It may take several weeks or even months for the tattoo to reach its full color potential, so it's important to be patient and wait for the healing process to finish before making any decisions. If the tattoo still isn't dark enough after it has fully healed, you may want to consider getting it touched up or redone.
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.
Tattoo Fading and Healing Phases
Tattoos look different during this time because the ink is entering your body. Your skin is a living organ, so when you're getting a tattoo, it's like you're letting your body soak up the ink. For this reason, tattoos may fade dramatically in the first few days.
A patchy tattoo could be the result of bad technique; if the artist hasn't made sure the ink is deep enough to stay put. It could also be due to them not 'packing' the ink enough; certain ink colours, or areas of concentrated black, often need to be packed in quite a lot in order to create a solid area of colour.
Your tattoo is going through the normal healing process.
A lack of ink isn't a problem if your tattoo is still peeling and healing. Chances are, your skin won't all heal at exactly the same rate, which may leave you with a patchy, inconsistent-looking tattoo.
It takes 24 to 36 hours for your tattoo to reach peak darkness. On most people, a tattoo will end up being a dark blue to black color, depending on your individual skin chemistry. 💡 So don't worry if you don't see a dark tattoo immediately.
Unfortunately, in most cases the intensely saturated colour you see when you first get a tattoo, won't actually be the finished result. The ink will usually end up looking a tiny bit darker and less vibrant once healed. Of course, a lot of this will be down to the quality of ink used, and the technique of the artist.
Why Vaseline and petroleum-based jelly aren't great for a new tattoo. Petroleum-based products can cause ink to fade and may trap moisture and bacteria on top of the tattoo, increasing your risk of developing an infection. Use water-based moisturizers on new tattoos instead.
Why Tattoos May Not Hold Color. One of the most common reasons tattoos may not hold color is due to the type of pigment used. Certain pigments, such as those made of iron oxide, are more likely to fade or change color over time.
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.
Tattoo Care After 2 Weeks – Days 15 to 30
If your tattoo looks dry and dull, continue to moisturize to rehydrate the skin. It may take another month or two for the lower layers of skin to completely heal, at which point the tattoo should look as bright and vivid as you expected, and as the artist intended.
Signs of an Overworked Tattoo
A Change in Appearance - If the tattoo looks faded, pale, cloudy, blurry, or heavily distorted, this could be a sign of overworked skin. This may also appear as ink distortion and blurring. During a tattoo, ink needs to be deposited in your dermis so the pigment stays put.
The tattooing process prompts your body to kill off and shed the damaged skin cells, while it regenerates brand new skin over the tattooed area. As this old, damaged layer of skin dies, it sits on the surface for a while, forming a translucent layer over your tattoo, giving it a faded, milky appearance.
Yes. Washing any part of your body too much can lead the skin to be dry and to crack, especially when using antibacterial soap. Your new tattoo is healing, so avoid over-washing and apply fragrance-free, tattoo-approved moisturizer if that tattoo looks dry or the skin feels uncomfortably dry and itchy.
This layer of skin is called 'silver skin' and will make the tattoo look a little shiny and dull. The brightness will return in time once the tattoo is fully healed.
It will still look great as long as you take care of it and let it heal properly. Your tattoo will naturally fade over time. For some people, it can take only a couple of years for them to start to notice that the ink doesn't look as strong anymore. For others, tattoo fading won't be noticeable for decades.
Week One: Redness
It is typical for your tattoo to appear reddish during this stage, and you may even see ink seeping out of the tattoo. If the "oozing" persists after a week, consult a doctor.
"During the healing process, you should moisturize your tattoo three to six times a day," Ladna says. "Keeping your tattoo hydrated during the initial days is especially critical. If your tattoo becomes too dry, the healing may actually take longer, and you may risk losing color saturation."
If the needle being used on your tattoo doesn't go deep enough into the dermis layer of your skin, that means the ink has been deposited in the epidermis layer. As we mentioned before, ink deposited here will quickly leave the skin when epidermal cells renew themselves, making for a not-so-permanent tattoo.