What Happens If I Get A Cut On My New Tattoo?

What to Expect If You Get a Cut on Your New Tattoo

The long-awaited sittings have finally come and gone — after waiting for what felt like a lifetime, your new tattoo is finally complete and in the healing process. Accidents do happen, though. An unexpected jagged edge, a fall on the sidewalk or even an encounter with a small, disgruntled animal can leave your new ink scraped or cut.

The scrape that has violated your fresh art is naturally upsetting, but will a cut ruin a tattoo? Honestly, it depends. But with proper wound care, you might be able to prevent permanent damage. Everyone talks about the importance of aftercare because those first few weeks really are pivotal in the longevity of your newest investment. If you’ve been taking good care of yourself and following your artist’s directions, chances are good you’re positioned for the best possible end result.

What Happens If You Get a Cut on a Tattoo?

The newer the tattoo is, the more vulnerable it is to damage. During the first several days, your skin is still raw and traumatized by the needles, so a scrape in the first few days is potentially more damaging. As time passes, your skin regenerates its traumatized layers, covering and protecting the inked stratum. A surface cut to a fully healed tattoo may look bad, but it has very little chance of affecting the actual tattoo as long as it doesn’t scar.

Let’s get to the bottom line — what’s the possible damage? What effects could all these variables have on your tattoo? Visual blemishes can happen and are most likely if the tattoo was new enough and/or the cut was deep enough to reach the inked area. If your body is good at healing, that bodes well. If you’ve always had difficulty recovering from injuries, consider consulting a doctor and running your wound care by your tattoo artist.

How to Care for a New Tattoo With a Cut

So, you have a cut on your tattoo — it’s not necessarily the end of the world. Do tattoo wounds heal? They absolutely can. Properly caring for the damaged area is your best shot at minimizing any permanent problems. Here’s how.

Expect a Longer Healing Process

First, be ready for a longer healing time. While your tattoo is a work of art and your one-of-a-kind form of self-expression, you should remember that it is also an open wound. Your body is already working overtime to heal the breach, and an added cut has just upsized the workload. If you’ve been keeping up with your aftercare and taking care of your tattoo, this shouldn’t necessarily cause any additional worry.

Keep Up Your Tattoo Aftercare

Continue to gently wash and care for your tattoo as your artist instructed. Aftercare usually includes washing your tattoo carefully with warm water and fragrance-free Blue Green Foam Soap. Then, pat it dry with a clean paper towel and apply Ocean Care Cream or Aquatat Healing Ointment.

Take Care of Scabs

You can expect a few scabs if you get cut on your new tattoo. But will a scab ruin a tattoo? Deep scabs can extend your healing time, but with proper aftercare, you increase your chances of side-stepping damage.

Apply Aquatat Antibacterial Ointment to moisten your tattoo with the help of natural ingredients, but remember to dry your ink properly after showering. If your tattoo gets too moist, you might struggle with tattoo bubbling, which occurs when scabs swell up and become gooey and soft. Tattoo bubbling increases your chances of an infection and tattoo damage.

Watch Out for Infection

Keep an eye out for signs of infection, like swelling or redness. If bacteria were able to cause infection, the resulting imperfections could include pitting, patchiness, fading or gaps in the art design. If you notice a serious infection, it’s best to seek medical attention.

Apply an Antibacterial Ointment

By applying a thin layer of Aquatat Antibacterial Ointment, you can better prevent infection and heal faster. This thin, breathable ointment is vitamin-enriched and fragrance-free to relieve irritation, reduce redness and rejuvenate skin.

Avoid Scratching

Don’t wear scratchy clothing or lay on the damaged area, and do not scratch, pick or pull at anything. This breach creates an opportunity for bacteria to enter, and bacteria can mean infection.

Avoid Swimming

To avoid infection, steer clear of swimming pools, hot tubs, lakes and other bodies of water.

Take Good Care of Your Health

Your body needs to stay strong to ward off infections and keep healing. Drink plenty of water and remember to eat a balanced diet so your body has everything it needs.

Rely on H2Ocean’s Products to Help You Heal

H2Ocean’s Extreme Tattoo Care Kit is the perfect solution for your tattoo aftercare needs, especially if you tend to be around precarious situations where it may be more likely for you to injure yourself inadvertently. This ointment-based set of products was created to encourage healing in harder to heal areas, like elbows and places where the skin bends, and for those who are more active. The specialized formulas keep areas moisturized for longer and keep tattoos bright and beautiful for many years to come.

The Extreme Tattoo Care Kit includes:

• Blue Green Foam Soap: This unscented organic soap won’t damage or dry out your wound. It harnesses the power of unrefined Red Sea Salt to support your skin’s healing abilities with no harsh chemicals, fragrances or dyes.
• Ocean Care Moisturizer: Use this vitamin-enriched lotion with 82 trace minerals to protect your healing tattoo.
• Aquatat Ointment: Safeguard your skin with this breathable tattoo ointment.

We make our products in the U.S. by using world-class ingredients from the earth that produce the best aftercare results. If you’re struggling with a tattoo cut, rely on our industry-leading products to speed up your healing process with their natural goodness.

Check out our Extreme Tattoo Care Kit and purchase the best aftercare products today.