The reason that tattoos require healing time is that getting a tattoo is traumatic for your skin. A good, experienced tattoo artist will be able to get you inked with the least amount of trauma, and as such, your skin will heal faster and with fewer complications.

Leave the bandage on for at least forty five minutes after getting your tattoo. A new tattoo is essentially a wound on your skin that permits bacteria to get through the first line of defense that your body has, your skin.

You may soak the bandage with warm water when removing it. This will eliminate pulling off skin that might have stuck to the bandage while wet. Never just yank off the bandage. This step can be skipped if your tattoo was bandaged with cellophane wrap. Cellophane traps in bacteria, and seals the tattoo off from air.

Clean off the gunk on the new tattoo after the bandage is removed. Wash it lightly with some warm water and antibiotic soap or soap made especially for tattoo healing. Never use bar soap, it will dry out the area. Merely lather some soap on your hand, and gently wash the tattoo and rinse it. Pat dry with a clean towel.

Apply a thin layer of Bacitracin, Neosporin ointment (not the creme), or products made for tattoo healing on your tattoo. You need to use this for the first 3-5 days, 2-3 times a day, no more. Using too much can cause contact dermatitis. After that, you can switch over to using an unscented lotion for another week, or until the tattoo has healed. Most lotions are acceptable so long as they are non-fragrance and non-coloured, as fragrance and colour can irritate the tattoo.

Tattoo healing normally takes about 6 days to two weeks. A tattoo will generally peel once, and a shiny, new layer of skin will form, before it is completely healed.