How to heal your tattoo

Whether you just got a fine line single needle tattoo or a bold American traditional piece, proper aftercare is essential for a multitude of reason, but mainly:

Promotes Healing

Proper aftercare practices helps the tattoo heal quickly and effectively, minimizing the risk of infection and complications.

Preserves Appearance

Following proper aftercare instructions ensures that the tattoo retains its vibrant colors and sharp lines over time, preventing fading and blurring.

Prevents Infection

Keeping the tattoo clean and moisturized reduces the risk of infections, which can lead to pain, scarring, and permanent damage to the tattoo.

Minimizes Discomfort

Proper tattoo aftercare practices can help alleviate itching, redness, and discomfort associated with the healing process, making it more bearable for the individual.

Ensures Longevity

By taking care of the tattoo during the healing process and after; you can ensure your tattoos look great for the long run without the need for touch-ups.

Overall, proper tattoo aftercare plays a crucial role in ensuring that the tattoo heals properly, and looks great for a long time.

Chapter one: How to heal your tattoo

Every tattoo artist has their own way of healing a tattoo, it’s best to follow your tattooer’s instructions. For this portion we’ll be covering the two ways we at Rose Tattoo recommend healing your tattoo….

Second Skin Bandage

This is a newer approach to healing your tattoo, if your last tattoo was in the 90s you probably aren’t going to be too familiar with this.

After your tattoo is finished, the artist will apply a patch bandage such as Recovery Tattoo or Saniderm. Once the bandage is applied, they are usually recommended to be kept on anywhere from 3 days to a week. Check with your Artist to see what they recommend. Typically tattoos with more trauma to the skin such as color realism, Neo traditional, or American traditional will require a longer healing time and will need the bandage to stay on longer. Tattoos such as single needle, black and grey dot work, or just fineline work have minimal trauma to the skin and only need to be left on for a day or two.

The bandage is totally breathable and water proof, but just try to avoid excessive sweating as sweat can get trapped under the bandage and cause irritation. Avoid soaking the tattoo as well; even though the bandage is waterproof, avoid soaking your tattoo in the ocean or pools

After the bandage has been left on for the recommended time by your Artist, remove the bandage. It’s recommended you use the shower while removing the bandage. The hot water not only helps break down the sticky adhesive, but also cleans the tattoo as well. It’s typical for heavily saturated tattoos to bleed while healing so sometimes there is a build up of plasma and ink under the bandage. Removing in the shower helps with clean up.

Once the bandage is removed, wash well with warm water and antibacterial soap to clean the tattoo. Let the tattoo then air dry or pat dry with a clean paper towel.

After it’s clean and dried, just use a non scented lotion such as lubriderm or cocoa butter whenever your tattoo is peeling. That’s pretty much it. Dont over think healing. Less is more, and for gods sake don’t let us catch you on the beach immediately after getting tattooed. We understand that mid summer, Ocean Beach looks fairly tempting. Don’t do it. Wait until the tattoo is fully done peeling before it’s ok to go swimming again. Same with pools, no, chlorine won’t “be a cleaner alternative” to swimming in the ocean. We’ll go over more about when it’s ok to go swimming again at the bottom of this blog in the commonly asked questions section.

The Old School Saran Wrap

So you just got wrapped up in Saran Wrap, now what…

Leave the Saran Wrap on until you get home. Gonna be out for a while after the tattoo? No problem. Either way. Take the Saran wrap off after an hour to a couple hours. Wash your hands before taking off the Saran Wrap to ensure you aren’t touching the tattoo with dirty hands and introducing bacteria. Remember, a tattoo is essentially just a cut, treat it like one.

Keep the tattoo clean: Gently wash the tattooed area with mild soap and water, then pat it dry with a clean towel. Avoid harsh rubbing.

Apply ointment or moisturizer: After washing, apply a thin layer of fragrance-free moisturizer or tattoo-specific ointment to keep the skin hydrated and promote healing. Follow the aftercare instructions provided by your tattoo artist. Some artists recommend Aquaphor if it’s a tattoo with heavy saturation of color such as American Traditional, Color Realism, or Neo Traditional tattooing.

When using ointment, apply a very thin amount, there shouldn’t be a shine to your tattoo after applied. Some artists will say a “pea sized amount”. Why? Because your tattoo still needs to breath and heal like any cut. Petroleum jelly-based ointments like Aquaphor can trap bacteria under the ointment if the layer is too thick leading to infection or inflammation. Less is more. Keep it simple stupid.

Avoid picking or scratching: It's normal for a tattoo to scab and itch during the healing process, but resist the urge to scratch or pick at it, as this can damage the skin and affect the tattoo's appearance.

Protect from the sun: Keep your tattoo out of direct sunlight and avoid prolonged exposure to UV rays, as this can cause fading and damage to the tattooed skin. If you need to be in the sun, use a sunscreen with a high SPF and reapply regularly.

Stay hydrated and eat well: Drinking plenty of water and eating a balanced diet can help promote overall skin health, which in turn aids in the healing process of your tattoo.

Follow up with your tattoo artist: If you have any concerns or notice any signs of infection, such as excessive redness, swelling, or oozing, contact your tattoo artist or a healthcare professional for guidance.

Remember, healing times can vary depending on the size and location of the tattoo, but typically it takes about 2-4 weeks for a tattoo to fully heal.

And, because it always happens, stay out if the water! No pools and ocean until the tattoo is totally healed.

Commonly asked questions

Blood and Ink Under the Bandage

This is perfectly normal to have some pooled ink and plasma under the bandage as it heals. The tattoo is still able to “breath” through the bandage. However, though rare for fine line tattoos, if there is a large amount of pooling that is leaking through the bandage and causing the bandage to peel away, consult the shop to see about having a new clean bandage reapplied.

Redness

Redness is normal post tattoo as well as after removing the bandage due to irritation and typically subsides after a day or two. It is common to also have small red blemishes surrounding the tattoo as ink and vaseline used during the tattoo can often times clog the pores of your skin and cause break outs.

If the tattoo is in a sensitive area prone to a lot of movement, and the area surrounding the tattoo is splotchy red, or causing the skin to raise, remove the bandage early as your skin may be getting overly irritated from the bandage pulling the skin too much. If you ever have any questions with redness, feel free to contact the shop for advice on how to proceed

Is my tattoo coming off as I remove the bandage?

It sure isnt. Thats just the residual ink that doesnt fully settle into the skin coming off with the bandage

Itching and Peeling

Itching and peeling is totally normal during the healing process. Tattoos are deliberate wounds to your body and the healing process causes it to itch. DONT SCRATCH THE TATTOO. Fresh tattoos are open wounds, keep your dirty hands off the wound to avoid infection and ensure the tattoo heals well. Using a small amount of lotion will help relieve some of that discomfort.

When can I go swimming again after getting tattooed?

Everyone’s heal time is totally different, typically we say to wait 2 weeks before getting into any oceans or pools. Once your tattoo is totally done peeling and settled in, you’re good to go. Coming to San Diego and want to get a tattoo? Check with the shop or Artist about setting up your appointment closer to the end of your trip, this way you still get to fully enjoy all the amazing beaches San Diego has to offer. Don’t be that person halfway in the ocean holding their arm up so it doesn’t get wet. Grow up.

I got a sunburn, can I still get tattooed?

Oh god, no, why?? You ever have someone slap your sunburn by mistake? It’s awful, and you want your dry-wiping Artist to tattoo OVER that?? In summary, getting tattooed over a sunburn is generally not recommended. Sunburned skin is already irritated, inflamed, and more susceptible to damage, which can increase the risk of complications during the tattooing process.

Tattooing over sunburned skin can be more painful and may lead to poor ink retention, uneven healing, and increased risk of infection. Additionally, the sunburn can distort the appearance of the tattoo as the skin heals.

It's best to wait until the sunburn has fully healed before getting a tattoo to ensure the best results and minimize potential risks and complications. If you are unsure though, just reach out to the artist or the shop and we can advise on if we need to reschedule you or not. Remember, its better to just wait a couple weeks to get back in than leave with a tattoo that might heal up poorly and won’t be a good representation of the artists work that you could have got instead.

Got any other questions we didn’t cover? Hit us up. We’re always around to help you out. Got a good enough question? Well, it may just end up on this blog one day. Hope you enjoy your new tattoo and enjoyed the experience at Rose Tattoo.

This blog was written and collaborated with Casey Sullivan traditional tattooer extraordinaire, Gary Daggerface Dunn the best dang Neo traditional tattooer in Southern California, and Dan Collins the finest line single needle in the west.