When you lose weight, your tattoo may change depending on how much weight you lose and how quickly you lose it. Here are some ways that weight loss can affect your tattoo:

• Placement: The placement of your tattoo will significantly impact how much it changes as your body changes. Tattoos on the hands, wrists, feet, ankles, and back of the neck will be minimally affected by weight loss. Men are apt to find that ink on their arms or stomach is significantly changed by weight variations, while women will notice more differences if their tattoo is on the hips, thighs, breasts, or belly.

• Distortion: Losing weight means shrinking the amount of fat in your body. In the process of doing that, the skin has less fat to cover and can become loose and even wrinkly. Your skin can become less elastic and doesn’t immediately snap back into place. The same principle applies to your tattoo, which may become distorted.

• Size: If your tattoo has distorted significantly due to weight loss, you may find that a skilled tattoo artist can repair or cover up the design, or you may want to consider laser tattoo removal to eliminate an unattractive tattoo.

• Movement: Your tattoo might move around a bit during weight loss. If your skin gets a bit loose during your weight loss, your tattoo might shift. If you are losing weight while also toning or building muscle, then your tattoo might find itself sculpted to your body in a different way.

Its important to note that gradual weight loss doesn’t typically affect the look of the skin or tattoo as much as more rapid and drastic weight loss. Drinking plenty of water is also important to help your tattoo remain vibrant and improve the quality of the skin, resulting in fewer changes to the tattoo.