AFTERCARE

All tattoo artists have their own recommendation for the tattoo aftercare routine. Here’s my advice to ensure that my tattooing is best preserved. Be warned not following this may result in damage that only you are responsible for.

When you return home after a session, remove any protective covering gently. It’s normal to see blood, plasma, and ink flowing. Do not re-bandage.

Wash your hands and apply the Hibiclens, an antibacterial soap, over the tattooed area. The Hibiclens should remove all the unnecessary clotted blood-ink mixture along with the potential source of infections and keeps the tattoo moisturized at the same time. Rinse the area well with room temperature running water. Don’t wash the area more than 2 times a day. I suggest you to keep it in the bathroom and use it every time you take a shower. Stop using the Hibiclens after 3-4 days.

After using Hibiclens on the tattoo, pat dry and rub the Aquaphor Healing Ointment over the tattooed skin. It helps to protect the sensitive skin, prevent dryout, and reduce irritation. Apply Aquaphour 3-4 times a day in a very light coat until the scabbing heals. Too much Aquaphor leads to clogged skin pores and a breakout. The skin needs to breathe. A tattoo is much the same as a minor cut or any other skin surface injury. It is made up of thousands and thousands of pinpricks, which will result in a scab or crust. If you let the crust harden, ink may be washed out when it falls off. In this case the tattooed design will appear freckled. Continue this until the scabs start to peel naturally. 

After the peeling period, you can start using our 100% natural Tattoo Lotion. If you don’t have it, a skin moisturizer like Cetaphil will suffice. By that time, the skin surface over the tattoo should be healed and closed, but remember that skin oil production may still be lacking. The moisturizer will prevent flaking and skin drying out and complete the healing.

Below are the most important things to do (and not to do) for perfect healing are the following:

The bandage may stick into the scab and reopen the scabbed skin surface. If the fabric gets stuck to the tattooed area, especially at nighttime, wet it and pull the cloth away slowly and gently.

Do not expose the tattoo to excess water! Do not swim or soak in a tub! Soaking may result in freckling. Preferably, take a quick shower and apply Aquaphor.

Avoid getting sunburned! This includes natural sun and tanning lamps too. It does not cause damage in the quality of tattoo – but it is extremely painful. It adds to the discomfort and delays healing.

Itching is a sign of healing. The new “baby” skin beneath the scab is fragile and shouldn’t be scratched with fingernails. If you must “scratch”, rub the area lightly with your fingertips. The tattoo may also appear slightly blurry at first. As the skin strengthens and ages, the color and lines of the tattoo will become sharper. Depending on your skin type, the entire healing process may take 5-10 days. Some the case of sensitive skin types, you may experience irritation or reaction to the ointment. If it happens, substitute another kind of ointment or switch to our lotion. When healing is complete, your tattoo will require no further special care. The complete healing period, which allows all the damaged skin layers to build up and the body settles the ink down, may take up to 3-4 months.

If you feel you need some touch-up work on your tattoo, or you have any further questions, feel free to contact me.