Some people even like to use pure coconut oil , which is an antimicrobial. Just be sure to avoid products that contain fragrance, which can irritate your healing skin.
In the first few months after getting a tattoo, keep it covered with sunscreen or sun-protective clothing. Your tattoo will likely scab over and itch.
Avoid the temptation to pick or scratch at the scabs. Scratching may change the look of the tattoo or cause scarring. You can apply moisturizer to help ease the itching. Signs of improper healing include:. Every tattoo heals slightly differently depending on each person and where the tattoo is located. The healing process follows a four-stage healing timeline that includes oozing, itching, peeling, and continued aftercare. Between deciding where you want it, finding your artist, and practicing good aftercare, a lot goes into getting a tattoo.
Here's what to expect. Tattoo aftercare starts as soon as your tattoo is done. Learn how to care for your tattoo, what to expect in the first month, the signs of infection…. Heres what you can…. Coconut oil…. However, there are a few causes of itching that…. The hardest part of your tattoo experience is over—making decisions about your studio , artist and design, plus sitting through the discomfort of getting it done —but the experience itself is not quite complete.
While artists often tell their clients that tattoos heal in an average of two weeks, Dr. So then when does a tattoo fully heal? The exact length of the healing process varies between tattoos. For example, check out the pain scale for hand-poked designs. With the help of Milliron, Dr. You tattoo is fresh and probably very sore to the touch. Check out our sleeping with a new tattoo article for more information about getting a restful night with new ink. Finally, you should keep your tattoo away from direct sun exposure for at least until it heals.
It would help if you also were careful once the tattoo has finished healing, too. Over time, UV can cause a tattoo to fade considerably. Clothing works far superior to sunscreen in protecting your tattoo from UV rays. A lot of people regard this as the worst stage of healing. This stage is infamous due to the dreaded itchy ink. Scabs are hard and well-formed by this point, and a few of the smaller ones are probably ready to start flaking off. The flaking will continue for around another week, and your skin is going to become very dry and flaky.
While all new tattoos will flake, some will peel so lightly that you may not even be able to see this process in action. I can assure you that the process will still occur; it will likely just be on a smaller scale.
Lighter tattoos, especially ones containing lots of white ink , will flake and peel much lighter than darker ones. By this stage, the dryness of the damaged and dead skin is what causes much of the flaking. This flaking is what primarily brings on the itching that everybody loves to hate. The secret to preventing itching is to keep the skin moisturized. Do not scratch your tattoo. Of all the things not to do while your tattoo is healing , scratching the area is one of the most important.
If you must relieve the itch, try lightly tapping the area or give it another wash. During stage 2, you should moisturize the tattoo with fragrance-free lotion each time you wash it. An excellent moisturizing routine should be enough to prevent any extreme dryness or itching. This stuff works amazingly well during the healing process, not only by keeping your tattoo well hydrated but also by soothing any annoying itching and irritation.
When using it from the very start of the healing process, this lotion will help to decrease tattoo healing times and work towards eliminating any lingering dryness and scabbing. Ensure your tattoo is completely dry before applying lotion. Water trapped between the lotion and the skin can cause your scabs to soak up water and become gloopy.
This makes the scabs far more likely to be pulled off by becoming stuck to something, such as bed sheets or clothing.
If you apply too much lotion, pat off the excess with a paper towel until only a faint shine can be seen on the surface. As you reach the end of this stage, much more of your skin will become flaky and start peel away. Any pulling may uproot ink from the deeper layers of skin, which can cause patchiness and fading. Half-peeled pieces of skin hanging from your tattoo, along with extra dryness, means your tattoo is going to look quite bad for several days.
Luckily, the heavy peeling only usually lasts for days. When washing your tattoo, you may see some colored pieces of skin flaking away.
This is actually how I lost most of my peeling skin, and all of my tattoos have healed perfectly. You may also experience some tightness in the skin around your tattoo.
The tightness is due to skin becoming drier than usual as it heals, which is to be expected. Applying lotion to the skin if it starts to feel tight can help to loosen it up. Nearly there! By now, most scabs and flaky areas will have disappeared, but one or two heavier scabs may remain.
Continue to moisturize whenever your skin begins to look or feel dry. Throughout this stage, your tattoo can continue to look cloudy, dull, or scaly. It can even look somewhat glossy or shiny in particular light. When a healing tattoo looks dull or faded, it can often be quite worrying, but rest assured this is normal.
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