Use Bacitracin Zinc. Works wonders both for wounded tattoos and initial healing of tattoos. I put Bacitracin on once in the am, one in the pm for three days, switch to lotion and it heals perfect.

PS...before someone mentions it, I know Bacitracin is in Neosporin. But Neosporin has a bunch of other junk in it that clogs pores, slows the healing of ink, and irritates.

PS...before someone mentions it, I know Bacitracin is in Neosporin. But Neosporin has a bunch of other junk in it that clogs pores, slows the healing of ink, and irritates.

you shouldn't use Neosporin to heal tattoos. as you said it clogs your pores. i was referring to the healing of wounds. personally i use Vitamin E on new tattoos, but some times that gives me a rash, so i have to use A & E. it also clogs pores so you must use a thin layer. you just want to keep a new tattoo moist. it heals on it's own in roughly a week.

Im gay

Im gay

ok. thanks for your input on the topic at hand.

I thought this would be a question best asked to hipsters. I'm getting mine colored today (for a pretty penny) and have been wondering if it is possible to ruin tattoos with scaring, etc.

well i just re-read this. you ride a bike same as me, and you are asking advice about a topic i have knowledge on. the topic refers to you getting a tattoo, and the fact that you have to say it's costing you a "pretty penny" makes me also think you are getting ripped off, unless you are getting work done by a name in the industry. either way, you call us, me included, a "hipster?" but again you ride a bike and have tattoos, why are you different than me? why are you not a hipster? I'm not getting angry, i just want to fallow your logic.

if you don't come back to this thread or don't care to respond, i hope my information was helpful.

Neosporin actually makes scars worse, because it doesn't let the wound get oxygen. If you're going to use it, just use a minimal amount.

jk

well i just re-read this. you ride a bike same as me, and you are asking advice about a topic i have knowledge on. the topic refers to you getting a tattoo, and the fact that you have to say it's costing you a "pretty penny" makes me also think you are getting ripped off, unless you are getting work done by a name in the industry. either way, you call us, me included, a "hipster?" but again you ride a bike and have tattoos, why are you different than me? why are you not a hipster? I'm not getting angry, i just want to fallow your logic.

if you don't come back to this thread or don't care to respond, i hope my information was helpful.

Maybe I'm missing something, and I very well could be, but where exactly did he say he wasn't a hipster?

Where are you getting this tattoo and how soon after getting it are you planning on eating some pavement??

best question of the thread :thumb:

seriously though, it just depends on how much skin/tissue damage is done, and how far down the scraping goes. simple road rash? probably not. gouges, dirt/rocks/etc digging into the skin and replacing chunks of your epidermis? yeah, some will probably be gone.

the key is to protect healing tissue from the sun.

well i just re-read this. you ride a bike same as me, and you are asking advice about a topic i have knowledge on. the topic refers to you getting a tattoo, and the fact that you have to say it's costing you a "pretty penny" makes me also think you are getting ripped off, unless you are getting work done by a name in the industry. either way, you call us, me included, a "hipster?" but again you ride a bike and have tattoos, why are you different than me? why are you not a hipster? I'm not getting angry, i just want to fallow your logic.

if you don't come back to this thread or don't care to respond, i hope my information was helpful.

When did I say i was not a hipster? It was a joke. Tattoos+fixed gear usually= hipster. I posed the question here because I thought this particular group would have the most relevant knowledge, as I assume there are more tattooed contributors to the singlespeed/fixed forum than any other.

Anyways, I did go to one of the best artists in the state, and payed a lot, but i think its worth it. But, of course, it is only worth it if i can preserve its quality for as long as possible.

BTW, don't throw a fit meepers because i didn't respond to your post, I was in the chair for 5 hours. I do find this information helpful, as yours is really the only post with scientific explanation, but i don't plan my life around bike forums.

5 hours is a long time. I don't know if i would want to do that.

Personally, I don't use anything when healing tattoos or scars. But the biggest tattoo I have ever gotten is "only" about 10" x 5". The day after I got it, though, I had to do a trans-atlantic flight that lasted like 10 hours and when I got up my shirt was stuck to the recently tattood area. It hurt so bad when I peeled that shirt away from the skin haha.

Does road rash hurt and ruin tattoos? An easy question deserves an easy answer:

If the road rash is bad enough to get down to the bottom layer of skin, then yes, if the road rash doesn't get to the bottom layer of skin, no, but it may cause a slight scar that makes it look "funny" but won't ruin the ink itself.

i'm heavily tattooed and took a pretty bad header once while wearing a sleeveless shirt and slid on my arm for about five feet. the whole side of my arm from wrist to shoulder was f'd up. i just used A&D for the first couple of days and washed it with AB soap and it was totally fine with no scarring. it scabbed up really bad and i thought for sure that it was going to ruin the sleeve but ended up ok.

http://www.bikeforums.net/attachment.php?attachmentid=108609&d=1245439106pics or it didn't happen

I guess he didn't have enough money for the apostrophe.

my apologies. it was the Friday that would not end. and i spent half of my day on the phone with Canada. when i went back and read your post, i took it as you were saying "hey I'm cool, i got tattoos but i aint no hipster, so hey hipsters tell something. again i apologize. where are you located? and what artist did you go to?

5 hours is a long ass sitting. i've done it several times myself. once i went about 6, my leg was hamburger. now i limit my sitting to 3-4 hours. i heal much faster if if am only getting butchered for 3 hours. then i can get worked on every week-week and a half instead of every 2-3 weeks.

No worries! That would make me grumpy. 5 hour sessions make me grumpy, so no hate!
For the record, I'm probably more "hippy" than "hipster"... I know, cats and dogs, right?

Anyways, I'm in CO and Bike Mike (formerly of Twisted Sol, and UFC-fame) hooked it up at his new shop, White Lotus. Take a look at his portfolio.

really 5 hours is that bad for you guys?

I just got my first tattoo a few weeks ago and i spent roughly 4 hours in the chair and I honestly didn't feel bad at all

I haven't sat for more then 5 hours at a time yet. My halfsleeve was 4 sessions at about 3 hours a piece. Or so. I'm assuming that the rest of it this year will take about as long.

really 5 hours is that bad for you guys?

I just got my first tattoo a few weeks ago and i spent roughly 4 hours in the chair and I honestly didn't feel bad at all

I sat for a little over 6 hours on left leg, i was young and it didn't hurt until a little after i was walking around. once the blood got back into the leg it felt like a flab of useless raw flesh. that was from my knee to my ankle all the way around my leg. a few 4-5 sitting on my chest to upper left arm when i was in college. they weren't to bad. and when you can only get tattooed once every month or two 5 hours sitting are worth it then. but working on my full sleeve 5 hours was ****ty (older and my tattoo shop was down the road from me). and the healing time doubled. more skin tattooed= more time to heal it= can't get tattooed every week if i am still healing. 5 hours on my ribs, wasn't to bad but 4 years and 20 minutes on the other side killed. as you get older it hurts a lot more. wait for it, you'll stop after a while. you can still take the pain, but it does hurt a lot more, and as i said you heal a lot faster doing 3 hours sittings than 5. works out in the long run. but hey that's what works for me. i also stopped getting tattooed in the sumer. peeling skin with humidity is the worst itch i ever felt in my life.

to the dude that said riding makes your tattoos fade: try some sunblock.

that was a pretty silly comment.

Meepers, I agree that the heat/humidity is the worst.


Coincidentally, I broke my ankle 3 days before my session, sO I was on crutches. And my tattoo was on the inside of my forearm...which was the worst for the crutches haha

I've been pretty laid up so it's taken alot of effort me to keep my mind off of the itching. Luckily though, I healed pretty quickly. Probably like 2 weeks and it stopped itching/peeling...feels like the rest of my skin when i rub it and stuff, but it's still a little rough.

Any road rash is just another scar.. wear it with pride also.

Just a reply to whoever said being outside will make your tattoos fade.....It will if you don't take care of it. But if you use decent sunscreen, it will not fade very fast at all.

I am outside for at least 2 hours a day shirtless in the sun, and after 2 years, mine still looks like this:

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd4/seedubs1/FISH.jpg

why do you not have any sign of a tan?

wut the **** is up with coy fish? my tattoos actually mean something, but fish? come on, did you really want a half sleeve that bad, that you just said, **** it, ill go with the generic sleeve or "cool" thing which is coy fish? still beyond me as to why coy fish are so damn popular, i hate fish, eating them looking at them touching them. gosh thats my rant for the week.

why do you not have any sign of a tan?

he uses sunscreen! Duh!

SPF 70 my man. That's why no sign of a tan.

And the flash from that POS camera is real bright and it makes me look less tan than I am.

coy fish are for ****. that's probably one of the most generic half sleeves. you could be on MIAMI INK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

to the dude that said riding makes your tattoos fade: try some sunblock.

that was a pretty silly comment.

1. i do, but i've had my tattoos for six years and i'm not great at re-applying sunblock after an hour (like the bottle says you're supposed to) so, yeah, the sun does eventually get to them and make them fade. maybe i'm ok with that though cause i'm kinda over them anyway.

2. i'm not a dude.