Where is your tattoo in healing?
Enter your tattoo date. You get where you are today, what is normal at this exact stage, and the actual calendar dates your restrictions lift — showering, training, swimming, sun. Your date is remembered on this device, so you can check back daily.
The full timeline
| Days | Stage | Normal | Care |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0–1 | Fresh wound | Redness, warmth, mild swelling, clear or ink-tinted weeping. Tender like a graze. | Keep the wrap on as long as your artist said. First gentle lukewarm wash after ~24h. No soaking. |
| 2–3 | Settling | Weeping stops, skin tightens, tenderness starts fading. Each day should feel calmer than the last. | Wash twice daily with clean hands and fragrance-free soap. Thinnest possible layer of aftercare. |
| 4–6 | The itch begins | Dryness, tightening, the start of flaking — and itching. | Do not scratch. Moisturise lightly; slap (never scratch) if it gets maddening. |
| 7–14 | Peeling | Peels like a sunburn — coloured flakes are dead surface skin, not your tattoo. Itch peaks then eases. | Let every flake fall on its own. Keep washes gentle, layers thin, clothing loose. |
| 15–28 | The cloudy phase | A milky layer sits over the ink — it looks dull, faded, even patchy. This is new skin, not the final result. | Keep moisturising. Do not judge the tattoo yet, and do not book a touch-up yet. |
| 29–42 | Surface settled | Cloudiness clears; colour and lines sharpen back up. Deeper layers keep settling for months. | Back to normal routines. Start daily sunscreen on exposed tattoos — the habit that preserves it for decades. |
Frequently asked questions
How long does a tattoo take to heal?
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The surface heals in about two to four weeks — through weeping, itching, peeling and a cloudy phase — while the deeper skin keeps settling for two to three months. Judge the final look at around six weeks, not before.
My tattoo looks faded and patchy at two weeks. Is it ruined?
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Almost certainly not. From roughly day 14 to 28 a thin milky layer of new skin sits over the ink and makes the whole tattoo look dull and uneven. It clears on its own. This phase fools nearly everyone — wait for the six-week mark before judging anything.
When exactly can I swim again?
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Pools after about three weeks and the sea after about four — but only if the surface is genuinely closed: no scabs, no peeling, no open patches. The date is a guide; the skin is the referee. Submerging early softens the healing surface and lifts ink out.
Is this medical advice?
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No — it is the typical healing pattern, for orientation. If your tattoo is getting worse rather than better day over day, shows spreading redness, thick coloured discharge or a fever, skip the timeline and get it looked at.