Tattoo Aftercare
HOW YOU CARE FOR A NEW TATTOO
It’s easy to ruin or fade your new tattoo if you do not care for it properly. Even worse, your tattoo could become infected, or you may have to get it touched up frequently or completely. Luckily, proper tattoo care is not difficult, but it is necessary.
The size and intricacy of your tattoo will determine how long its healing process will take.
Bigger/ more intricate tattoos will always take longer to heal because they cause more stress to your skin.
Smaller tattoos don’t usually take quite as long, but that doesn’t mean the healing process isn’t as important!
Solid patches of ink also take longer to heal.
It can take up to three months for your tattoo to heal fully. But, with the right care and products, your tattoo will be bright and vibrant sooner and stay in perfect condition longer.
There’s a process for tattoo healing — a systematic approach some of the most stellar and knowledgeable tattoo artists share with their clients to keep the tattoo vibrant and bright.
INITIAL FIRST FEW DAYS
Your tattoo artist will clean the tattooed area and then send you home with a bandage/cling film over your fresh tattoo. For the first few hours, three at a minimum, wear the cover initially put on your tattoo. They’ve probably given you some aftercare tips as well — line their tips up with our suggestions, and as long as they don’t stray too far, you’re in good hands.
You may see strange-looking fluid oozing from the bandage or tattoo — this is your blood plasma and some extra tattoo ink. Your skin will also usually be red and sore. It might feel slightly warm to the touch. These can be all good, normal reactions.
It’s worth noting that some people barely have reactions, too. Some people won’t stay red, and their ink will seem to heal right up. That’s okay, too, and after your first session or two, you should have a pretty good idea of how you specifically react.
When you remove your bandage, please wash and thoroughly clean your hands with antibacterial soap, and dry them before you take it off.
WASHING YOUR TATTOO
Once the bandages come off, use fragrance-free, antibacterial soap to wash the area with lukewarm water and pat it dry. Do not scrub the skin or rub it dry.
Do not use a towel to dry your tattoo, as they can harbour bacteria. Instead, gently pat the area dry with a clean paper towel.
Wash your tattoo gently twice or three times daily and keep applying the cream that you have been advised (this is usually Bepanthen) after each wash to keep everything calm and hydrated. When you wash, you might notice a little bit of ink running into the sink, but this is just excess ink that’s come up through your skin.
Avoid using products like Vaseline or Aquaphor, Neosporin, or anything that includes petroleum jelly in the ingredients list. These products can damage your newly acquired ink and disrupt the natural healing process. Tattoo lotions or creams containing harsh perfumes and chemicals can also cause damage to the skin and affect the healing process.
Between one and two weeks after getting your tattoo, it may begin to scab, before proceeding to peel. During these stages, you will still need to clean the area just as regularly, but you will have to be extra careful as to not accidentally rip off any scabs or pull any pieces of peeling skin away prematurely.
After around 2 weeks we advise to begin using a different cream that focuses mainly on moisturizing (We like Palmer’s coconut butter) and apply this around twice a day in thin layers for up to a month.
Any questions feel free to get in contact with us