aftercare guide

Aftercare for Healed Work and Touch-ups

Version 1

Issued 22/10/2026

Draft. Not yet approved by the studio's qualified practitioner. Do not issue to clients.

Once your tattoo or piercing has healed, a little long-term care keeps it looking its best. This guide also explains touch-ups.

Healed tattoos

Keep skin moisturised. Healthy, hydrated skin shows tattoos best.
Use sunscreen of SPF 30 or higher with a 4 or 5 star UVA rating on a healed tattoo. Sun is the biggest cause of fading.
Avoid sunbeds.
Tattoos soften and change as your body does. Weight change, pregnancy, sun and ageing all affect how they look.
Check your skin regularly, including tattooed skin. Tattoo ink can make it harder to spot changes in a mole or patch. See your GP if you notice a change.

Touch-ups

A touch-up is a small correction once your tattoo has fully healed. It is normal for some areas to heal lighter, patchy or softer than expected.
Please wait until your tattoo has fully healed, which is usually at least four to eight weeks, before asking for one. Send us a healed photo first so your artist can see what is needed.
Touch-ups are booked like any other appointment. Tell us if the need for a touch-up came from your tattoo not healing as it should, and we will look at it with you.
Large changes or reworking are a new piece of work and are priced as one.

Healed piercings

A healed piercing can still close up, sometimes within hours or days. If you take jewellery out for a long period, it may close.
Have a piercer change or fit jewellery for you if it is a recent or cartilage piercing, or if you are unsure.
Keep jewellery clean with mild soap and water in the shower, rinse well and pat dry.
Check threaded ends regularly and keep them tight.
A healed piercing can become irritated or infected at any time, for example after a knock or a change of jewellery. The signs are the same as for a new piercing.

Important: Seek medical advice from your GP or NHS 111 for spreading redness, increasing swelling, heat, worsening pain, pus, red streaks, a fever or feeling unwell, at any time. Call 999 if you feel seriously ill.

Laser and removal

If you are thinking about laser removal or lightening, speak to a specialist laser clinic. We can advise on how this may affect a cover-up, but we do not offer removal.

Practitioner to confirm: the studio's touch-up policy (whether there is a free window after healing, and for how long), the earliest point at which a touch-up is booked, whether the studio offers jewellery changes by appointment, and that the studio does not offer laser removal.

Questions? Email thedesk@rebelliousink.tattoo. For anything medical, contact NHS 111 or your GP. In an emergency, call 999.