Can Red Light Therapy Help a New Tattoo Heal?

Yes, red light therapy may support some of the biological processes involved in tattoo healing. Photobiomodulation (PBM), commonly called red light therapy, has been studied for its effects on inflammation, cellular signaling, and tissue repair.

A new tattoo creates a controlled injury as needles repeatedly puncture the skin to deposit pigment. Research on wounds and other skin injuries provides a basis for looking at whether PBM could also support recovery after tattooing.

The tattoo-specific evidence is limited, but one animal study offers an interesting starting point. Researchers found improved healing-related outcomes when PBM was used after laser tattoo removal. Laser tattoo removal creates a different type of skin injury from ordinary tattooing, so those findings cannot be directly applied to a fresh tattoo. Still, they provide a reason to investigate PBM further.

So, can red light therapy help a new tattoo heal? The research suggests that PBM could support some aspects of skin recovery, but we do not yet know whether it shortens the healing time of a fresh tattoo or what treatment parameters would be appropriate. For now, proper tattoo aftercare remains an important part of recovery.

A fresh tattoo is a controlled injury to the skin. Tattoo needles repeatedly penetrate the skin and deposit pigment into the dermis. The body then begins a normal process of inflammation, repair, and remodeling.

Some temporary changes are expected while the skin recovers:

• Redness and tenderness

• Mild swelling

• Peeling or flaking

• Itching

• A small amount of clear fluid

The American Academy of Dermatology notes that these can occur during normal tattoo healing. Spreading redness, increasing pain, pus, fever, or other worsening symptoms, however, can signal an infection or another complication. [2]

Tattooing is different from a burn, surgical wound, or laser tattoo-removal procedure, even though some of the same repair processes are involved. Research from these areas can help us understand how PBM might interact with healing skin, but those findings cannot automatically be applied to a fresh tattoo.

The tattoo also leaves pigment within the dermis while the surface of the skin recovers. Healing can vary depending on factors such as the tattoo’s size, location, color, technique, aftercare, and the condition of the skin.

Red and near-infrared light used in photobiomodulation (PBM) can influence biological signaling in cells. Research has examined several possible effects, including changes in inflammatory signaling, cellular activity, blood flow, and tissue repair. [3] [4] 

Possibly. Inflammation is part of the normal response to tattooing, and PBM has been studied for its effects on inflammatory pathways.

That does not mean the normal redness of a fresh tattoo needs to be treated. Some redness and tenderness are expected during healing. Spreading redness, increasing pain, drainage, or fever are different and can indicate a complication that needs medical attention.

Red and near-infrared light can interact with light-sensitive molecules, or chromophores, in cells. One area of research involves mitochondrial signaling and changes in cellular energy availability.

These effects may help explain why PBM is being studied in tissue repair, but laboratory or mechanistic findings alone cannot tell us how much they would affect the healing of a fresh tattoo.

PBM has been studied in wound-healing models involving epithelialization, collagen deposition, angiogenesis, and wound closure. Results have varied, however, and studies use different wavelengths, doses, treatment schedules, devices, and types of wounds.

A 2025 systematic review and meta-analysis of PBM for burn wounds found no statistically significant benefit in some of the pooled outcomes, including wound retraction and collagen deposition, while also reporting substantial variation among the underlying studies. [5]

The biology gives us a reasonable basis for studying PBM during tattoo recovery. What remains unclear is whether these effects translate into faster or better healing after an ordinary tattoo, and what combination of wavelength, dose, and timing would be appropriate. 

Tattoo-specific research on PBM is limited, but two published reports offer useful insights. One suggests that PBM may influence healing after a tattoo-related procedure, while the other highlights a potential safety concern when light is applied over dark tattoo pigment 

Imrigha and colleagues studied PBM in rats with black tattoo ink following Q-switched Nd:YAG laser tattoo removal. After the laser treatment created a skin injury, the researchers applied 808 nm diode-laser PBM at a fluence of 5 J/cm² each day. They then examined the tissue during healing, including changes in epithelialization and collagen deposition. [6]

The PBM-treated groups showed greater epithelialization and collagen deposition than the comparison groups, which the researchers interpreted as signs of improved healing.

This is interesting because it suggests that PBM may influence tissue repair in tattooed skin after laser treatment. However, laser tattoo removal and tattooing create different types of skin injury. A Q-switched Nd:YAG laser is used to disrupt tattoo pigment, while tattooing uses repeated needle punctures to deposit pigment in the dermis.

So the study gives us evidence that PBM can affect healing in a tattoo-related skin injury, but it does not tell us whether the same effect occurs after getting a new tattoo.

Another published report looked at what happened when low-level light therapy was applied directly over a tattoo. Ingenito described a case involving a 22-year-old man who developed a small blister within seconds of receiving light therapy over a black tattoo on his shoulder. The treatment used a 760–1000 nm wavelength range at 10 J/cm². The authors suspected that components of the black pigment, including iron oxides or metal salts, contributed to localized heating. [1]

This was a single case, so it does not show that red or near-infrared light routinely damages tattoos. It does, however, show that tattoo pigment can affect how light interacts with the skin. Wavelength, dose, exposure, and pigment composition may all be relevant when light is applied over tattooed areas.

Tattoo pigments can interact with light in different ways. The response can depend on the pigment’s color and composition, wavelength, irradiance, fluence, treatment time, distance, device design, and condition of the skin.

No. They use light for different purposes.

Tattoo-removal lasers deliver high-energy pulses designed to target and disrupt tattoo pigment. PBM uses different light-delivery parameters and is intended to influence biological processes in tissue rather than break apart the ink.

There is currently not enough evidence to say that PBM routinely fades, changes, or damages tattoo pigment. More research would be needed to determine whether different tattoo colors or pigment formulations respond differently to red and near-infrared light.

However, tattoo pigment should not be treated as irrelevant. The 2016 case report discussed earlier, involving blistering over a black tattoo, suggests that pigment composition may affect how tattooed skin responds to light exposure. [1]

Wavelength, dose, exposure time, and the condition of the skin all matter. This is particularly relevant while a tattoo is still healing, when the skin is already responding to the tattooing process.

Red light therapy may be useful during skin recovery, but a fresh tattoo needs more consideration than fully healed skin. The skin is still repairing itself, and there is no established PBM protocol specifically for newly tattooed skin.

Follow your tattoo artist’s aftercare instructions first. Keep the tattoo clean as directed, protect the area from unnecessary friction, and give the skin time to recover.

If you are considering PBM during this stage, check the device’s instructions as well. Non-invasive does not mean that every wavelength, dose, or treatment schedule is appropriate for actively healing skin.

Peeling, itching, tenderness, and mild redness can be part of normal tattoo healing. However, increasing pain, significant swelling, blistering, unusual drainage, or worsening irritation are reasons to stop and reassess rather than adding another treatment.

Red light therapy should not be used as a way to manage a possible infection or other complication.

Fully healed tattooed skin is different from a fresh tattoo because the original injury has resolved. At this point, using PBM over the area becomes less about supporting the initial healing process and more about the device, treatment goal, light parameters, and individual skin response.

There is still limited research on how different tattoo pigments respond to red and near-infrared light, so the earlier evidence about pigment and light exposure remains relevant.

Some redness and soreness are expected after tattooing, but symptoms that spread or become worse deserve attention. Seek medical advice for increasing warmth or pain, pus or other drainage, fever or chills, marked swelling, unusual blistering, a widespread rash, or other signs of infection or an adverse reaction. The American Academy of Dermatology recommends medical evaluation when tattoo-related redness, pain, or other symptoms worsen rather than improve. [2] 

There is no established waiting period for using PBM after getting a tattoo. Rather than relying on a fixed rule such as “wait seven days” or “wait two weeks,” consider how the tattooed skin is healing. 

The condition of the skin is more useful than a fixed number of days. Tattoo healing varies from person to person, and your tattoo artist or healthcare professional may recommend a different approach based on how your skin is recovering. 

PBM has been studied in several areas that overlap with the skin’s healing process. These findings help explain why red and near-infrared light are being investigated for recovery after tissue injury, although tattoo-specific research is still limited. 

These findings give us plausible reasons to study PBM during tattoo recovery. They do not tell us that a particular device, wavelength, dose, or treatment schedule will produce the same effect in a fresh tattoo. That question still needs tattoo-specific human research.

Red light therapy and tattoo aftercare serve different purposes. Aftercare protects the recovering skin, while PBM is being studied for its potential effects on the healing process. 

If you decide to explore PBM while a tattoo is healing, think of it as an addition to your normal aftercare, not a replacement for it. The tattoo still needs the same basic care whether or not you use red light therapy.

We have some evidence about PBM, skin repair, and tattoo-related procedures, but we still don't have enough research to establish how red light therapy should be used on a fresh tattoo.

The biggest gaps are:

We still don't know which wavelength, irradiance, dose, treatment time, or treatment schedule would be appropriate for a healing tattoo.

More research is needed to determine whether black, gray, red, yellow, and other pigments interact differently with red and near-infrared light. Researchers also need to understand whether pigment affects light absorption, local heating, pigment retention, or the tattoo's final appearance.

Studies have not yet established whether PBM affects healing time, discomfort, or skin recovery after ordinary tattooing, or whether the response changes according to the tattoo's size, depth, location, technique, or stage of healing.

Answering these questions would require human studies with standardized tattooing and PBM protocols, comparison groups, objective measures of healing, monitoring for adverse effects, and follow-up of the tattoo's final appearance.

If you're considering red light therapy while your skin is recovering from a tattoo, the device itself is only part of the question. Wavelength, irradiance, treatment duration, treatment distance, and the area being treated can all affect the amount of light the skin receives.

At-home PBM devices vary in how they deliver red and near-infrared light, so their instructions should be followed rather than applying settings from one device to another. This is particularly relevant when treating recently tattooed skin, where there is still limited research on appropriate exposure.

Lumaflex is designed for home use with red and near-infrared light. Its instructions should be followed when using the device, including any guidance that applies to recently tattooed, irritated, or otherwise recovering skin.

Red light therapy may support some of the biological processes involved in skin recovery, but we do not yet know whether it can make a new tattoo heal faster.

The research gives us some reason to keep investigating. A 2017 rat study found improved healing-related outcomes when PBM was used after laser tattoo removal, while a 2016 case report described blistering after low-level light therapy was applied over a black tattoo. [1] [6] These findings highlight both the potential for PBM to influence tissue repair and the importance of considering tattoo pigment when light is applied to tattooed skin.

For someone with a new tattoo, standard aftercare remains the starting point. There is no established PBM protocol or universal waiting period for freshly tattooed skin, so how the tattoo is healing, the device being used, and the tattoo's pigment all matter.

If the tattoo develops spreading redness, increasing pain, significant swelling, unusual blistering, drainage, or fever, seek medical advice rather than trying to manage those symptoms with light therapy.

[1]: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27814854/ Ingenito T. “Low level light therapy and tattoos: A case report.” Physiotherapy Theory and Practice. 2016.

[2]: https://www.aad.org/public/everyday-care/skin-care-basics/tattoos/tattoo-skin-reactions “Tattoos: 7 unexpected skin reactions and what to do about them.” American Academy of Dermatology.

[3]: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22243614/ Chung H, Dai T, Sharma SK, Huang YY, Carroll JD, Hamblin MR. “The nuts and bolts of low-level laser (light ) therapy.” Annals of Biomedical Engineering. 2012;40(2):516–533.

[4]: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28098368/ Hamblin MR. “Mechanisms and applications of the anti-inflammatory effects of photobiomodulation.” AIMS Biophysics. 2017;4(3 ):337–361.

[5]: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39172550/ Pradal LA, de Freitas E, Azevedo MRB, et al. “Photobiomodulation in burn wounds: A systematic review and meta-analysis of clinical and preclinical studies.” Photobiomodulation, Photomedicine, and Laser Surgery. 2025.

[6]: https://journals.uob.edu.ly/index.php/ASJ/article/view/4129 Imrigha O, et al. “Photobiomodulation therapy on wound treatment subsequent to Q-switched Nd:YAG laser tattoo removal in rat model.” Journal of Biophotonics. 2017;10:1287–1291.