Whether you’ve been planning every minute detail of your tattoo for years… or you just want to get inked on a whim… there are some important factors to consider. One of the most important things to think about is your medication, especially if you’re taking blood thinners!

In this quick guide to tattoos and blood thinners, we’ll explain if you can even get a tattoo when you’re taking blood thinners and other important things you should know about.

As always, we highly recommend checking out temporary tattoos before you get inked for the first time. They’ll allow you to enjoy some body art even if you’re on a cocktail of blood thinners!

Can I Get Tattoos on Blood Thinners – The Short Answer

Getting a tattoo when you are on blood thinners (also known as anticoagulants) is possible but many tattoo artists won’t allow it. There are also some side effects and risks that range from a higher possibility of getting an infected tattoo to losing a lot of blood during the session.

Blood thinners prevent your blood from clotting, which makes for a very bloody and messy tattoo session. It also prevents your tattoo from healing quickly and safely afterwards.

Bottom line: most tattoo artists won’t ink you if you’ve taken blood thinners, and if they do, only very small tattoos are safe for you.

Why Blood Thinners are Bad for Tattoos

To find out exactly how blood thinners affect your tattoo (and why that’s so very bad) here’s what happens during the tattooing process.

What Happens When You Get Inked

To mark your body with permanent ink, the tattoo artist uses a tattoo pen (also referred to as a tattoo gun or machine) that pricks your skin with a needle repeatedly.

By needling your skin, the tattoo artist can deposit ink into the middle dermis layer of your skin. This layer is deep enough that your skin will heal over the top, but not so deep that the immune system will instantly remove it or be invisible from the outside.