If you can’t wear loose clothing and keep the tattoo covered completely at this time while allowing it to breathe and repair, then it’s imperative to utilize a tattoo specific sunscreen of at least SPF 30+ during the entire time your outdoors during the healing process.

8. Avoid Neosporin and medicated ointments – it’s a trap!

Some medicated ointment’s properties have an adverse effect on tattoos. The patch of skin that has been ‘traumatized’ by several needles pricking it over and over needs oxygen with a thin layer of moisturization in order to heal the best way possible.

Using some medicated products, like Neosporin and Bacitracin could cause the body to reject it or heal too quickly, creating an allergic reaction that could involve a significant rash or series of tiny red dots.

9. Stay out of the water

You can get your tattoo wet via hot water showers during tattoo healing, but make sure you don’t soak in water of any type for at least three weeks or until the tattoo surface heals completely.

Water entering the tattoo wound can interfere or cause infection to the tattooed area. This would increase the time the time needed for the tattoo to heal and can punish the ink and tissue underneath to the point where your body art needs to be repaired or removed.

Neither swimming in chlorinated water or natural bodies such as the ocean or lakes is to be recommended for new tattoos until the tattoo has knitted and healing is finished.

Conclusion

It’s almost impossible to speed up the healing time of a new tattoo safely, but there are numerous sensible, actionable, useful methods that every individual can adopt to keep the healing process to the shortest window of time, which is three to four weeks.

Caring for new tattoos requires common sense and short-term changes in behavior to maximize your new ink’s chances to heal properly, faster and effectively.