Why is my tattoo peeling? Is it normal to have for it to peel? How can I care for it during this time? This problem is a sign that it is healing i.e. the skin is repairing, especially if it is a fresh now. Do not panic. However, it can be a sign of something else.
Let us explore this issue in details including why it happens, what happens as it is peeling, care tips, as well as some insight on whether the ink used, can cause this problem or not.
Why do tattoos peel?
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After spending time with your new tattoo, it will reach a point when you will ask yourself ‘why is my is it peeling?’ You should just acknowledge that this, and flaking to a fresh one is a normal process. Actually, there will be no much difference between you and a snake, it is only that you will experience some itching, discomfort, and it might look dreadful.
Before it actually begins to peel, it will appear like it is covered with a whitish cracking coat. Thereafter you will notice some white or translucent flakes of old, dead skin begin to peel off. Notably, some of those flakes may contain some ink.
This is perfectly usual, it is the same process of the snake shading its skin. Remember not to scratch, pick or peel the flakes as they will come off on their own. You can enhance the process the coming off by applying some little lotion. This is a normal healing process.
However, the process should not leave your tattoo looking faded since this would indicated it was not properly done.
The peeling process
Peeling is a good indicator that will reveal to you that your healing process is faultless-it is part of natural healing process. Don’t panic!
Therefore, we are going to help you explore what is really happening when this happens. From the beginning to the end, we are going to touch on everything you would wish to know. So here is what happens during this process:
- After walking out of the getting tattooed in your favorite parlor, your body will be leaking some little blood and plasma due to needle injuries as your artist was working on you.
- Swelling will follow and will last only for a few days due to the trauma caused by the process.
- Your body will then form a mesh of platelets to avoid the loss of the body fluids from around the tattoed area.
- In a period of about 7-14 days, your body will mend the skin completely. Some say it begins after 4 days, others after a week, there is this small variation within the above timeframe.
- After this, it will then peel and flake after approximate period of 7 days
- After your it will have healed, the scabs and the flakes will fall away marking the end of the healing process.
Warning: Do not pick, scratch or bite area as it peels or flakes. Don’t interfere or touch it during its healing stage because you can damage it.
More importantly, tattoo peeling is a good thing. The reason for pealing is just but the repairing of your tattooed skin.
Peeling with ink
Do tattoo peeling skin come off alongside the ink? Is it normal or abnormal for my ink to fall out together with the flakes? Well, some ink will fall out together with the flakes but remember normally, this does not proceed 5%-such cases are very rare.
If this happens, it should not bother themselves about the tattoo ink under the skin. All or most of it will be resting safely under the dermis, it won’t fall out easily. You will notice that it is only the top layer that in most cases shades off. Though serious allergic reaction can lead to dreadful infections that may lead to mass fall off of the ink.
When do they start to peel?
What we must understand is that no matter how much care you give it, your flaking stage may appear sooner or later than others.
This is due to the fact that, we all have variant bodies, genetics, and e.t.c. In this case, flaking can begin as early as two days, 4 days or can even take up to one week to start. During the healing, actually, you are shading some part of your skin. So be patient.
Tattoo not peeling
Do all tattoos peel? As we have indicated before that peeling is a part of healing process, then why should yours not peel? Okay, I agree, this process is normal one because it is a sign of healing but in some rare circumstances, this is always not the case.
Tattoos can be just healing perfectly and not peeling so long as you take good care of them. Let us think of it this way, the way our skins react to sunburn is quite similar to a tattoo. Not all our skins will peel the same. Some will not even peel at all.
For this case, you can count yourself lucky to have really perfect skin-you have a most favorable skin. You should also bear in mind that the location its location in your skin also will influence the peeling.
We should also note that peeling can be so slight that we cannot notice sometimes, so it peeling should not bother us so much. So long as it is indicating some signs of healing. Our bodies have different biology.
Care
Since it is a crucial process that must be allowed to take place safely without any interference. Actually, these care strategies will be essential during the first week. It can extend up to even one year. So during this period, maximum care is necessary.
Under this section, we are going to dwell on how to take care of factors that will influence activities before or during tattoo peeling process. This is because care give may have great influence on this critical stage. So take some few minutes to grabs more insight on the below caring tips:
i. Don’t dare pick the scabs
This period can involve some forms of scabbing that may emerge after a couple of days or weeks later. You only need to note that scabbing is perfectly normal however some very heavy scabs are not very usual and should be given a close examination. Remember picking the scabs may scar your skin and give it a disgusting appearance.
Thereafter some tattoo skin will begin to peel. Once more, this is again usual. Above all, just remember not to pick the scabs.
ii. Keep new one out of the sun
If you are asked today the first enemy of your tattoo please just answer, it is the sun! Note that, during the initial stages of the healing process, you need to keep it away from the sun as possible. The sun will damage the skin on it and may induce many potential problems as well.
This can range from leading to scarring to lightening it up. It may even delay the peeling process and therefore generally delay the whole healing process. So following this case, please do cover it for situations where you may be forced to expose yourself to the sun.
iii. Use clean clothing, beddings, and towels
Now how do we help to impede the potential risks of infections? The only sure way, in this case, is to minimize contact with potential causative agents. Taken into consideration that infection occurring in the initial healing stages may interfere with the healing process.
In case we lose the war, the peeling process may sometimes be very abnormal. Infections can even stop the healing process at all. How is this possible? Well in case an infection happens, we are not talking about cancer, this can lead to the tattooed area have a wound that would be very painful and in some cases will even demand the removal of the tattoo.
Therefore using clean clothing, beddings and towels can help reduce the vulnerability to infections. Remember also not to put on tight clothing that may lead to irritations. Again please consider your sleeping style, don’t let your style to irritate it while a sleep.
iv. Keep your it clean
Always consider to wash it lightly, don’t cause even a slight irritation during this process. Within a few couples of hours of getting it, you should remove the bandage and wash it. You should do that by using anti-bacterial soap to reduce the risk infections.
Use luke-warm water to help build a good root to peeling stage. During this process, please make sure that you get rid of all the ointment, blood, and any other possible scum.
v. Apply some relevant ointments
After washing it, you can apply some recommended ointments such as bacitracin, A+D ointments, and Aquaphor. One should walk away from Vaseline and petroleum jelly. It is also equally important to apply a very small amount of these ointments. Please note that applying a lot of ointments can over soak the tattoo and hence leading to extra or premature scabbing.
The application period of the ointment can progress until peeling begins. Unclean tattoos are very vulnerable to infections so take caution. After about three weeks after the process, you can switch to the application of lotions that would help keep your body moisturized hence avoiding cracking and bleeding.
vi. Avoid soaking it
Another very important care tip is to avoid soaking it. Why? Because soaking it in water could influence the scabs to come off prematurely. Another issue is contracting bacteria. Swimming in the ocean, lakes, pools or bathtubs my make one to expose his/her tattoo to bacteria which may lead to severe infections. Only take warm shower-this is okay.
vii. Don’t overwork the tattooed area
The first thing, overworking the area may trigger sweating which is not a good music for the healing process. Another issue is that when the area is overworked, it can result in scabbing and deprived healing. So in case you have your arms tattooed, avoid arm exercises, if placed on your foot then avoid walking for more than four hours. Overworking the site will induce undesirable outcomes.
iii. Infections
It is good to understand that infections can range from mild to severe depending on the influencing factors. So what is very important in the case of infections is how to tell whether it is infected or not. This can be by examining some of the symptoms such as swelling, reddening, tendering, tattoo pains, bad smells, among others.
Many of the infections may be due to allergies and for such cases medications such as the application of antihistamines while antibiotics will be suitable for bacterial infection.
The most important thing as far as infections are concerned is to contact your doctor or physician to establish the trigger of certain infection and prescribe the best medication.
Summary
Tattoo peeling is very normal and in fact, one should be worried if his/her don’t peel. Notably, peeling stage may occur earlier or delay depending on various factors but all in all, administer good care to ascertain successful healing.
In cases of abnormal scabbing, please treat that as medical help. Before having tattooed find out your possible allergies.
References
- http://www.inkdoneright.com/why-do-tattoos-peel/
- https://authoritytattoo.com/tattoo-healing-process/
- http://www.inkdoneright.com/why-do-tattoos-peel/
- https://www.quora.com/Is-it-normal-that-my-tattoo-does-not-peel-at-all
- http://tattoohealingpro.com/do-all-tattoos-peel/
- https://www.realself.com/tattoo-removal/answers/peeling
- http://www.shamanmodificationsatx.com/tattoo-aftercare.html
- http://www.wikihow.com/Care-for-a-New-Tattoo
- http://tattoo.about.com/cs/tatfaq/f/peelingflaking.htm
- http://www.skin-artists.com/tattoo-scabbing.htm
- https://tatring.com/getting-tattooed/Scabbing-and-Your-New-Tattoo
Aquaphor is petrolatum and A&D ointment is primarily petrolatum! Both are crap for tattoo aftercare!!