Greetings!
It’s funny how no matter how much detail a client is
provided with about their tattoo and what to expect as it
heals, a few folks still make a panicked call to the studio
within mere days of getting their tattoo, freaking out about
how their tattoo is starting to look.
A new tattoo is an actual wound, an open sore that needs to
close up and heal. Â This process takes between 2-4 weeks on
average. Â That means, it will go through various stages of
scabbing and peeling.
With colour tattoos this process can look pretty gruesome
but it does not mean anything is wrong with your piece. Â You
MUST allow the skin time to reseal itself through the normal
healing process in the much the same way that any skin graze
and ensuing scab will heal.
You  shouldn’t pick your scabs, as this can lead to
scarring, as well as infection. Â In the case of tattoos, it
will lead to discolouration and even lift the ink right out
of it.
Applying too much aftercare (be that a specific tattoo
product, a moisturiser or an anti-septic) will dilute the
ink and even leech it out of the wound before it’s
healed up.
Ask your tattooist about their own tattoo healing stories.
 Nearly all of them will have a weird tale of the healing
process, where observing a big colour piece heal, includes
moments when they’re sure something is wrong but it
all works out in the end. Â You have to be patient.
If the surrounding skin isn’t red and inflamed,
it’s very unlikely that there’s any infection to
manage. Â So just leave it alone as much as possible in order
to avoid cross contamination with unclean fingers.
Below is a wee picture than shows the varying stages of the
healing process.
Hope this clears things up a bit 🙂
Peace.