You invested time, money, and pain in a new piece. You put your thought and passion into the idea. You selected the right artist to realize your vision.

But the effort to walk away with the beautiful body art you envisioned isn’t over yet. If you don’t take the right steps, your tattoo won’t heal right. It can become infected. It can fade or blow out. It can heal better in some places, resulting in spots of inconsistent coloring or shading.

The first few weeks are critical for your ink. They will make the difference between a vibrant, crisp tattoo and a faded, distorted one. Our goal is to help you walk away with a well-healed tattoo you’ll wear with pride. This article gives you a rundown of the essential processes and considerations to make that happen.

WARNING: Avoid petroleum jelly products like Aquaphor and Vaseline. They clog pores and prevent your tattoo from breathing, disrupting the healing process. Some contain ingredients that will leach ink. Their use can slow healing, cause breakouts, and fade your tattoo. Do not use them before, during, or after tattooing.

CAUTION: Don’t leave the bandage on for more than a couple of hours. Your tattoo will seep and leak body fluids, keeping your tattoo moist and hot. This is a more acute risk with plastic wrap bandages. A hot, humid place is the perfect environment for bacterial infections to take hold. If using a medical bandage, you risk fluids drying and sticking the bandage to your tattoo.

Shoot to take the bandage off after 45 minutes or so. Wash your hands with unscented antibacterial soap. Then, gently but thoroughly clean your tattoo with the same soap before applying an aftercare balm.

Artists usually use medical tape to hold bandages in place. If you have allergies to adhesives, consider bringing your own tape.

• Do not re-bandage your tattoo.
• Don’t scratch or pick at your tattoo. If it itches and you must have relief, slap it with the flat of your hand. Beware that while better than scratching, you should still try to avoid this type of touch.
• Do not submerge in water, including pools, hot tubs, or baths. In particular, avoid oceans, lakes, and rivers. These are full of bacteria that can infect your tattoo.
• Do not use petroleum jelly products like Aquaphor and Vaseline. These smother the tattoo, locking in moisture, preventing breathing, and even pulling ink out.
• Do not use anti-bacterial and medicated ointments. Such products, like A&D are petroleum jelly based. They also warn against use on puncture wounds and may heal your tattoo too fast while leaching ink. (Yes, it's possible to heal too fast).
• Do not use Aloe Vera, because it heals the skin too fast and doesn’t keep it moist.
• Do activities that will open up your pores or make you sweat, such as using saunas, or steam baths.
• Do not do hard exercise. Sweating opens your pores, increasing the risk of both infection and leaching. Plus, vigorous activity puts you at risk of stretching the skin and blowing out your ink.

• Avoid exposure to the sun. Sun is your new tattoo’s worst enemy. If exposed to the sun, your tattoo can scar, fade, and heal spotty. If you work outside, cover your tattoo in loose-fitting clothing.
• Avoid contact with other skin, especially other people’s skin.
• Avoid contact with unwashed hands.
• Avoid tight-fitting clothing. It can get stuck to healing skin and cause irritation through abrasion.
• Avoid rough materials that can irritate your tattoo. Irritation increases the body’s inflammatory immune response. Your tattoo actually relies on the immune system's inflammation response to heal. But, too much inflammation sends the wrong signals to your body. Excessive irritation can cause to your body rejecting the ink.
• Avoid gym equipment. For best results, avoid exercise and sweat in general.
• Avoid contamination with pet hair or dander.

• Your new tattoo is an open wound and will weep and bleed a bit for up to 24 hours. During the first night, make sure there's a loose-fitting, breathable barrier between your tattoo and your bedding.
• Your skin may begin to peel, like a mild sunburn. This is normal. As long as you’re following the care steps outlined above, this is no reason for concern.
• You may see some flakes of inked skin peeling as you apply your aftercare. Again, assuming you’ve followed all other steps, this is nothing to worry about.
• Your tattoo may sting and become swollen before scabbing, becoming itchy, and peeling. Don’t pick at it no matter what! If swollen, you can apply a cold compress or ice bag. Just be sure to do so in moderation. Try not to exceed five minutes. This is to ensure the helpful inflammatory immune response that’s healing your tattoo isn’t impeded. If itching persists once the tattoo is healed, talk to a dermatologist.
• Your tattoo may feel bumpy after healing. This is normal. Your ink needs to settle. The bumps should go away after 4 weeks. After that time, persistent bumps may be a sign of an allergy to the ink in the tattoo. This can be treated by a dermatologist, often with simple topical creams. While not a likely outcome, if it does happen, don’t hesitate to get relief from a doctor.

It’s a good idea to keep in mind the potential bad outcomes of improper care. Know the possibilities and you’ll be extra motivated to do what you need to do for the first few weeks of your tattoo’s life.

• Infection. This is the worst possible outcome. The infection will fade your tattoo when it finally heals. It will heal spotty and inconsistent. In cases of extreme infection, this effect will be more pronounced. A major infection will cause lots of fading, plus scarring, dips, or grooves where the infection ate away at the skin. To avoid this, be diligent about your cleaning and keep your tattoo away from surfaces that carry germs.
• Blowing out your tattoo. This happens when ink disperses beyond where intended to go. It’s also often the result of stress on recovering skin. Any stretching and pulling of the skin increases the risk of blowout.
• Fading. Several things can cause loss of vibrancy to your new tattoo. Exposure to the sun, submerging in water, pulling out of scabs and flaky skin, using lotions with chemicals, or using petroleum jelly can all cause fading.
• Spottiness. It’s possible that your tattoo heals with some faded spots, whereas the rest still looks vibrant. Pulling on scabs or flaking skin or of pressure or abrasion on the skin, often during sleeping, is the likely culprit. Leave your tattoo alone when you’re not cleaning it and be extra careful to not let anything touch it.

Every tattoo goes through a predictable healing process. While unexpected outcomes can occur, you should know the general process and what to expect at each stage. Understanding how your body heals the wound that is your fresh tattoo will ensure you’re equipped to help it along (and avoid hindering the natural healing process).

Long Term Care

While there are lots of things you can do to ensure the long-term vibrance of your tattoo, the most important is to always apply sunscreen before going outside. Keep your life simple by making this routine, applying it in the morning (after your shower, if you’re a morning shower person). Otherwise, apply anytime before heading out into the wide world. Unfortunately, many sunblocks contain chemicals that are harmful with regular use. Find a natural sunscreen. Ones for sensitive skin may be the best long-term solution for people of any skin type.

Applying non-scented lotion daily or at least during dry winter months is also a good idea. As dry, dead skin cells can obscure the tattoo, some do light exfoliation every so often. Keep your tattoo moisturized to keep it looking years younger.

For a more in-depth breakdown of the healing process, check out this article by Tattoo Authority.

If you are getting a tattoo on your foot or ankles, be aware that you will not want to wear shoes or socks. This means for most of the healing process. Plan your time after your tattoo so that you have at least a couple of days when you won’t wear shoes at all. If you have to go somewhere, you’ll want to go barefoot when possible. If you can wear sandals without abrasion on the tattoo, that is fine. After a day or two, if you have to wear shoes, clean your tattoo then wrap in plastic wrap. Don’t wear the shoes for any longer than you must. And when you do, immediately clean your tattoo after you remove them, using extra care to do so.

Armpit tattoos present a few challenges to the normal tattoo-healing. First off, the inability to breathe is likely to slow the healing process. Keep in mind the potential change in healing timeline. Conditions in the armpits are ideal for bacteria to grow, so risk of infection is greater here. Increase the frequency of washing with antibacterial soap, up to three times per day. Due to increased washing frequency, your skin may drier than is healthy for healing. It may be a good idea to apply aftercare balm twice per day, once in the morning and once at night, for the first week. Keep in mind that itching may be a greater factor with armpit tattoos. You'll have to shave the area before the tattoo and won't be able to reshave until healed. This exacerbates the itchiness of week 1.

Any place on the body where the skin does a lot of moving and stretching is prone to blowout. This is where the ink spreads and dissipates. Blowout is a particular risk with the hands, which we are in constant use. If getting tattooed on the hands, you may want to schedule your tattoo with this in mind. Can you afford to take it extra easy afterward? Consider details like how you’re going to eat. Activities like cooking take a lot of manual dexterity and manipulation of the fingers. This will stress your healing skin. There is a good chance that tattoos here will need a second inking. No less a concern is the tendency of the hands to gather germs and bacteria. Be mindful of what you touch and be diligent about washing. Door handles, keyboards, handrails, etc. are major transmitters of germs.

As with the hands and fingers, the wrist is an area that you can hardly avoid moving. Constant stretching and pulling will increase the healing period and affect the outcome. The advice to mitigate these issues is much the same as with hands and fingers. Plan for limited mobility. Stay mindful to keep your wrists straight as much as possible.

Again, stretching is the culprit here. From driving, to answering the phone, to opening doors, to exercising, we are constantly bending our elbows. You may find it even harder to limit elbow mobility than you would limiting wrist mobility. Joints heal slower than the rest of the body. They may swell or feel generally stiff. While the compounding of this irritation with inflammation from the healing process can be frustrating, try to ignore it. You can use an ice pack for relief and to limit swelling if it is occurring. Again, limit mobility and plan accordingly.

If you use hair product, you will want to abstain from doing so during the healing process if you get a tattoo here. It can irritate the healing skin. It can slow down the healing process and increase inflammation, increasing the chance that your skin will reject the ink. Also be careful of irritation and germ transmission from accidental touching with your phone or your hands.

Here are some more great resources to help you heal your tattoo flawlessly. While there are a few points here and there that we don't fully agree with, these are by-and-large great resources. We believe in finding optimal answers through broad study, so we're sharing more perspectives. If there's something you're unsure about, reach out to us!

Stages Of The Tattoo Healing Process by Authority Tattoo

Taking Care of a Tattoo by Top Shelf Tattoo Gallery

Tattoo Aftercare - The Complete Guide by Authority Tattoo

Have questions about tattoo care? Reach out to us via Facebook Messenger or via email through our contact page.

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