Getting new ink feels amazing. It’s both a release and an identity-defining moment. Having done your homework to find a good tattoo artist, you want to do justice to the art with proper tattoo aftercare.
If you’re anything like us, you definitely want your tattoo to look great for as long as possible, whether it’s a meaningful work of art or a fun bit of party ink.
This ties in perfectly with aftercare because—barring a shoddy tattoo job—poor aftercare is the surest way to not get the tatt results you want.
To that end, we want to take an in-depth look at:
- Dos and don'ts of tattoo aftercare
- Proper tattoo cleansing technique
- What to expect from the different tattoo healing stages
- Tips to get your aftercare and healing right
Table of Contents
- Tattoo Aftercare Basics
- How to Clean Your Tattoo Properly
- Stages of Tattoo Healing
- Long-Term Tattoo Aftercare
- What Makes a Good Tattoo Aftercare Lotion?
- Frequently Asked Questions
1 - Tattoo Aftercare Basics
Tattoo aftercare basics boil down to how you clean, moisturize, and protect your skin from damage.
Let’s dive right into the aftercare dos and don'ts.
Tattoo Aftercare Dos
Clean Your Tattoo Regularly
The recommended frequency is 2–3 times a day with gentle soaps, such as pure Castile soap.
Gentle soaps typically comprise natural extracts, few and simple ingredients, and they don’t contain fragrances or alcohol, which irritate and dry out the skin, respectively.
We’ll give you a step-by-step breakdown of the proper cleaning technique a little later.
Moisturize Your Tattoo
Use a mild, natural, residue-free balm or lotion. Make sure it’s fragrance-free and ideal for sensitive skin because your new tattoo is like your new baby—delicate.
Touch Your Tattoo With Clean Hands
Wash your hands before cleaning or moisturizing your tattoo. You don’t want to introduce germs to your open tattooed skin.
Wear Loose Clothing
Especially between day 1–7 post-tattoo, your clothes should be loose ones that you don’t mind spoiling. The new tattoo will breathe and heal better.
Bonus points for not having tight clothing painfully stick to and scratch up your new ink.
Tattoo Aftercare Don’ts
Rough Handling of Your Tattoo
Avoid cleansing your tattoo with a cloth or loofah, as they’ll over-exfoliate and damage your tattoo.
It’s like scrubbing a fresh wound (Ouch!).
Similarly, don’t scratch your tattoo or pick at the scabs, even if it gets severely itchy. Moisturize instead, or do that light slapping trick you’ll see among wig wearers.
Pulling off the scabs can cause you pain, delay healing, and damage your tattoo.
Vigorous Activity
Skin-to-skin contact with your tattooed area is a huge no-no. So, if you’re into contact sports like volleyball or even surfing, it’s best to wait 2–3 weeks before resuming vigorous activity.
Swimming
Stay away from lakes, pools, the sea, and large bodies of water that’ll submerge your tattoo—the water will leach out the ink. Worse yet are all the bacteria in these places waiting eagerly to pounce on your new tatt. Wait 3–4 weeks before going for a swim.
Hot Water
Never use hot water to clean your tattoo. It’s painful and will further open your pores, damaging the ink and delaying the healing process through scab formation.
Contact With Sand
Sand will exfoliate and damage your tender new skin. Sometimes, sand can carry bacteria and put you at risk of infection. If you somehow get sand on your ink, don’t rub it off. Instead, gently rinse it off with running water.
Alcohol
Limit or completely cut out alcohol in those first 48 hours of getting your tattoo. Alcohol dehydrates the body, and can cause blood thinning, which makes your tattoo secrete more fluids, which can delay scab formation and expose the skin to infection.
Sun Tanning
The UV rays from the sun will blast your gorgeous new ink into a faded mess. Covering up the tattooed area is crucial in those first weeks, but it’s also key in long-term tattoo care.
2 - How to Clean Your Tattoo Properly
It seems obvious, but some of the simplest things, like cleaning your tattoo, can go wrong if you overdo or underdo it. Let’s break down the proper tattoo cleaning procedure:
- Wash your hands thoroughly with a neutral, unscented, antibacterial soap. A new tattoo is an open wound, and you need to touch it with clean hands.
- Wet your tattoo with lukewarm water by cupping the water in your hand. Avoid soaking your tattoo in water or letting a stream of water flow directly onto the tattoo to avoid leaching away of pigment, scarring or puckering of the skin.
- Apply a gentle, fragrance-free soap to your hands and use the suds to clean your tattoo using a gentle circular motion. When it no longer feels slippery with plasma, you’re done cleaning your tattoo. Don’t worry if the tattoo flakes fall off naturally as you clean it between days 3–7.
- Cup the lukewarm water in your hand and gently rinse your tattoo.
- Use a completely clean, unused towel or paper towel to pat your tattoo dry.
- Once your tattoo is dry, apply in a circular motion, a thin layer of a gentle lotion; such as our KOYA Tattoo Sensitiv+e, which is natural, breathes well and doesn’t leave residue on your new tattoo.
- If it’s still day 1, reapply a fresh tattoo film or bandage.
Now that we’ve highlighted the key parts of properly cleaning your tattoo, you’ll want to know what to expect from the healing process.
3 - Stages of Tattoo Healing
Tattoos are a big deal, and you should pay keen attention to your tattooist’s aftercare guidelines.
Your tattoo is an open wound, and how you take care of it in those first few weeks will determine whether you come out with a work of art or a patchy mess.
Here’s a table breaking down the different stages of tattoo healing and appropriate aftercare tips:
| Duration | Tattoo Healing Stage | Tattoo Aftercare Tips |
| Day 1 |
|
|
| Day 2–3 |
|
|
| Day 4–6 |
|
|
| Week 1–2 |
|
|
| Week 2–4 |
|
|
Tattoo flu—mild flu symptoms for a day or two after the tattoo—is a huge possibility, so you need to rest and eat healthily after your tattoo session. However, if your symptoms worsen, talk to your tattoo artist or doctor.
4 - Long-Term Tattoo Aftercare
Most tattoo aftercare guides focus on helping you sail through those first itchy weeks. However, the care you give your tattoo long-term will determine whether it looks vibrant for years.
For long-term care, the rule of thumb is to avoid damaging your skin by:
- Avoiding prolonged exposure to the sun, which can break down the ink in your skin causing the tattoo to fade
- Wearing sunscreen with a minimum of SPF 35 whenever you’re in the sun
- Keeping the tattoo and the surrounding skin hydrated with a residue-free lotion, containing nourishing ingredients like Vitamin E, which can help reverse sun damage
"Feels good on the skin and makes my tattoos look new every time."
— Melissa Beins
What Makes a Good Tattoo Aftercare Lotion?
The successful trifecta of a good tattoo aftercare lotion is that it should be mild, unscented, and made with simple natural ingredients.
KOYA Tattoo lotion levels up this trifecta by being residue-free, which means no stickiness or residue on your skin after application. It’s COSMOS-certified natural, containing natural oils and extracts, including vitamin E, which rejuvenates skin.
"It provides healing and revitalizing results plus doubles as moisturizer and sunscreen without the greasiness that you get from a traditional tattoo butter. Highly recommended if you are looking for tattoo aftercare lotion."
— Norman Lataquin
You should 100% avoid any tattoo balms or lotions that include:
- Alcohol
- Petroleum
- Lanolin
- Mineral oil, such as vitamin A or D
- Parabens
- Phthalates
- Fragrances
The above ingredients often cause skin irritation, dry out the skin, or suffocate it. They aren’t suitable for sensitive skin like tattooed skin.
If you’re ready to treat your brand-new tattoo like a delicate baby using the best products, try the KOYA Tattoo Lotion. It works well for early tattoo aftercare and for daily use long-term.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does a tattoo take to heal?
Tattoos take 2–4 weeks to heal on the surface while the skin underneath could take up to six months. There are certain factors that could slow down your healing process:
- Tattoo placement: Areas with sensitive or thin skin, such as your face, eyelids, or private parts have more nerve endings and experience more damage during tattooing and may take up to six weeks to heal.
- Solid ink tattoos: Shading requires the tattooist to go over every inch of skin with the needle, causing more skin irritation. The skin may need 6 weeks or more to heal.
- Poor tattoo aftercare: Constantly damaging the tattooed skin with rough handling and poor cleaning technique can delay the healing process.
How do I know if my tattoo isn't healing properly?
Signs that your tattoo isn’t healing properly include:
- Pus oozing from the tattoo
- Prolonged and mounting pain or swelling beyond week one
- Severe itching beyond the first two weeks
- Red lesions on or around the tatt
- High fever with increased body chills for more than 2 days
Consult your doctor in case of the above symptoms.
Is the tattoo healing process painful?
Tattoo healing is only painful for the first week. Thereafter, the pain and swelling go down. When the swelling is particularly bad, a neat trick is to ice the area and keep it elevated.
Never place ice directly on the tattoo, as it can cause the skin to pucker and crack. Ice can also stick to the tattooed skin, causing pain.
Wrap the ice in a clean, damp, fluff-free cloth and place gently on the tattooed area for only 20 minutes.
What causes a tattoo to fade?
A new tattoo will appear faded in the first few weeks of healing as new skin grows over the tattoo. Eventually, the scabs shed, revealing the vibrant color underneath. However, a tattoo will fade long-term, but how soon it happens depends on your aftercare.
Some factors that may cause your tattoo to fade are:
- Too much sun exposure
- Poor initial care during tattoo healing
- Excessive friction because of sports or a highly active lifestyle
- Significant weight gain, which will change your skin's elasticity
- Inadequate overall skin care
- Deficient diet, which will deprive your skin of nutrients
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