Whether or not you should cover your tattoos in an airport depends on whether the tattoo is fresh or if the tattoo has already healed. Covering your fresh tattoo to prevent germs in an airport is not necessary if you’re using proper tattoo after care products.
However you should cover your healed tattoo if you want to go unnoticed by airport security. Having visible tattoos in an airport will result in an increased scrutiny by TSA and other airport authorities.
Here’s what you need to know about covering your tattoos in an airport.
Should I cover my Tattoos In An Airport To Prevent Germs?
Covering your new tattoo in an airport to avoid germs is not necessary. And it’s advisable not to cover your fresh tattoo in an airport. Instead, you should be letting the tattoo heal without a bandage.
If you’re following proper tattoo after care guidance, you won’t cover your new tattoo in an airport. Leaving the bandage on a fresh tattoo for an excessive amount of time is not advisable.
Instead you should thoroughly clean your new tattoo and apply a professional tattoo aftercare cream before arriving at the airport.
Dedicated tattoo aftercare creams and salves act as a barrier coat. They prevent dirt and germs from entering your new tattoo. Professional tattoo aftercare creams and salves will have antibacterial and antimicrobial qualities.
Following proper tattoo aftercare procedures with a dedicated tattoo cream or salve applied, it is perfectly okay to travel. And you should not cover your new tattoos in an airport.
Should I cover My Tattoos For TSA?
I always cover my healed tattoos when I’m in an airport. The reason I cover my tattoos in an airport is the added scrutiny I receive when I have my tattoos visible.
I don’t like being treated like a criminal just because I have tattoos. And when my tattoos are visible I find that I am subject to even more searches by TSA and other airport authorities. So I cover my tattoos when I’m in an airport.
If I was traveling with a fresh tattoo I would follow proper tattoo aftercare procedures and wouldn’t worry about covering my tattoos in the airport for that trip. But as soon as the tattoo had healed I would go back to covering my tattoos in an airport when I travel.
If the TSA and other airport authorities can’t see my tattoos they can’t typecast me as a criminal. Profiling based on stereotypes is just a part of life when it comes to traveling with tattoos. So I cover my tattoos when traveling unless my ink is fresh.
If my ink isn’t fresh I cover it whenever I go anywhere near authority types. And I do this because it makes my journey easier. And because I think it makes everyone else safer.
If TSA isn’t wasting their time on me they might actually focus on other people who might be doing the wrong thing. They might actually start searching bad guys as opposed to every tattooed person or pretty lady that comes their way.
But if you don’t mind the extra scrutiny you’ll receive for having visible tattoos then you needn’t cover your tattoos.
Yet, if you’d rather just cruise through TSA and the other security personnel, you need only cover your tattoos and watch how much easier the process of checking in for your flight becomes.
I’ll also add that if you’re interested in seeing just how far a tattooed guy can travel and the destinations, you can also check out my travel blog.
