I got a tattoo two weeks ago. Is the colour fading or is this part of the healing process!?

Question

My tattoo was done with really viberant blues and greens. However, the tattoo started to flake off and the colour underneath is really faded. Is this part of the healing process or is my tattoo just fading already?! I will be heading to see my tattoo artist on the weekend but would like some help before then!

Answer 1

No Worries. All will be well.
Give it time to heal.
It will be absolutely fine.

Answer 2

All tattoos end up looking slightly more muted than they did the day they were done. This is because when it was brand new, part of what you were seeing was ink sitting on the surface of your skin, as well as the actual tattoo, which sits below the surface layers of your skin.

It's also perfectly normal for this slight toning down of colour to seem more extreme over the first few weeks while your tattoo is healing. Even when any scabs have started to fall off, the skin underneath is still very new, and can be very dry, flaky, and white, which will obviously interfere with what you can see of your new tattoo.

Basically, even after any scabs have come off, it's often still a couple of weeks before the skin is fully healed and you can really see the finished tattoo in all its glory. This is often incredibly frustrating, and of course it leads you to wonder whether there's a problem with the tattoo, but all you can do is wait for it to finish healing properly. After this, if there are any areas where the colour isn't quite even, then it's nothing to panic about - you can get the tattoo touched up to resolve this. But at this point in your healing it's just as likely that the new skin at the site of your tattoo is still healing and obscuring your view of your new ink.

Hope this helps!

Answer 3

Tats do NOT fade over time, at least not in the short term. What you see intitially is the ink in the plain air, which is a vibrant color. What you don't see is the same ink under your skin, where the tat actually resides. The skin between the ink and the surface obscures the vibrance of the ink color you see in air, so the ink on the surface wears away.and takes ink with it, so.the skin image seems to be less vibrant after a while. Skin is not trasparent like window glass, but more like a fogged mirror, it obscures detail and that includes the color, but not completely, which is why you can see the ink in the living tissue under the dead layer of your skin Ink fades over time as the living tissue replaces itself and some of the ink is carried to the surface and is sloughed off with the other dead cells which you lose all of the time, a natural process, as you skin renews. You do not have a problem, what you have is a natural process of the body to reject foreign objects. Your tat will fade over time and there is nothing you can do about it since this is a thing which was actually a wound to your body, which heals over time. However, on the good side, the rate at which the tat fades is quick, aqnd will level out mostly after a few weeks to something like what it will look like many years from now.

Answer 4

Do not evaluate your tattoo until 30 days has gone by. your new tat will do things that make you wonder if it is ok or not. stay out of pools, sun etc..just take care of it. follow these instructions every tat and you will be fine.

Its hard to make out the colors through dead skin man. let is heal.

Take bandage off in 2 hours
Wash tattoo carefully with warm soapy water
DO NOT SCRUB
Lightly pat the tattoo until dry…
DO NOT RUB
Apply a very thin coat of bacitracin or aquaphor ointment 3 times a day for 3 to 5 days
Although re-bandaging a tattoo is not recommended, if covering the tattoo is necessary a sterile bandage or dressing should be used.
Be sure and wash the tattoo every night and morning…
DO NOT SOAK
Avoid tattoo exposure to direct sunlight and refrain from swimming in fresh, salt or chlorinated water for at least 2 weeks.
After External Healing

Tattoos heal quickly BUT fading can still be a problem
Apply hand lotion once a day until dryness stops
Vaseline Intensive Care, Lubriderm, Nivea, etc...
Tanning fades tattoos
Always cover fully healed tattoo with sun block
DO NOT RUIN YOUR INVESTMENT!!!

Answer 5

tattoos *do* fade a little when healing. Black ink tats (like mine) turn out more blue than jet black (like they were when I had them done). This happens because your skin "grows over" the tattoo and makes it appear a little less vibrant, even though the tat is still the same as when you had it done.

I am not sure about colours, as I've not been tattooed with colour (yet), but I'd imagine they'd fade too, due to the skin growing over.

keeping your ink covered with a t shirt and applying sunscreen before going out in the sun also protects it from fading.

Definitely go and see your artist though.

good luck!

Answer 6

When you got your tattoo, the ink was fresh and it penetrated the first several layers of your skin. The skins surface has to peel off, and then the tattoo will be set in place. When this happens, there is going to be some fading, and the colors will not be as brilliant as they were when they first did it. This is normal. Even if you went back to have a touch up, the same process will begin again. You will peel, and achieve the same result.

Answer 7

i actually just got a tattoo last week, and i had a lot of bright blues and oranges...mine is in the flaking stage right now, and it is a little lighter as well, but my other tattoos did this as well. i think it's just because of how the skin is healing and pealing...i wouldn't worry unless it got REALLY light...then i'd go back and have them fix it. but otherwise, i'd say it's fine, just as long as you've been keeping it moisturized!

p.s. my artist told me that i should only use A&D or neosporin for the first two days..then switch to frangrance free lotion

Answer 8

My tattoo did the same thing. I have bright reds and blues in mine. Wait till after it totally heals and then go see the artist. They may have to touch it up. I got mine touched up and it never faded again.

Answer 9

Well tats always fade over time, I haven't heard of them fading that quickly but I'm sorry to say that I don't think it is part of the healing proccess. But who knows, I could be wrong, leave it to the pro

Answer 10

Your tattoo should scar and flake but the color should not fade that fast. I would def. see your artist like you plan on. That is not normal. Tattoos are expensive and you should not have to pay for it to be detailed if it is faded.