Tattoos scab after about 5-7 days depending on the tipe of tattoo you're getting or your skin type. The scabbing should be pretty light and quite similar with what happens to your skin after a sunburn.
Attention! If you don't follow the aftercare instructions your tattoo might get a crust over it and this might considerably slow down the healing process.
Remember NOT to touch or, even worse, pick on your scabs or crusts!!
The most important thing you can do is be physicaly prepared before getting started with your tattoo. This is what you should do:
-Eat well before and drink water;
-Don't drink alcohol on the day or a day before and don't be hangover;
-Bring some snacks with you especially if you booked a full day session;
-Wear comfortable clothes. Try to choose your least special clothes as they might get stained with ink.
-Try to wear clothes that don't cover the area that needs to be tattooed, for example: if you're getting a tattoo on your shoulder try wearing a sleeveless shirt or if you're getting a tattoo on your upper leg try bringing short pants.
It's absolutely wrong to sunbathe right after getting your tattoo done, and even right before. This will lead to infection and the tattoo will look completely ruined after healing.
Try to be patient and wait for at least a month until you take your tattoo to the beach.
Use sunscreen with SPF 50 after the tattoo is completely healed and no longer in danger of getting infected.
After your tattoo is healed it might look a bit different from what it looked like in the first day, but that doesn't mean you can't give it a boost every now and then. Remember to wait until one month has passed and your tattoo in completely healed before you do this:
Remember the fact that your tattoo artist shaved the skin and moisturized it well right before starting to tattoo you? Why not do the same? Try to gently shave your tattoo, clean it, put some moisturizing cream on it and there you have it!