How do I look after a new tattoo?

Why it matters

How a tattoo looks in five years is decided in its first two weeks. Good aftercare keeps the colour saturated and the lines crisp, and keeps the skin from getting infected while it is still an open wound.

Your artist will talk you through all of this before you leave, and you can ask us anything at any point afterwards.

Day one

Leave the wrap on for as long as your artist tells you · usually two to five hours, though some films stay on far longer. Follow what they told you rather than what you read elsewhere.

• Wash your hands with soap before you touch it, every single time.
• For the first wash, use warm water and a mild unscented soap to take off the blood and excess ink. Be gentle.
• Pat it dry with clean kitchen roll. Do not rub it, and do not use a bath towel · towels hold bacteria and catch on the skin.
• Leave it uncovered for the first night so the skin can breathe.

Days two to seven

This is when most people go wrong by doing too much rather than too little.

• Apply a paper-thin layer of unscented lotion or aftercare balm, two or three times a day.
• Do not over-moisturise. Thick cream smothers the skin, traps bacteria and can lift the ink.
• Wear loose, soft clothing. Friction on healing skin is the enemy.
• Give the gym a few days. Sweat irritates it, and shared equipment is not clean.

Peeling and itching, days seven to fourteen

It will peel like sunburn and it will itch. Both are normal and both pass.

Do not scratch it and never pick the scabs or peeling skin. Pulling a scab off takes the ink underneath with it and leaves a blank patch that has to be tattooed again. If the itching is bad, tap the skin gently through clothing rather than scratching.

Keep drinking water. Skin rebuilds better when you are hydrated.

From week three

The surface heals long before the deeper skin does, so a few habits carry on past the point where it looks finished.

• No swimming pools, hot tubs, baths, lakes or the sea until every scab and flake has gone.
• Once it is fully healed, use SPF 30 or higher on it. Sun is the single biggest cause of a faded tattoo.

If it went home under a clear film

Some pieces leave the studio under a thin, clear adhesive film instead of a wrap. It is breathable and showerproof, so day-to-day life carries on more or less as normal while it is on. Your artist will tell you how long to keep it · follow that, and never go past it.

A pocket of cloudy fluid under the film is normal. It is plasma with a little ink in it, the skin doing its job, and it looks worse than it is.

• Shower as normal, but keep showers short and do not soak it in a bath.
• Wear loose clothing over it so nothing rubs the edges up.
• To take it off, stand under warm running water, lift a corner and stretch the film slowly back along itself, low and flat against the skin. It grips firmly, so go slowly rather than ripping it.
• Ink on the inside of the film when it comes off is normal. That is surface ink that never settled into the skin.
• If it leaks, lifts at the edges or becomes uncomfortable, take it off early, wash the tattoo gently and carry on as below.
• Once it is off, wash it gently twice a day for the first week and moisturise it thinly, as described in days two to seven.

If it went home under cling film

Take the wrap off when you get home, then wash the tattoo gently with warm water and a mild, unscented soap and pat it dry.

Some artists ask you to wrap it again for the first night, which keeps it off the sheets and stops it sticking to fabric while you sleep. Only do this if your artist asked you to. If you did, take it off in the morning, rinse it, and start moisturising thinly from there.

If your artist gave you a particular balm or a particular routine, theirs wins over anything written here.

What to keep away from it

For the first two to four weeks, these are the things that undo good work.

• Soaking it · baths, swimming pools, hot tubs, saunas, the sea and lakes. A shower is fine; sitting in water is not.
• Sun on healing skin. Keep it covered with loose clothing while it heals, and use a high-factor sunscreen once it has fully healed.
• Scratching, picking or peeling it, however much it itches.
• Tight or rough clothing over it. Friction on a fresh tattoo slows it down and can lift ink.
• Hard training for the first two weeks · heavy sweat, shared equipment and kit that rubs.
• Alcohol for the first couple of days. It dries the skin out at exactly the wrong moment.
• Pets on it, especially in the first week while it is still open. Keep animals and their hair off the area.

What to put on it, and what not to

Less is more, and plain is better. Use only what your artist recommended if they gave you something specific.

• Use: a mild, unscented, colourless liquid soap, washed on with clean fingertips, never a cloth or sponge.
• Use: a paper-thin layer of unscented lotion or aftercare balm, two or three times a day. If it looks shiny or greasy, it is too much.
• Use, once fully healed: a high-factor sunscreen, every time it sees the sun. This is what keeps it sharp for years.
• Avoid: petroleum jelly and thick ointments, which seal the skin in.
• Avoid: perfumed creams and coloured soaps, which can irritate new skin.
• Avoid: alcohol-based sprays, hand sanitiser and anything with alcohol near it.
• Avoid: exfoliants and active skincare · AHAs, BHAs, retinol · until it has completely healed.

Quick answers

The questions we are asked most in the first fortnight.

• How long does it take to heal? The surface usually settles in two to four weeks. The deeper skin keeps healing for a few months, which is why sun care carries on afterwards.
• Can I shower? Yes, from the first day. Keep it short, keep the jet off the tattoo, and pat it dry afterwards.
• When can I swim? Not until every flake and scab has gone, usually three to four weeks.
• Why is it peeling? Peeling is the top layer of skin renewing, much like after sunburn. The ink sits deeper. Let it come away on its own.
• Is the itching normal? Yes. It tends to peak in the second week. Tap it gently rather than scratching.
• Can I go to the gym? Light activity after a couple of days is fine. Leave hard sessions for two weeks.
• It looks cloudy or faded. Is that normal? Yes, for the first few weeks. A thin layer of new skin sits over the ink and clears as it matures.

When to get it looked at

Some redness, swelling and warmth in the first few days is normal. What is not normal is pain that gets worse rather than better after the first few days, spreading redness, a green or yellow discharge, a bad smell, or a fever.

If you see any of those, see a pharmacist, your GP or NHS 111 rather than waiting · and tell us too, so we know. We would always rather you asked and it turned out to be nothing.