Do tattoos stretch?

Whats up,

I was thinking about getting a tattoo on my delt, covering pretty much the whole thing and maybe something on my upper pec. Do tattoos stretch or fuck up if you get any bigger though? Cuz I want to get a lot bigger, I'm only 18 now.

Bump...I'd like to know too.

"Will weight gain or loss affect my tattoo?
Any tattoo can be affected by changes in size of the body, but the good news is that it's usually not that noticeable. Tattoos can be very forgiving, and if the weight gain or loss occurs slowly enough, this gives your tattoo time to "adjust". Imagine a balloon with a logo on it - I'm sure you've seen them. The logo appears essentially the same when the balloon is full as it is when it's deflated, with maybe a slight difference in depth of color. Your skin will usually not undergo as much size change as a balloon, so the changes in your tattoo should be even less visible. Your skin is very elastic and stretches and contracts without much incidence, in most cases. Stomach tattoos and pregnancy are possibly one of the exceptions."

"Can Stretch Marks Damage My Tattoo?
Unfortunately, yes they can. Which is why it's important to think about where you are placing your tattoos if you might get pregnant or have weight fluctuation difficulty. Areas that are most prone to stretch marks are the lower back, under arms and breasts, stomach, and abdomen."

(About.com)

Good info! Thanks DocMD.

From experience, they will stretch with you and unless you gain 94949884 lbs in a short amount of time, it's not going to be noticible. Now if you have a little pea sized shamrock on your shoulder when you're skinny and you gain 50 lbs of muscle, it's going to look like a vacination scar.

Ive have a half sleeve, and when I started lifting I was worried, but finally said fu** it. They stretch with your skin, and rarely damage unless there are stretch marks involved!

Good info. I like tatoos, but not on me... hehe

ive got both of my delts covered and im working my way to have my entire top part of the back covered connecting the delt tats into one big one. Im only 21 so i have some time to do it. They are so addicting.

As far as stretching, i have gained about 20lbs since my first tat and have noticed no difference. Im pretty much in agreement with everyone so far

They will stretch with ya. However some will fade with age or heavy exposure to the Sun! But those tats are way cool too.

MJ

i have one on my right delt and have just finidhed my cycle.....gained 12 pounds even took delt shots, no stretch but you may wanna watch out with puttin any ink on ur chest it could happen there that is were most strech marks appear even though i have none, i would think twice about gettin a pec inked.

I have one on each shoulder and Ive gained 57 pounds since i got them and I cant tell the difference.

i have one on my left peck, one on my left rear delt, one on my back right calf and one on my left side calf, so far my weight has fluctuated from 180 to 230 and now back down to 182...the tats still look good. faded a bit, but that is with age and getting them redone is something that i will look foward too, like gettin em all over again.

Mine don't look weird at all and I've fluctuated as much as 45lbs in weight...

I've an Irish flag on my shoulder which has slightly moved to the front. But then I guess I've put on at least 100lbs since it was done, maybe slightly more. The rest are all pretty much where I put them. Although I don't have a huge amount.

Looking like some jail house tats, you have there!

As long as you dont gain a HUGE amount of weight in a short period of time you are fine. nothing to worry about. i just got my entire upper right back tattood. and i am not worried at all about it stretching. Just make sure you give your tat ample time to heal once you get it. no gym for about a week and a half.

Spoon