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.
Tattoo Healing Stages - A Complete Timeline
The outer layer of your new tattoo will heal within 2-3 weeks, though the entire healing process often takes upwards of 6 months.
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.
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.
Any itching that seems extreme, or rashes and cracked skin, could indicate infection. It's normal to experience some itching, especially during later stages of healing when your skin is flakey and starting to regenerate, but in the first couple of days you probably shouldn't be feeling itchy or rash-like.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Weeks 3 and 4
During this stage of the healing process your new ink may appear a little less vibrant than you were expecting. This is because a layer of dry skin can form over your new tattoo. Over the next week or so this will naturally exfoliate itself, revealing your tattoo underneath in all its vibrant glory.
It is still important to wash the tattoo, even while it's peeling, and even if you notice some ink coming away as you do it.
When you over moisturize your tattoo, you can actually delay the healing process. Excess moisture in the skin creates the perfect environment for bacteria and germ growth, so one of the key signs is irritated, inflamed skin. Another key sign of over moisturizing is clogged skin.
But it is safe to say that your fresh tattoo should generally feel almost 'normal' and healed, approximately 5 - 10 days post tattoo procedure.
The following may be indicative of an infection: Ongoing pain that worsens, becoming extreme: Tattoos are painful but if the pain intensifies instead of getting better, and becomes excruciating, unbearable or searing or if the tattoo is painful to touch a week to 10 days after it was done this may signal an infection.
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.
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.
Typically speaking, tattoos can get infected anywhere from a few days to a couple of months after they are finished. This is because healing times vary, and, as long as there is still skin to heal, infection is possible.