Most people think of tattoos as a summer thing—sun out, skin showing, fresh ink on display. But if you talk to professional tattoo artists, many will tell you the opposite: winter is actually the best season to get tattooed. From better healing, easier aftercare, to shorter wait times, cold weather offers several advantages.
1. Better Healing Conditions
Tattoo healing is all about protecting the skin while it repairs itself. In winter, your body isn’t dealing with excessive heat, sweat, or sun exposure—all of which can irritate a fresh tattoo. Cooler temperatures reduce inflammation and swelling, helping your skin heal more smoothly and comfortably.
2. Less Sun Exposure = Better Ink Longevity
Sunlight is one of the biggest enemies of a new tattoo. UV rays can fade ink, slow healing, and increase the risk of damage. During winter, you’re naturally covered up more often, which means your tattoo stays protected during its most vulnerable stage. This helps preserve color saturation and sharp lines from the very beginning.
3. Easier Aftercare
Proper aftercare is crucial, and winter makes it simpler. You’re less likely to swim, sunbathe, or engage in activities that expose your tattoo to bacteria and friction. Fewer outdoor activities mean fewer chances of accidentally irritating or infecting your fresh ink.
4. Comfortable Clothing Choices
Loose layers, sweaters, and jackets are ideal for tattoo aftercare. Unlike tight summer clothes, winter wear is less likely to rub against your tattoo or trap moisture. This added comfort helps prevent scabbing issues and promotes even healing.
5. Shorter Wait Times
Winter is typically a slower season for tattoo studios. That means better appointment availability, shorter wait times, and sometimes even seasonal promotions. Artists also tend to have more flexibility to focus on custom designs and larger projects during the off-season.
6. Perfect Timing for Summer Reveal
Getting tattooed in winter gives your skin plenty of time to heal before summer arrives. By the time warmer weather rolls around, your tattoo will be fully healed, settled, and ready to show off—without any lingering redness or sensitivity.
7. Ideal for Large or Detailed Pieces
If you’re planning a sleeve, back piece, or detailed multi-session tattoo, winter is ideal. Healing between sessions is easier, and staying covered helps protect work-in-progress tattoos over several months.
Final Thoughts
While summer may seem like the obvious season for tattoos, winter offers the best conditions for healing, comfort, and long-term results. Less sun, less sweat, easier aftercare, and better studio availability all add up to a smarter tattoo experience.
If you’re thinking about new ink, don’t wait for warm weather—winter might just be the perfect time to start your next tattoo journeywith Broken Lantern Tattoo.
Y’all are amazing! After winning the two categories last year we are once again nominated for best tattoo shop in Charleston through the City Paper AND our very own Glenn Collins is once again nominated for best tattoo artist! This is a huge deal because it is completely motivated by you, our clients! We are humbled, we are flattered, and above all we are inspired. We need your help to take it a step further. We want to repeat! Now it is time for you to vote! It is down to five shops and five tattoo artists, with your help we can become number 1. For your continued support we want to say thank you, so we are giving you four ways to win some free tattoos!
Up for grabs is a half day session with Glenn Collins ($1000 dollar value) . Here is how you can win, vote for us Broken Lantern Tattoo on the Charleston City Paper website you can also vote for Glenn Collins for best tattoo artist, Click here to access the voting page for best tattoo artist and Click here to access the voting page for best tattoo shop. Send a screenshot of one or both of your votes to BrokenLantern77@gmail.com to be entered, every vote is an entry! For a small business like us this is a huge chance for exposure, help us get there!!!! As always we love you and appreciate your support!
After months of preparation our event has finally arrived! “The Very Best Fest” is taking place this Sunday October 8th starting at 11am. We will be hosting some of Charleston’s top gaming and collectible dealers as well as some of the best food trucks in the city! Parking will be available at Iron Bridge Crossfit, Sires Solutions and A.C. heating & Air Conditioning Service. All are located a very short walk from the event. If you are parking at Sires Solutions please make sure to not block their storage gate. These businesses are doing us an incredible favor by allowing us to use their space so please be respectful. You can also park on the shoulder of the road at your own discretion just please do not block traffic. Car pooling or ridesharing is encouraged. Tattoos will be first come first served, we will be using a ticket system so you will not have to wait in line, we will simply call your number when we are ready (that way you can enjoy the event). We will have a complimentary gaming trailer as well as some arcade cabinets for your enjoyment. We will have tattoo flash deals available starting at 60 dollars (the shop minimum is typically 100). There will be a ton of flash to choose from, if there is a design you would like specifically that is not part of our flash we will do our best to accommodate as long as it doesn’t take a lot of time to prepare. If you come dressed up for your tattoo you may also receive an additional discount :). The cosplay contest will take place at 1pm where you will have the opportunity to win Broken Lantern gift certificates as well as prizes from our vendors. This is a family friendly event, just please note that everyone in the tattoo studio will need to be 18 and over. If you have any questions at all you can reach us via email brokenlantern77@gmail.com or give the shop a call 843-637-4999. We look forward to seeing you!
We did it! We swept the tattoo Category! We have managed to win Charleston’s Best Tattoo Shop through Charleston City Paper and Glenn Collins won Charleston’s Best Tattoo Artist! It is amazing to have an artist on our team recognized as the best. It makes us proud of the team we have put together. We love this group of well rounded artists and what they bring to the shop day in and day out. We have been on a run with winning Best Tattoo Parlor through the Post and Courier but it is good to get acknowledgment from another source and we do not take it for granted. It is an absolute honor to receive these types of awards as the contests are completely motivated by you, the people we serve and those that get to call this incredible city home. It is truly humbling that our clients and Charleston have decided to support us in such an incredible way. Our team at Broken Lantern would like to extend our deepest thanks not just for the recognition, but also for choosing us to tattoo you! None of this is possible without you. As we have said before we will continue putting forth the effort to make this the best tattoo shop possible, and passing that experience on to you to give you the best tattoo possible. We have the opportunity to serve the best clients, in the best city and are thankful for it everyday. We would not exist without you so one again thank you! We look forward to continuing to grow and create with you. We absolutely love you! Also Congratulations to Clare for voting for us and winning a FREE half day session with Glenn.
Y’all are amazing! We are once again nominated for best tattoo shop in Charleston through the City Paper AND our very own Glenn Collins is nominated for best tattoo artist! This is a huge deal because it is completely motivated by you, our clients! We are humbled, we are flattered, and most of all we are inspired. We need your help to take it a step further. Now it is time for you to vote! It is down to five shops and five tattoo artists, with your help we can become number 1. For your continued support we want to say thank you, so we are giving you four ways to win some free tattoos!
Up for grabs is a half day session with Glenn Collins ($1000 dollar value) . Here is how you can win, vote for us Broken Lantern Tattoo on the Charleston City Paper website you can also vote for Glenn Collins for best tattoo artist, Click here to access the voting page for best tattoo artist and Click here to access the voting page for best tattoo shop. Send a screenshot of one or both of your votes to BrokenLantern77@gmail.com to be entered, every vote is an entry! Another way to be entered is to like, share, AND tag two friends in the post on our facebook and instagram page. Every way gets you entered and takes less than 5 minutes. For a small business like us this is a huge chance for exposure, help us get there!!!!
We have managed to win Charleston’s best tattoo Parlor Again! We are very proud of the team we have not only put together but kept together here at Broken Lantern Tattoo. We love this group of well rounded artist and what they bring to the shop day in and day out. We have been on a run with winning this award, but we do not take it for granted. It is an absolute honor to receive these types of acknowledments as the contest are completely motivated by you, the people we serve and those that get to call this incredible city home. It is truly humbling that our clients and Charleston have decided to support us in such a fantastic way. Our team at Broken Lantern would like to extend our deepest thanks not just for the recognition, but also for choosing us to tattoo you! We will continue putting forth the effort to make this the best tattoo shop possible, and passing that experience on to you to give you the best tattoo possible. We have the opportunity to serve the best clients, in the best city and are thankful for it everyday. We would not exist without you so one again thank you! We look forward to continuing to grow and create with you. We absolutely love you!
We are very proud of the team of artists we have managed to put together here at Broken Lantern Tattoo, with a solid and well rounded group of tattoo artists and building off the momentum of winning Charleston’s Best Tattoo Parlor last year, we have managed to repeat this year! In the past two years we have been recognized as the best Tattoo shop twice and one of our artist’s (Glenn Collins) has been recognized as Charleston’s best tattoo artist. It is an incredible honor to receive these types of acknowledgments as these contests are run completely by you, the population of this amazing city we call home. We are humbled that our clients and Charleston have decided to support us. Our team at Broken Lantern wants to thank you for appreciating the effort we put into making this the best tattoo shop possible, passing that experience on to you to give you the best tattoo possible. We can not thank you enough for recognizing us as the best tattoo shop, in the best city, with the best clients. We are nothing without you and we look forward to continuing to grow with you. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts. Stay happy, Stay Healthy, Stay Safe, We love you!
We would also like to congratulate Brandy, who won our $250 dollar gift certificate! Thank you for voting for us!
The team at Broken Lantern Tattoo understands the tumultuous times we are under. Our priority has always been the safety of our clients and artists. We also hold ourselves to an incredibly high cleanliness and sanitation standard. We will be continuing operation as long as we are permitted with a few subtle changes to increase the safety of everyone involved. Tattooing has always been a social experience and we enjoy the interactions we have with our clients and their loved ones, however, for the time being we ask that you come alone to your appointment. Only those getting tattooed will be allowed to stay in the studio. Upon arrival we ask that you wash your hands before we hand out paperwork. We are still accepting walk ins and doing in person consultations with the same precautions. Only the person looking to get tattooed or talk through an idea will be permitted to stay. We will continue to sanitize and disinfect all touch surfaces. It should go without saying that if you are not feeling well or have traveled from a virus compromised location that you do not come to the shop. With your cooperation, we can continue to operate through this and pump amazing pieces of art out into the world. We love and appreciate all of you!
We are very proud of the team of artists we have managed to put together here at Broken Lantern Tattoo. Building off the momentum of our very own Glenn Collins being voted the best tattoo artist in Charleston, we now have now been recognized as a shop, becoming the Charleston’s Choice Best Tattoo Parlor. It is an incredible honor to receive this type of acknowledgment as, once again, this contest was run completely by you the population of this amazing city we call home. We are humbled that our clients and Charleston has decided to support us. Our team at Broken Lantern wants to thank you for appreciating the effort put in to make this the best tattoo shop possible, passing that experience on to you to give you the best tattoo possible. We can not thank you enough for recognizing us are the best tattoo shop, in the best city, with the best clients. We look forward to continuing to grow with you. Thank you!
After a very busy summer we finally got the chance to catch up with Glenn and chat with him about winning the Charleston City Paper’s Best Of award.
What does it mean to you to be voted the best tattoo artist in Charleston?
It is a culmination of a lot of hard work. People don’t typically see what goes on behind the scenes, but I’ve been grinding at this in Charleston since 2007 and tattooing since 2002.
For those that are not familiar with you as an artist, what would you say is your style?
I pride myself in being quite diverse, though my true passion lies in Japanese, Bio-Mech, Traditional, Lettering and Gangster Sh*t, but like I said I’m quite diverse.
What inspired you to become a tattoo artist?
I have always been driven to live outside the typical 9 to 5, and not partake in the rat race. The artform of tattooing has an undeniable feel for me. It’s Magical, it’s ancient, and has sacred appeal that drew (and kept) me in. I love doing this day in and day out and hope to keep providing people with the Truth!
What are some of your favorite things about Charleston?
Port city with great food with laid back clientele that have allowed me to express myself as an artist and grow.
Where do you hope to be in the next few years?
Right where I am at. Working with incredible clients to turn out timeless pieces. Also I would like to have my Black Belt, shout out to Malachy and American Top Team.
What do you think will happen as a result of winning the competition?
Hopefully it brings more attention to the brand of Broken Lantern. We have a shop full of talented artists and any exposure for me shines light on them as well. We are a family here looking for clients to grow with us.
How would someone go about getting an appointment with you?
The best way is to stop by the shop. We like to meet and talk with the clients before setting up an appointment. Tattooing is an incredibly personal experience and we want to make sure everyone is on the same page. If you live outside the area just give us a call.
