[Tattoo Aftercare] – A Complete Guide To Tattoo Healing Process

complete guide to tatttoo healing process tattoo aftercare

The healing time of a tattoo is the final process of the art piece. You get endless number of options and numerous experts telling you what to do and what not to. Well, in this article, we have summarized some of the basic things which you ought to know about your tattoo healing process and these are related to some common tattoo healing problems which everybody goes through. It could be different from your friend’s experiences, but after many years of research, we have summed up some facts which every tattooed people tend to go through in their initially weeks of healing. You should also be aware of the things that you should know before getting your first tattoo.

Tattoo Aftercare Instructions

The most important step for tattoo healing is to leave a bandage on the tattooed area overnight.
Rush into the shower and use your finger tips to clean the tattoo with warm soap water, after taking out the plastic.
Apply water thrice a day, on the tattoo, for the first couple of days. Use a little amount of moisturizer or salve which doesn’t include alcohol twice daily.

Next, for some more days, wash the tattoo twice daily and use moisturizing cream twice a day.

Don’t scrub off the scabs or flaky skin in the shower. Let them shed on their own.

Stay away from the scorching sun for a couple of weeks. Do not get into hot tubs or hot bath for 7 days at least. Hot showers are okay though.

Stages of Tattoo Healing

Getting yourself inked doesn’t end the tattoo process. In fact the main process starts with the healing therapy. A healing tattoo goes through the tattoo healing stages to finally let you go out of the extra cautiousness and pain. Your tattoo healing timeline would go on for around 3 to 4 weeks after the tattoo has been inked, but once the process is complete, your tattoo will look like the new skin which you designed! Having a close idea about the tattoo stages will help you tackles the days to come.

1st Stage: this stage starts off where your tattoo is inked. You can consider that your tattooed area is like an open wound and you would have to treat it accordingly. Your artist is going to carefully clean the area and even bandage from protecting it from germs. Artists mostly recommend the customers to keep the area covered for one whole day, but you might have to change the bandage as a fresh tattoo weeps of blood a little! If the bandage soaks up too much of blood, it might stick to the skin and harm your tattoo and healing process.

Sometimes the healing tattoo feels like sunburn. The tattooed portion stings a little and looks red and swollen. This is natural and a part of the healing process. You will have scabs in the area and they should be undisturbed – they would fall off on their own after you gently wash the area with your hand. Wash it twice daily and use a mild soap. For patting it dry, use fresh paper towel. Dab a little moisturizer gently, as recommended by your artist for your new tattoo care.

People heal at different paces, but the initial healing stage usually lasts for a week, if an infection doesn’t set in though. If you think that the pain if more than what you expect, you can have a pain killer.

2nd Stage: the next stage is usually the beginning of itching. By now the scabs are well formed and are probably just going to flake off – this process continues for around a week as well. The skin around your tattoo might seem to dry up. A lot of people feel some peeling like sunburns. Trying to not forcefully peel the skin. Allow it to naturally slake off and by no means can you scratch the tattoo. It might damage and spoil the look of it. Apply aftercare lotion on the area for relief. This stage would go on for a week too.

3rd Stage: this is the final healing time. By now, most of the scabs should have fallen off, though the area would look a little dry and tender. Your tattoo won’t look as bright as it did at the very fresh look and this is natural. There will still be a layer of dead skin on your tattoo at this time and that obscures a bit. Once that layer slakes off, you will see how your tattoo actually looks like. If you have survived with infections and scratching, it should look perfect!

Thus, the fastest tattoo healing process would at least of 3 to 4 weeks. You need to give special care and attention to your tattoo during this time. It is important to preserve the wonderful work of art which you just inked yourself with. The initial days of care are going to be the most delicate and the most essential. It is surely a painful time to tackle the bruises and also take adequate care of the tattoo, but once this phase is over, you will have possessed the fine art for a lifetime.

If you experience anything which is beyond the things which have been mentioned above, you must get in touch with your artist immediately. He/she might not be a licensed physician, but will be familiar to the side effects of the healing process and recommend you to do the needful. If you artist feels that you have infection, he will guide you to get that properly medicated and healed. You might also keep your GP informed just in case if you need his help at any time.

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