HEALING YOUR CHAPTER ONE TATTOO
WHAT TO EXPECT
Everyone’s tattoos heal differently. Healing is
dependant on many factors-your overall health,
the strength of your immune system, your
emotional/physical stress level, etc. Sensitive skin
may take longer to heal and may experience
scabbing and peeling more than others. Location
of a tattoo can also affect the healing time. In
general, a tattoo is completely healed in 4-6 weeks.
The most important thing to remember is to keep
your new tattoo clean, free of germs, and
moisturized! A tattoo is an open would until the
scab or flaky skin comes and goes. Because the
needles scrape or scratch the skin, it is
considered more of an abrasion than a cut or
puncture wound.
Day 1
1. Remove and discard the bandage 1 hour
after receiving your tattoo. You can leave
your bandage on longer but your tattoo
needs to breathe so don’t leave it on
longer than 12 hours. You will not rebandage during the entire healing process.
2. Wash with warm water and mild soap; do
not use soaps containing heavy dyes or
perfumes. Gently wash with lathered
hands… Do not use washrag, loofah or
anything abrasive.
3. Using a clean towel or paper towel, dry
your tattoo by patting lightly or by airdrying.
Do not rub!
4. Apply a very thin coat of healing ointment
to your tattoo, not a thick layer of
ointment- your skin can only breathe
through a thin layer.
Repeat steps 2,3 and 4 twice daily
(morning and night) for 3 weeks.
The first night of rest, your tattoo may stick and
stain your sheets, so don’t sleep on your best
sheets. You may wish to sleep in a t-shirt, or
pajamas to avoid contact with your sheets. If you
choose this option, you may wake to find your
tattoo stuck to your clothing. If this is the case, do
not rip the clothing from your tattoo…soak the
area with warm water and then remove your
clothing. Your tattoo will weep a bit of excess ink
the first day or so, this is normal… just keep it
clean and moisturized.
Do not use any products with petroleum or lanolin
in them, as they can clog the pores! Also, antibiotic
ointments are not good for the healing tattoos! We
do not recommend using antibiotic ointments,
such as Neosporin or A&D, as they are formulated
to pull out infection, sometimes pulling ink out of
the skin and causing your tattoo to heal unevenly.
Week 1
Your tattoo will more than likely be a bit sore and
red immediately after your procedure. It is also
common for you tattoo to ooze some ink, blood
and plasma for about 24 hours. It is also common
for your tattoo to feel like sunburn, to ooze, itch,
etc. Proper tattoo aftercare must be started
immediately fallowing procedure to ensure
healthy healing. (See ‘Day 1”) After several days,
your tattoo will start to form a scab or light flaky
layer.
Week 2
Your tattoo may begin to peel or flake and become
itchy. DO NOT PICK, RUB, OR SCRATCH IT! The
scab or flakes must come off naturally, so that you
do not lose any color or cause any irritation to
your tattoo. The scabs/flakes will be the same
color as your tattoo. It looks like your tattoo is
coming off, but it is not!
Week 3
The scabs/flakes are just about gone by now, but
your tattoo is not yet completely healed! It may
appear shiny or still a bit milky. It is important to
continue keeping it out of the sun and keep it
moisturized. If you are a slow healer or your tattoo
has gotten irritated for some reason, expect your
skin to take several more weeks to heal. If you are
a fast healer, then it should take about another
week.
OTHER THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW
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Only touch your tattoo with clean hands.
Don’t let others tough your healing tattoo.
It is fine to work out or go to the gym after
getting tattooed, but make sure to cover
your tattoo for at least the first two weeks.
Gym and Yoga mats car harbor nasty
germs and bacteria! Most infections in
new tattoos are contracted in publicly
used places such as these.
The sun will fade your tattoo! No sun
exposure for the first 3 weeks of healing.
After that, keeping sunscreen on your
tattoo will keep it from fading.
During the first 3-4 weeks of healing your
new tattoo, no soaking in a bath,
swimming, saunas or Jacuzzis! The salt
and chlorine can fade or blur your tattoo.
These are also all breeding grounds for
bacteria.
Everyone’s body takes ink differently and
the overall healing of your tattoo can
affect the outcome! If you have some ink
“fallout”, which will look like blotchy areas
or places where there was ink, but now
there is not, this is normal. Most tattoo
shops will offer a free touch up within the
first few months of receiving your tattoo.
A second pass on these areas usually does
the trick.
After your tattoo is healed (4-6 weeks), you can
go back to your regular routine. Keep in mind
that repeated exposure to the sun is what can
age and fade a tattoo. Use Sun block or
Sunscreen often!
If you have any concerns or questions during
your healing process, it is best to call your
artist or the studio. Don’t ask your friends or a
doctor, as they will all have very different, and
often conflicting or wrong advice for healing
tattoos. It is best to stick to the advice of a
professional artist who has years of experience.
*Thank you to Zulutattoo.net for providing this list!