Caring For A Tattoo - The Ultimate Guide (2024)

If you’re the recipient of a brand-new piece of permanent art, congratulations!

You’ve been through the hardest part now, but while you’re cursing your tattoo artist’s name for ever inflicting such pain upon you, you still have a job to do, caring for your new tattoo!

Each tattoo artist may give slightly different advice depending on their own experience and knowledge of how they work, so make sure to follow your artist’s aftercare instructions. And if your artist has sent you here, consider these your orders for how to care for a tattoo.

Tattoo Healing Essentials

How Long Does It Take for a Tattoo to Heal?

The Tattoo Healing Process

How to Care for Your Tattoo on the First Day

How to Remove Second Skin

How to Clean a New Tattoo

Best Tattoo Aftercare

Dry Healing Tattoo

Blackout Tattoo Healing

Long Term Tattoo Care

Tattoo Healing Essentials

1. Moisture is the enemy. Keep your tattoo moisturised but not wet, try not to sweat too much in the first few weeks, and avoid submerging the tattoo in water. That means no swimming, no baths, and no saunas.
2. Keep the area clean. Use a fragrance-free soap and warm water as often as needed to clean away any excess blood, ink and plasma that might cause issues in your healing wound.
3. Think vampire - stay out of the sun! Once your tattoo is healed you’ll need to use sunscreen to keep it looking its best, but until then, it’s best to avoid prolonged exposure to UV rays whenever possible.
4. Leave it alone! Touch your tattoo as little as possible, and only after washing your hands to eliminate bacteria. Every time the wound is touched, you risk introducing bacteria and removing ink.
5. A healthy body heals faster, so keep yourself well-hydrated, well-rested, and nourished with healthy food. If you needed an excuse to look after yourself better, a tattoo is a fantastic one!
6. Listen to your artist! They know how to heal your tattoo most effectively - after all, they want it to look amazing too. If you follow their aftercare instructions to the letter and still have issues, you can go back to them for help, but if you go rogue then you’ll only have yourself to blame if things go wrong.

How Long Does It Take for a Tattoo to Heal?

A tattoo is essentially a minor medical procedure - your skin is being opened up and ink implanted beneath it, leaving a wound that will take time to heal.

Depending on the size and complexity of your tattoo, it could be up to 6 months until it can be considered fully healed - but most of the time, you can assume that the majority of the healing will be done in 6-8 weeks.

Some of the things that affect the length of time it takes for your tattoo to heal include -

• Your skin type and condition
• Your overall health and immune system
• The size and location of the tattoo
• The inks used
• The size of the needles used
• Your care during the tattoo recovery process

The Tattoo Healing Process

It’s science time!

There are four main stages of the healing process for tattoos:

Stage 1: Gooey and Oozing

Your body isn’t a fan of being stabbed repeatedly by needles and will react by sending blood to the tattoo site, making it turn red, swell up and feel warm. As you’re tattooed and for a few hours afterwards, you’ll see ink, blood and plasma (which is a clear fluid) leaking out of the spot.

Stage 2: The Itch

As the owner of a human body, you’ll probably know that wounds itch while they’re healing. It’s a good sign! For the first week or two after getting your tattoo you’ll notice itching and flaking, but it’s incredibly important that you don’t scratch as you could introduce bacteria to the tattoo site, lengthen the healing process and even remove ink.

During this time you’ll want to have some tattoo aftercare cream to soothe the itch. If the site becomes increasingly swollen, or you get hives or a rash, consult your artist for help as you may be having a reaction.

Stage 3: Scabbing

About five days after your tattoo appointment, you’ll notice that your tattoo is starting to peel and develop scabs. Essentially, your skin is regenerating from beneath, pushing the dead skin cells up and out of the body. In large pieces of colour work, you might get large flakes of skin coming off; for fine line pieces you may see the lines appearing to lift off your skin.

Peeling, scabbing and flaking are all excellent signs, so leave that tattoo alone! No picking or scratching please - keep on using that after tattoo treatment to soothe the skin, but be gentle when applying so you don’t accidentally rub the flakes off.

Stage 4: Skin Regeneration

Two to four weeks after your tattoo appointment, it’ll probably look healed, and you’ll be well past any itchiness, redness or flaking. But your body is still working away under the surface to create new cells which will heal and strengthen the skin.

If it’s a month post-tattoo and you’re worried that it’s not as vibrant as you wanted, just wait a little longer - give it another couple of months and it should look exactly as your artist intended it to!

How to Care for Your Tattoo on the First Day

Once you’ve finished being brutalised by your tattoo artist, they’ll probably give you a little breathing room for your tattoo to “bleed out” before wrapping it.

Some artists will just use cling film, maybe taped to you with some microporous tape which will be easy to remove. This isn’t designed to last long, just enough to protect the tattoo while you get home and can give it a gentle wash, and the benefit of it is that you can reapply your own cling film if it comes off before you want.

When you get home, you should remove the cling film and gently wash the tattoo with warm water and a fragrance-free soap before patting the skin dry with paper towels or a clean fabric towel. Wait a few minutes to ensure all moisture is gone before applying your choice of tattoo aftercare cream. For more detailed instructions on how to clean a new tattoo, check the section below.

It’s best to wrap your tattoo again before you go to bed, just to keep the tattoo protected while you sleep. Ideally you should sleep on clean bedding the night after getting a tattoo, but blood, plasma and ink may still be leaking out from your tattoo, so maybe don’t make it your nicest set.

For slightly longer-term care, they may apply a tattoo film or “second skin”. These not only act as a physical barrier to irritants, moisture and bacteria, they’re usually breathable to allow for your tattoo to heal well without complications.

Recovery

Recovery’s aftercare products are incredibly well-respected in the industry, and they offer two forms of tattoo film - the Dermshield transparent bandage, available in pre-cut squares or cut-to-length rolls, and Areola Shields, which are the perfect size and shape for areola tattoos.

Recovery tattoo film is waterproof, breathable and latex-free, making it suitable for pretty much everybody!

Dermalize

This range of tattoo aftercare includes a few varieties of tattoo film, including the standard film available in 15 x 10 cm squares or rolls, the ultra thin, matte Phantom film, and the UV-repelling Total Black sun block, which is perfect for summertime tattoos.

Made with a latex-free film and with a hypoallergenic acrylic glue holding them to the skin, Dermalize’s range lets oxygen in and moisture out, allowing your body to do what it does best.

Dermalize also sells sterilised tattoo aftercare pads - these are usually used for blackout tattoo healing.

Most of the team at Semper Tattoo Studio use Dermalize for their tattoos, as well as fine line expert Alex Lloyd and ornamental filigree superstar Clara Sinclair.

Hornet Protective Tattoo Film

This micro-perforated tattoo film comes in a roll with an integrated cutter, and is very effective at keeping out bacteria and germs as well as any physical irritants.

UNISTAR® Tattoo Film Dressing

Similar to the above options but with the added benefit of elasticity, this tattoo film dressing is a slightly more affordable option to those listed above.

Aloe Tattoo Film Gel

A slightly unusual one for the list, this tattoo film gel is a spray-on solution that creates a natural barrier over the tattoo within 15 minutes. Unlike the tattoo films above, you won’t need to peel off this tattoo film, just use soap and water to take it off - however this does mean that it won’t survive a shower.

The only time this might differ is for large pieces or blackout pieces - more on the products used for those below.

How to Remove Second Skin

While different versions of tattoo film will stay on the tattoo for varying lengths of time, at some point they’ll all need to be removed.

The easiest way to remove second skin is in the shower, using steam and warm water over the top of the film to help loosen the adhesive. Find a corner or edge that has started to peel up, or very gently peel one yourself, making sure to keep away from the tattoo itself. Some people find it easier to roll the film back, while others will stretch it out and pull away from the skin.

Ideally you want to do this as gently as possible, as you don’t want to pull too many scabs away with it! If you’re really struggling, you can use coconut oil to help lubricate the process.

How to Clean a New Tattoo

While we’re sure you do know how to clean yourself, the site of a new tattoo can be a little sensitive, and it’s important you use the right techniques and products during the healing process.

A fragrance-free soap is essential, something as plain as possible to prevent any reactions or irritations. Using warm water, rub the soap between your hands to create a lather, and then very gently rub it onto your tattoo in circular motions to remove dirt, blood, ink and plasma.

Throughout the healing process you can wash your tattoo whenever you begin to notice or feel a build-up of fluids or a stickiness on the skin, but be careful not to wash it so much that your skin’s natural healing bacteria is affected.

Moisture is the tattoo killer, so never leave your tattoo to air dry completely - always pat it dry, rather than rubbing, preferably with a kitchen towel before leaving exposed to the air. A fabric towel may be used if it’s clean and not new - if the towel is shedding fibres, you won’t want it to touch your new tattoo.

Best Tattoo Aftercare

As mentioned above, the site of your tattoo is soon to start itching and feeling thoroughly uncomfortable. But remember what your mother told you - no picking those scabs!

The best way to deal with this irritating phase is to get a soothing aftercare cream. Your artist might have provided you with a small tub or sachet of aftercare, but you can use some form of aftercare cream throughout most of the healing process, and even afterwards. We’ve detailed a few here, or you can check out the professional advice on our Best Tattoo Aftercare blog.

Hustle Butter Deluxe

One of our biggest sellers is Hustle Butter Deluxe, a vegan-friendly, cruelty-free and petroleum-free form of aftercare. Your artist may well have used Hustle Butter during the appointment to keep your skin soft and help their needle move, and now you can use it to beat the itch during healing.

Some of our favourite tattoo artists use Hustle Butter, including Pierre Bustos and Lena Diamanti, Rob Blythin, Gaby Castel, and Jay Butler.

Recovery Tattoo Lotion

The perfect soothing solution for new tattoos - as well as anywhere your skin is dry and irritated - this needs only a very thin layer to keep your tattoo moisturised. You’ll find no parabens or dyes in this vegan-friendly formula!

Dermalize Artcare

Made from natural raw materials and completely free from both petroleum and silicone, this creamy aftercare hydrates and protects the skin with natural oils, vitamin E and vegetal extract built in.

The Aftercare Company

This vegan aftercare cream is totally natural, soothing and nourishing to the skin, filled with vitamins A, B and E to give your skin the best possible chance of recovery.

Viking by Dynamic BioSkin

This clever cream utilises stem cells in a vegan, chemical-free formula to calm tattooed skin, soothe and hydrate skin, and help your body to heal at its best.

TinyTattz

Made for small, fine line tattoos, Tori-Anne Robbins’ aftercare cream stimulates cell turnover for faster healing and extra vibrancy.

Palmers Cocoa Butter

Cheap but effective, this is a powerful moisturiser made with vitamin E and sustainably-sourced cocoa butter, which is packed with nutrients and antioxidants. Palmers is free from nasty parabens and phthalates, and smells like white chocolate!

Dry Healing Tattoo

While much less common now there are so many options for tattoo aftercare, if you’re particularly sensitive to some products you may find it easier to dry heal your tattoo.

This is pretty much what it sounds like - you simply won’t use any form of aftercare cream throughout the process, although you will still wash and dry the area.

It will be uncomfortable. You will want to scratch. Your skin will probably crack more, and your scabs might be deeper, which may affect the healed results of your tattoo.

Dry healing is not for the faint-hearted, but neither is a skin reaction on the site of a fresh wound, so make sure to talk to your artist before dry healing a tattoo.

Blackout Tattoo Healing

Another special case here for you, as blackout tattoos require a slightly different aftercare process due to the serious amount of trauma your skin goes through.

Some artists will recommend that you dry heal your blackout tattoo to lower the risk of infection, but as mentioned above, this can be pretty brutal, especially with larger pieces.

Blackout tattoos swell more than others, and to deal with the discomfort you may want to use ice packs on the area. Most artists will recommend you take some time to recover after a blackout tattoo, particularly resting the area that’s been tattooed.

Some artists like to recommend tattoo pads for areas of blackout tattooing - these are sterilised, absorbent pads not dissimilar to a nappy-like material. Blackout tattoos typically leak a lot in the first week or so thanks to the additional trauma and the sheer volume of ink going under the skin, and these highly-absorbent pads help to minimise bacteria that can become trapped in moist areas.

Veda Ink also recommends using tattoo pads for larger tattoos, especially pieces positioned on the lower part of the body, and Bintt has also been spotted using them for his large mandala pieces.

Long Term Tattoo Care

After the first 6 weeks, the surface will have healed enough that you can once again enjoy baths and probably won’t need to use aftercare cream. But under the surface, the healing continues for up to 6 months.

To get the best long-term results during that time, you should make sure to stay hydrated and healthy. Keep your skin clean and moisturised, quit smoking and drinking, and don’t wear clothes or shoes that continuously rub the area.

Keep your tattoo protected from the sun, either by covering up or using a suitably strong SPF for your environment. Sun damage is one of the biggest contributors to faded tattoos, so this will be the rest of your life now!

And if you really want to make your tattoos pop once they’re fully healed, we’d recommend a gentle exfoliation and use either the Hustle Butter Revitalizing Stick or Rejuvenating Lotion.