There are about a thousand tattoo aftercare guides on the internet, and most of them are written by people who haven’t sat in a tattoo chair in a decade. This one was built from the routine working tattoo artists actually give their clients in the shop, then refined with the team that helped formulate InkLube. Print it out. Stick it on the fridge. Follow it.
Why a Schedule Matters
A new tattoo is a wound. Treat it like one for the first 14 days and your ink will look the way the artist drew it for the next 30 years. Treat it like a magic skin patch and you’ll be back in the chair for a touch-up in three months.
This 14-day plan is split into four phases: seal, settle, peel, and polish. Each phase has different rules. Don’t skip phases.
Days 1 & 2 — The Seal
Your artist wrapped you up. The wrap is doing a job. Don’t undo it.
- Keep the wrap on for as long as your artist said. (Usually 2–24 hours, depending on the wrap type.)
- When you remove it, wash your hands first, then gently rinse the tattoo with lukewarm water and unscented soap. Pat dry with a clean paper towel — not a towel that’s been hanging in your bathroom collecting bacteria.
- Don’t apply anything yet. No cream. No lotion. No coconut oil from your kitchen. Let it air-dry. Your skin needs to start forming a thin film before you put anything on top of it.
Your tattoo will weep ink and plasma. This is normal. It’s not infection. Just keep it clean.
Day 3 — Start Aftercare Cream
Day 3 is when the cream comes out. Before this, anything you apply will get pushed off by the weeping. After this, your skin needs help locking in moisture without suffocating.
The right amount is pea-sized for a tattoo about the size of your palm. More is not better. Too much cream traps bacteria, clogs the pores around the tattoo, and slows the natural drying process.
- Wash hands. Wash tattoo. Pat dry. Always in that order.
- Apply pea-sized dab with clean fingers. Spread it thin enough that the tattoo still looks slightly matte, not shiny.
- Twice a day — morning and night. No more, no less.
What you put on matters. Skip anything with petrolatum (slows drying), lanolin (common allergen), or fragrance (irritates fresh wounds). InkLube is plant-oils only for exactly this reason — mango seed butter, jojoba, sea buckthorn, and 10 more, all listed on the jar.
Days 4–7 — The Settle
The first week is mostly waiting. Keep doing the morning/night routine. Don’t pick at any scabs or flakes that form. Don’t soak in baths, hot tubs, or pools. Showers are fine; just don’t aim the water directly at the tattoo, and pat dry.
Itchy is normal around days 4–5. Don’t scratch. A thin layer of cream cools it down. If the itch is paired with redness spreading outward from the tattoo (not the normal slight redness of healing skin), see a doctor.
Days 7–14 — The Peel
This is when your tattoo will look the worst. You’ll see flaking, peeling, possibly small dry patches that come off like sunburn. This is the old, ink-saturated top layer of skin coming off to reveal the actual tattoo underneath.
- Do not pick or scratch. The peeling skin contains some pigment; pulling it early pulls pigment with it.
- Keep applying cream twice a day, but use less — about half what you were using in week one.
- Stay out of the sun. UV light during this phase causes the most fading. If you have to be outside, cover the tattoo with loose clothing — not sunscreen, which isn’t safe on broken skin yet.
Days 14–30 — The Polish
By day 14 the peel should be done and the tattoo should look close to its final color. Now you switch to once a day aftercare for another two weeks. This is the polish phase — the deeper layers of skin are still rebuilding, and good moisture support keeps the ink looking sharp instead of muted.
From day 15 onward, you can also start using sunscreen on the tattoo. SPF 30 minimum. Reapply every two hours when you’re outside. UV is the single biggest cause of tattoo fading; protect it from now until forever.
The Forever Phase
Tattoos are skin, and skin needs moisture for the rest of your life. After the 30-day aftercare period, you don’t need to apply cream daily — but anytime your old work looks dull, dry, or thirsty, a thin layer perks it back up. We use the same InkLube as everyday skin food on tattoos that are years old.
What to Avoid for the Full 30 Days
- Pools, hot tubs, baths, oceans, lakes, rivers (showers are fine)
- Direct sunlight on the tattoo
- Tight clothing that rubs the tattoo
- Picking, scratching, or peeling skin off
- Scented soaps, lotions, or creams on the tattoo
- Petroleum jelly, A&D ointment, or coconut oil (yes, even though Reddit said to)
- Working out hard enough to sweat heavily on the tattoo (first 7 days)
When to Call a Doctor
Aftercare is straightforward, but a small percentage of tattoos do get infected or have allergic reactions. Get medical attention if you see:
- Redness spreading outward beyond the tattoo border after day 4
- Pus, oozing yellow or green fluid (clear weeping is normal early on)
- Fever or chills
- Excessive swelling that gets worse instead of better
- A rash that spreads beyond the tattoo
This is a small minority of cases. Most tattoos heal cleanly when you follow the schedule.
One Last Thing
The single biggest determinant of how good your tattoo looks five years from now isn’t the artist (even though the artist matters a lot). It’s whether you took care of it for the first month. Set reminders on your phone. Stick this schedule on the fridge. Show up for your tattoo for 30 days and it will show up for you for the rest of your life.
Ready to stock the medicine cabinet? Browse InkLube — the plant-oils-only aftercare cream built with tattoo artists.