By day six or seven, scabs should start to cover and thicken on the freshly tattooed area. During this week of your healing journey, the skin will be flaky and may start feeling a bit itchy. This is completely normal as the dry skin is getting ready to exfoliate itself away as the top layer of the skin heals.
Week 1. After a few days, the tattoo should begin to feel less sore and red. A person may notice their tattoo appears duller than it did initially. This appearance is not a cause for concern but a sign that the tattoo is healing.
2-6 Days After Your New Tattoo
Now you'll start to notice that your tattoo looks a bit dull, perhaps even have a 'cloudy-looking' appearance. It may also look red, swollen and still ooze blood, plasma, lymphatic fluid and ink. Not to worry! This is normal.
Why do tattoos fade when healing? Sometime between two to four weeks after getting a new tattoo – when your tattoo scabs and/or peels - your new ink may appear more faded and duller than expected. Don't worry, this is completely natural.
Weeks 2-3: The tattoo has a shine
“After a week or two, the scabbing will flake away into a shiny or waxy layer of skin,” says Milliron. Any itchiness should subside at this point but your tattooed skin still won't look entirely back to normal. That's because it's not yet fully healed.
After 5 days, a tattoo should be healing well, but it may still look a little red and swollen. The area may also be slightly itchy and flaky as the skin begins to peel. This is a normal part of the healing process and is caused by the top layer of skin sloughing off as new skin forms underneath.
Over-moisturising can lead to inflamed tattoos and potentially infection. Excess moisture can clog your skin's pores which prevents it from breathing, something that's important for your skin to heal. This can lead to breakouts on the skin that can damage the tattoo.
From 1 to 6 months. After a month, any itching and redness should have completely gone. In fact, your new tattoo may look fully healed! However, the skin under your tattoo can continue to repair itself for up to six months until it's considered healed.
In general, it takes approximately one month from the time of tattooing for a tattoo to take on its permanent form in a young, healthy individual, though as mentioned above, tattoos are considered fully healed around 3 months. However, there are some factors that can influence healing time.
In general, most new tattoos will begin to fade in color and reduce in redness over the first week or two. However, it is not uncommon for some redness and inflammation to persist for several weeks or even a month or more in some cases.
You can shower 3-4 hours after getting a tattoo, if you have a Saniderm bandage on, however, if you have a plastic wrap wait 24 hours to unwrap your tattoo and shower. In either case, shower in cold or lukewarm water and avoid prolonged soaking or submerging your tattoo in water for 3-4 weeks.
Day 10-30:
As your skin naturally sheds the outer skin cells any cloudiness should clear up and the top layer of skin will look just like the rest of your body. It may seem a little dull at first so continue to moisturize regularly. At this point your tattoo is essentially healed.
After getting a tattoo, you should moisturize it daily for at least 10 to 14 days. Respecting these timeframes is absolutely crucial because, if your skin dries out, you are likely to get very disappointing results.
At the very least, make sure not to expose a new tattoo to direct sunlight for the first month of having it—especially the first two weeks. Not only will sun exposure cause the tattoo's colors to fade, as previously mentioned, but it may also burn your skin and scar it from sun damage.
If you have a brand new piece, still in the healing stage, you might be concerned that it's looking patchy. Fear not; during the healing process your tattoo will look weird. It may look cloudy, faded, patchy, or even blurred, and this can be concerning when you've just dropped a few hundred on it.
“Your tattoo will get a bit lighter or slightly thicker depending on how your body heals it,” Kim says. “Go with your artist's suggestion regarding placement, size, and detail. They're the expert and are there to make your tattoo experience as fun, informative, and seamless as possible.
Signs of an Overworked Tattoo
A Change in Appearance - If the tattoo looks faded, pale, cloudy, blurry, or heavily distorted, this could be a sign of overworked skin. This may also appear as ink distortion and blurring. During a tattoo, ink needs to be deposited in your dermis so the pigment stays put.
Until the surface of the tattoo is healed (at a minimum of two to three weeks), wash the area gently 2-3 times per day. After cleaning the tattoo during this two to three week period, gently apply a thin coat of a lotion-based care product. We recommend After Inked tattoo moisturizer and aftercare lotion.
Wrap the tattoo after the first night (wearing breathable clothes over it is fine as long as they are not causing friction. (Keeping tattoos wrapped in plastic or bandages will stop air from getting to the tattoo, slow healing, and make gross stuff grow in there.)
You may have heard some rumours that Bepanthen shouldn't be used on new tattoos, but this absolutely isn't the case. Bepanthen is by far one of the most highly recommended tattoo aftercare products and is the go-to ointment for most tattoo artists and studios.
A tattoo is VERY bright when it is first completed but during the healing process, it starts to look discolored and dull. Don't worry, when the tattoo is finished healing, the color will come back.
Wash and moisturize your tattoo daily until the scabs are gone. You should continue to wash your tattoo 2-3 times a day with antibacterial soap and lukewarm water until it's fully healed. This can take anywhere from 2 to 6 weeks, depending on the size and location of the tattoo.