How Long Does It Take For A Fresh Tattoo To Heal
Vikas Malani: The healing of the tattoo depends entirely on your body. Ideally, it will take anywhere between one to two months to heal. However, in certain cases, it may take slightly longer.
Dr Chiranjiv Chhabra: If you take good care of your healing tattoo, and follow your tattoo artist’s instructions, your skin will likely be fully healed within six weeks. The tattoo itself generally becomes healed and presentable in two to three weeks, depending on its size, ink, depth, density and your general health, but the skin might take six weeks or longer to return to how it was before the tattoo.
Taking Your Tat Undercover
No matter how much you love your tattoo, there might be some cases when you need to cover it up. It might be a job interview , or a family gathering or a wedding. Whatever the reason, knowing how to cover up your tattoo is part of knowing how to take care of it for the long haul.
Although darker ink is harder to cover up, its not impossible. Some tattoos will take more work to conceal, and how successful your cover-up is will depend both on the size and the location of the tattoo.
Start with a concealer to neutralize the colors, and give yourself time to even out the colors.
Next, apply corrective or camouflage makeup. These are types of makeup that are designed specifically to cover things like skin discoloration and scars, so theyre more effective in covering tattoos than a standard over-the-counter makeup. Apply as needed and make sure its blended to give your skin an even tone.
As a finishing touch, you might want to use a setting powder that will help the makeup last longer.
How To Care For Your Tattoo After The Healing Period
- Keep you tattoo looking sharp, bright and fresh by applying Tattoo Care regularly and avoid direct sunlight without a sunscreen. We recommend applying our Tattoo Careunder your sunscreen to protect your tattoo from any free radical damage. It will also help keep your tattoo from drying out and help with sun damage if you have exposed your tattoo to excessive sun.
IMPORTANTIf you notice any unusual symptoms or changes, like excessive swelling, redness, discharge or fever make sure you contact your tattoo artist or health care professional as soon as possible.
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How Long Does It Take For Tattoos To Heal
The amount of time that it takes for a tattoo to heal will largely depend on the person, where the tattoo is located and whether or not tattoo care processes have been followed to ensure the area heals properly.
While immediate symptoms, like redness and swelling, will generally lessen after a few days, continuing to abide by the proper tattoo care steps after these symptoms have subsided is incredibly important! Following proper tattoo care guidelines will ensure that your tattoo heals properly and does not fade!
Why New Tattoo Aftercare Is So Important
You might be tempted to skip some of the aftercare steps or look for ways to speed up the healing process. While there are legitimate ways to help your tattoo heal quickly its important to understand why thorough aftercare is needed and why parts of it simply cannot be rushed.
This video shows a tattoo healing naturally. Shes cleaning it regularly, using all the right products, and the tattoo is still oozy at the beginning and scabs over later. This is completely natural. But if you dont follow aftercare steps, it can quickly turn into a nightmare.
Not only will an infected tattoo be painful, but it will also damage the tattoo design. If youve spent thousands of dollars on your new ink, thats a huge issue!
So, make sure that you always follow correct aftercare steps and dont skip the washing or moisturizing. Its also important to not pick at the tattoo.
Here are some other reasons why taking care of the tattoo is essential.
Our guide, and Google in general, are your friend. Dont ever hesitate to ask for advice! Search is it normal when if you are ever unsure about your healing tattoo and the correct way to care for it. You can also ask questions on forums, such as:
If you need step by step instructions, scroll back up to our day-by-day account of the tattoo aftercare you should be performing. If you need a little extra advice, here are some more detailed tips that weve learnt from the worlds most professional tattoo artists.
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Treating Your Skin Well
Keep Your Tattoo Clean
- Youll need to ensure that your tattoo is kept as clean as possible. Theres no way around it, a fresh tattoo is an open wound and you need to bear that in mind when looking after it. Whilst we take responsibility for the piece of art, tattoo aftercare is 100% your responsibility and cleanliness matters. We recommend short showers until your skin has fully healed.
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A Brief History Of Traditional New Tattoo Care Using Plastic Wrap And Other Aftercare Products
In traditional tattoo care, covering the fresh, clean tattoo with household wrap is usually the first step in the healing process. This piece of wrap generally stays on for 2-24 hours.
Next, the tattoo is washed and an aftercare product is applied . Steps two and three are then repeated for a minimum of 3-4 times per day until the tattoo is fully healed. This can take anywhere from 2-4 weeks, depending on the size, location, and style of tattoo.
Although this new tattoo care method has been sufficient for many, there are plenty of cons to using this healing method.
Despite the common use of petroleum-based products for new tattoo care, these products tend to suffocate skin pores. When pores are not able to breathe, the skin may develop rashes, and hair follicles become irritated or inflamed. This may do more harm than good to a new tattoo.
Additionally, since oxygen itself plays a huge role in allowing a tattoo to heal properly, smothering a new tattoo in plastic wrap and petroleum-based aftercare can be detrimental to the healing process.
Still, aftercare product is extremely helpful in preventing itchiness and scabbing. Scratching a new tattoo can result in loss of color and detail and may cause bleeding, irritation, or infection. And not covering a fresh tattoo can expose the tattoo to unavoidable contaminants. These include bacteria, germs, and dirt from your household or work environment, pet dander, and more. This is the conundrum Saniderm was created to solve.
Tattoo Care For The Short Term
When thinking about new tattoo care, it is important to separate the processes done in the first week compared to the second week. The following is a look at the best processes to follow in these first two weeks after having gotten your tattoo.
Week 1
The first week of tattoo care involves keeping the area clean from any potential contaminants. This means regularly cleaning, disinfecting and moisturising the area as best you can. Tattoo care on day 1 will usually be taken care of by the tattoo artist who will clean and moisturise the area before covering it up with a bandage. For the remainder of the week, you should follow the instructions set out to properly clean the region over and around the tattoo while also ensuring that you keep it moisturised. Having the proper tattoo cleaning and moisturising care products to do this will ensure that the area is properly cleaned.
Week 2
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Avoid Prolonged Sun Exposure And Wear Sunscreen
As time goes on, its natural for a tattoo to go through changes, including fading. According to new research, tattoo ink stays suspended in the dermis and is held there by a certain type of white blood cell called a macrophage, explains Lavriv. A fibroblast is another type of cell known to absorb ink particles, so together, the macrophage and fibroblast bind enough ink particles for the tattoo image to stay put and appear on your skin. These cells hang around for years, and eventually, when they die, the ink molecules get reabsorbed by a new macrophage. Your tattoo becomes part of your organism, which involves shedding and change. And just like its important to keep your actual epidermis safe from harsh chemicals and sun exposure, youll need to care for your tattoo by always making sure you wear sunscreen.
Remember: prolonged sun exposure is damaging to your skin, and, of course, your art. Resist tanning to keep your tattoo looking fresh. “Sun will cause tattoos to fade, especially if you get a lot of sun exposure early on, so make sure to keep it covered or apply SPF 30 or higher regularly if you will be in the sun,” Finney says.
What Are The Best Practices For Sun Exposure Following A New Tattoo
Its important to always protect your tattoo from the sun and tanning beds. Ultraviolet light can slow wound healing, fade your tattoo, and increase your risk of sunspots and skin cancer. Theres also a reaction called , where you develop an allergy to tattoo pigment thats exposed to the sun.
In terms of sun exposure, its best to cover your tattoo with sun-protective clothing. Otherwise, apply a sunscreen thats SPF 30 or higher. Reapply every 2 hours when in the sun. Seek shade, minimize your time in the midday sun, and avoid tanning beds.
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Choose According To Skin Type
Well, a new tattoo more or less makes your skin dry. However, if you have naturally oily skin that can attract dirt, you might want to go easy on the moisturizer. While a moisturizer can layer up the area rather properly, a sensitive skin surface might start getting way too oily on repetitive usage.
If you want something more accommodative, every tattoo artist would recommend coconut oil for a new tattoo, as you can always apply a thin layer of this virtually fragrance-free product.
How To Care For A Fresh Tattoo
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Tattoo aftercare is one of the most important parts of the whole process of getting inkedsecond maybe only to deciding what you want permanently on your body. New York Dermatologist Dr. Dhaval Bhanusali doesn’t mince words: Tattoos cause a form of trauma on the skin, so its super important to administer proper wound care immediately after, he says.
Bhanusali, who advises the tattoo experts at Ephemeral Tattoo in Brooklyn, which specializes in one-year made to fade ink, says the first step is listening to your tattooer. Its not uncommon for different tattoo artists to recommend different post-care options for their work, he adds. This is because different methods are used by different artists, and they may also be able to recommend specific advice to the size and location of your tattoo. However, there are some general products that will help clean, heal, and condition the skin, while also preserving the tattoos brightness in the long term. Weve got the rundown below, plus a timeline for using them.
However, here are two products youll likely want to have ready during the immediate tattoo aftercare phase.
1. Gentle Cleanser
Be sure to use a gentle cleanser every day as the wounds heal, which will help neutralize any bacteria prior to applying ointment and lotion.
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Remove The Bandage And Wash With Antibacterial Soap Only
The original bandage your tattoo artist employs to wrap you up post-ink session can be removed within two to three hours after completion, or however long your tattoo artist recommends. Do not re-bandage. The plasma from the original tattoo may surface after the first couple of hours, and then its time to clean the art and allow it to breathe.
To cleanse the tattoo, use antibacterial soap, such as Dr. Bronners Pure Castile Liquid Soap or any unscented antibacterial liquid. Avoid using any type of cloth to cleanse the tattoo because it will exfoliate the areawhich, remember, is a wound. Next, rinse with warm-to-mild temperature water and pat the area dry with a towel. Allow it to sit for at least 10 minutes before proceeding.
Washing And Moisturizing A Fresh Tattoo
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How To Take Care Of A Tattoo:
- Head Tattoo Aftercare Instructions: While youre preparing to get a head tattoo, you need to know that the process of recovering a head tattoo is delicate. Head Tattoo Aftercare is important to take seriously as this is the area of your skin where hair follicles grow and this makes the process very different from any other tattooed body part. After the first few days of having your head tattooed, the cleansing process is fairly easy, but when the hair starts to grow, the area of the colored skin becomes prickly. This not only causes itching, but also pushes the ink upwards. Applying head tattoo aftercare products can also be difficult as hair begins to grow in the area. Keeping your head tat clean with Tattoo Soap and applying Tattoo aftercare ointment sparsely is essential, and must be done carefully. This helps the scabs come out and you may see exfoliation of dandruff-like colorful particles. Be gentle when washing, and this will assist the traumatized skin to recover easily.
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You can always ask your tattoo artist for specific soap and moisturizer recommendations during your appointment but if you simply forget, just keep it simple when shopping for aftercare supplies. Connecticut-based board-certified dermatologist Mona Gohara MD recommends sticking to fragrance-free products to avoid further irritation to a healing tattoo, as do Palm and Mor. Recently, more skin-care brands that specifically focus on tattoo care have started launching, helping to take the guesswork out of which products to buy. One Allure editor favorite is Mad Rabbit, which sells a fragrance-free body lotion that can help keep the area hydrated.
Unscented soap and moisturizer is a standard aftercare combo that basically all tattoo artists share but Gohara recommends adding one more product to the mix for added healing power. “Lube up with barrier repair creams,” she says. “I love Avène Ciclafate+ Restorative Protective Cream.”
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When Is My Tattoo Fully Healed
Many factors decide the time that is needed for healing your tattoo. Usually, it takes three to four weeks to get the upper layer of your skin healed after you get your tattoo done. In this stage, the scabs start peeling off and you are in your process to recover the layer that is being traumatized the most. However, it is essential to be patient because the underneath layer is not yet healed. The layer underneath your skin will take a much longer time to heal and usually, it takes up to six months to be completely healed. Read more about When is a tattoo fully healed?