Healing Time

There are many stories going round about the healing times and process of a tattoo.

• The tattoo is placed in your skin using needles. When the tattoo is done, the skin will be red, which is normal and is caused by shaving, pricking and cleaning the skin.
  
  
• Within a few hours the redness will decline, the tattoo will be swollen and a little sore. Especially the first night, wear an old (but clean!) shirt, because ink will seep out of the skin due to septum and/or bleeding. Many people freak out when they wake up and find a print of their tattoo on their pillowcase or bed sheets. If your shirt is stuck to the tattoo after waking up, you can soak it off using warm (not hot!) water. Never tear it off yourself!
  
  
• Within a few days scabs will appear on your tattoo, make sure you don’t rub it in too much, this will cause the scabs to soak and will not get enough oxygen to heal properly. When you don’t put on the prescribed ointment, the tattoo will become too dry and crack. This will cause your skin to bleed again and take ink with it. This can cause parts of the tattoo to be lighter than the rest after healing.
  
  
• The scabs will shrink after a few days. It can seem like the tattoo is spreading, it isn’t. The tattoo is now healing and the parts that stick out are already ‘free’ of scabs.
  
  
• During the healing process the tattoo might itch, try not to touch it and avoid peeling of scabs. Never pull on scabs, always wait until they get loose fall of by itself.
  
  
• When all scabs are gone, the tattoo can seem vague of colour, this is normal! The tattoo is not fully healed yet, there are still tiny membranes over it, after a few days they will ware off. Using your advised ointment is still useful.
  
  
• When your tattoo isn’t shiny anymore, the tattoo is fully healed.
  
  
• What should I do when parts of my tattoo look light of colour or vague after healing? – On mostly all cases, the tattoo artist will finish of the tattoo for you without any additional costs. Make sure you keep an eye on the period of guarantee, if you make your appointment too late, you will be charged!

Correcting outlines

• With outlines, your skin is healed quicker and the skin isn’t as damaged as with bigger surfaces. Nevertheless you should let the tattoo heal for about 7 to 10 days. After this period, make sure you still regularly put on some crème.

When should I contact the tattoo shop?

• When your tattoo is infected.
• When the tattoo still hurts a lot after five days.
• When, after the healing process, there are still vague or light spots in the tattoo.