Good tattoo aftercare is something that needs your commitment and dedication if it’s going to serve you as well.
The healing advice that comes with getting any new ink is as broad as the mountains are high.
Everybody has the best advice for you, don’t they?
Well, that’s all good and well for them, but the best new tattoo care advice is the one that works in sync with your body and its healing processes.
It’s unlikely that you’re going to get the same healing advice from two different artists. This just shows you the range of healing and new tattoo care options that you can choose from.
I’ve gathered together these tattoo care instructions and guidelines from the years of combined and professional experience of experts in the industry. This is everything you need to know about how to take care of a tattoo.
Tattoo aftercare isn’t something that’s reserved strictly for new tattoos. A tattoo is something unique and individual that needs to be taken care of for as long as you live.
Methods Of Healing
A new tattoo can take anywhere between 7 to 14 days to look fully healed. This all depends on the size, placement, style and type of tattoo.
Below the surface of the skin, on the other hand, may take up to a month to fully heal. This allows the body’s natural healing ability to lock the ink in completely.
There’s no way of fast-healing a tattoo. Take your time with the careful healing process and don’t be in a rush.
Here are the two most common methods for after tattoo care.
Dry Healing Tattoos
After returning from having your new artwork inscribed into your skin, wash the area with warm water and a bar of unscented soap. After patting your tattoo dry, leave it to air-dry for at least 15 minutes before applying any ointments or lotions.
Keep your new tattoo unwrapped and exposed to the air throughout the day.
Wrap it using a plastic wrap before going to bed for the first three nights. Ensure that your tattoo is completely dry before you re-wrap it.
Rewrapping during the first three days is an important part of the healing process. Your body tends to lose a lot of fluid (plasma) throughout the first few days.
Wrapping your tattoo will also prevent your new piece from sticking to your sheets at night. It also reduces skin irritation while promoting quicker healing.
During the daylight hours, apply a mild, non-scented moisturizer. I’ll get into more detail about these kinds of tattoo aftercare products a little later on.
Apply the ointment or lotion until your tattoo starts peeling after about 3 to 7 days. Once the peeling phase is in full swing, stop applying a moisturizer. Excess moisture will begin to form bubbles on your tattoo.
If this happens you should cease application immediately, allowing your tattoo to dry naturally and peel on its own.
Wrap/Wet Healing Tattoos
Less conventional than the practice of dry healing, wrap or wet healing of a tattoo is usually recommended for larger pieces.
After returning from your artist, leave your bandage on for between three and twelve hours, but not longer than twelve. Wash the area with warm water and an anti-bacterial, non-scented soap.
Pat down the area to dry after washing, and allow it least 15 minutes of air-drying time. Your tattoo must be completely dry, 100%.
Without using any lotions, creams or moisturizers, wrap your tattoo in plastic wrap.
Remember here that sweat is your enemy, although it’s hard not to sweat when you’re wrapped up in plastic. Washing your tattoo now becomes of the utmost importance.
You should wash your new piece every 4 to 6 hours, patting it down with a clean cloth and rewrapping in fresh plastic. These are the basics around wrap healing that need to following for the first three to five days.
The peeling process should start within those first few days of wrapping, flaking like a sort of sunburn.
When this starts to happen, you know it’s time to stop wrapping your tattoo. Start treating your dry itchy skin with a non-scented moisturizer. Your skins’ texture will slowly return to normal as your tattoo continues to heal.
Remember, NO SCRATCHING OR PICKING YOUR SCABS! EVER!
Moisture rashes do happen, along with ingrown hairs.
The important thing to remember is to keep your tattoo clean. Be consistent, and never be afraid to contact your artist with any questions or queries.
Choosing the right method of healing is more a personal choice than anything else.
Variables include: your skin’s overall condition, your immune system at the time, your age, your body’s natural melanin count, the tattoo’s location, your daily routine and activities, and the list goes on.
Working closely with your artist on the design, style, placement and best healing suggestions is the best way to achieve your ultimate personal healing results.
Remember that you know your body and how best to look after it. Be consistent, diligent and clean.
Your new ink is, after all, an open wound. It needs to be protected from bacteria and all forms of infection, and that’s up to you.
Tattoo Aftercare Products
With so many choices of both new and tried-and-tested tattoo aftercare products on the market today, it’s hard to get to grips with what’s what.
There are some standards that haven’t changed much over the history of tattoos.
The fact that it’s essentially an open wound does mean that some care instructions and product ingredients are just better than others for this kind of situation.
Soaps
Soap is the ONLY THING that you want to be washing your tattoo with for at least the first week or so after getting it.
After you’ve removed the artist’s bandage ensure that your free hand is clean.
Use only a non-scented, anti-bacterial soap. Using your clean hand, gently clean and wash away any excess fluids that will have accumulated since the work was done.
It’s good to find a soap that has additional moisturizing and skin treatment properties. Remember the importance of the anti-bacterial and non-scented attributes.
Branded tattoo soaps are popular and expertly crafted soaps for tattoo aftercare cleaning and healing.
Desgined to provide the best healing and recovery treatment for your new art and skin, they combine the right ingredients to treat your newly sensitive skin and the ink that’s beautifying it.
Lotions
Using a lotion on your tattoo during the healing process is not optional.
It’s something that’s part-and-parcel of getting any ink done. It’s absolutely vital to the healthy healing of your new design.
Lotions offer you and your new piece protection from the germs that it comes into contact with. At the same time, it soothes and repairs your freshly damaged skin.
Using a lotion for tattoo care will help to prevent ailments and infections from entering your tattoo and your body during the healing process.
Most regular, everyday lotions contain harmful chemicals and compounds that adversely affect the ink and the healing process.
Typical cleaning lotions that contain alcohol tend to break down the ink into smaller particles. Your body can then absorb these and carry them away. This can damage your tattoo and leave it spotty, blotted or patchy.
Specific tattoo lotions use ‘softer ingredients’. They don’t do damage to your open and vulnerable flesh while helping the ink to mesh better with your skin.
Those that have fairly sensitive skin should rather opt for a hypoallergenic lotion or baby lotion. These lotions have similarly had their ‘hard ingredients’ replaced by ‘softer’ ones.
The two most widely used and recognized, non-specific tattoo lotions, plain and unscented, are Lubriderm Lotion and Aquaphor.
It would be hard to find a decent tattoo artist that would disagree with the recommendation of these two products.
They have, over their many years of satisfactory use, proven themselves to be amongst the best tattoo aftercare products that you can use.
Bandages
Tattoo bandages are a relatively new concept in the field of tattoos and their healing requirements. They offer a simple all-in-one type solution to the care and protection of your latest addition.
Once applied, a tattoo bandage can be left on for the duration of the healing process. This allows you to monitor your healing progress through the transparent adhesive as it improves.
These adhesive bandages will protect your new ink from any germs, fluids, bacteria, viruses, dirt and water that it may encounter.
They are fully waterproof, breathable, flexible, and of course transparent.
These special tattoo bandages take the work out of looking after your new tattoo for the first few days. They significantly reduce the risk of infection.
The dressing sticks to your skin and not your tattoo. It can even be left on to protect your ink while you’re in the shower.
Unlike other aftercare products and procedures, these tattoo bandages don’t need changing countless times during the day.
The breathable film allows your tattoo to get proper ventilation so that there should be no build-up of excess moisture.
Being completely waterproof, these bandages will allow you to carry on with your regular and daily activities. You’ll know your tattoo is well looked after and protected.
A+D Ointment
This is what most artists choose to use when they’re on the job, quite often said to also be a great product for diaper rash.
It’s a good way to start to heal your tattoo while at the same time being a great lube for the artist. It can, however, have some side effects.
A+D is usually a very thick ointment and needs rubbing in completely. If it’s used on larger pieces for an extended period of time, it can have adverse reactions caused by the absorption of too much of the active ingredients.
This could lead to the break-out of a rash or a pimply area. Use A+D ointment for only the first day or three. After that, you should switch to a non-medicated and unscented lotion.
As you can see, there are many differing avenues that one can take in the care of a tattoo just after it’s been done.
They each come with their own benefits and essential steps in cleanliness and infection preventative measures.
Make sure that you follow these simple product guidelines when it comes time to choose the right aftercare product for your new inks needs.
An infected tattoo isn’t something that you wish to experience. After all, you didn’t pay all that money just so that you could have a hard time and an ugly-looking tattoo, did you?
Sun, Water and Other General Care Guidelines
Water Care for Your New Tattoo
It’s a good idea to have a shower after getting some new ink done.
Your goal here is to rid the area of any and all unwanted built-up fluids and germs that may be present. It’s OK to get your tattoo wet, just in case you were wondering.
The danger when it comes to water and tattoos is not in the getting it wet part. It’s in the keeping it submerged part.
Soaking or submerging your new tattoo for any period of time is very inadvisable for at least the first 10 days to two weeks after you’ve has it done.
Submerging it under water can cause your ink some serious damage that is going to make the job look horrid.
Lakes, rivers, swimming pools and the ocean all contain bacteria that’s potentially harmful and damaging to your tattoo and the health of the open skin around it.
These can obviously lead to infections and other unwanted complications that will hinder your healing time as well as ruin your new piece.
Excessive sweating, steam baths, saunas and heavy gym workout sessions should be avoided for the time being.
Instead, take the care and time to really look after your new investment. It is, after all, with you for life, and I know that you want it looking its best, always.
Sun Care for Your New (and Old) Tattoo
Whether your tattoo is old or new, the sun is the most detrimental element that your body’s ink can encounter.
It fades and destroys tattoos with the greatest of ease and without you even realizing it.
During the initial healing process it’s absolutely essential that you keep your tattoo out of the sun, as exposure to the sun’s UV rays will only damage your skin further.
Uneven healing, scarring and lightening are all effects the sun has on a fresh tattoo. The best solution is to use or wear loose-fitting clothes to cover up your ink in the sun.
If the situation is unavoidable and tight-fitting clothes must be worn, then by all means, use a sterile, non-stick bandage.
This option should only be used as a last resort. It may cause some damage to the scabbing, moisture build-up or irritation to the skin and healing process.
Some other care advice is to give the tanning bed a miss completely during the healing process.
Once your new tattoo has healed and has lost its shine completely you can get back to business as usual. If you must expose your ink to the sun (as we all inevitably do), use a sunscreen with the highest SPF you can find.
Nothing less than SPF 30 is a good idea.
Clothing
Clothing, as you can well imagine, can have a massive impact on the healing process. Tight-fitting clothing is certainly not going to do your new work any favors.
Although the selected area of your new tattoo is a factor, remember that your tattoo needs to breathe.
This isn’t going to happen if it’s wrapped-up in yoga pants all day, now is it?
According to lifestyle magazine and blog GentlemanZone.com, when your tattoo starts to scab and begins peeling, tight-fitting clothes are going to mean those scabs come off sooner than they should, which can ultimately damage your tattoo.
When your tattoo starts to scab and begins peeling, tight-fitting clothes are going to mean those scabs come off sooner than they should.
You’re going to have to return for touch-ups as well as being disappointed with color and possible scarring.
Prime examples of a bit of a dodgy location would be bikini lines and bra strap areas. These are areas that tend to see quite a bit of tight-fitting and rubbing clothing action. Be extra careful when getting these areas done.
Similarly, if you have a new piece on your foot, try and avoid wearing shoes and socks at all costs.
Aside from the constant rubbing against your tattoo, they’re a breeding ground for germs and bacteria.
Infections
This is something that’s not extremely common in most tattoo cases. It is, however, a good idea to have a basic understanding of some of the signs and concerns regarding this area of your new tattoo.
The first line of defence that you have against getting an infection is the artist that you choose.
If you choose someone that’s doing it out of their house or basement, that’s not the most sanitary-looking environment. Perhaps an infection will teach you the lesson you should have already been wise to.
Although it may be cheap or even free, running the risk of contracting HIV, Hepatitis, or some other unmentionable is most definitely not worth it. The rewards are most certainly not worth the risks.
Some key signs will be prevalent if your tattoo does become infected, usually indicated by a red haze surrounding your tattoo after a few days.
There may also be a white haze covering your tattoo, extreme scabbing, yellow or green oozing puss, a bad smell from your tattoo, heat around the area, indentations in the surface of the tattoo, or black or red lines running away from your tattoo.
By following these prescribed guidelines and through your own commitment and diligence, you can avoid infections.
If you are, however, in doubt, don’t be afraid to contact your artist. If the problem really gets out of hand it may be best to call your physician for a diagnosis and perhaps some antibiotics.
Tattoo care instructions, if followed properly and correctly, are going to save you from the unnecessary hassles and inconvenience of having to deal with an infected tattoo.
Keep it out of the sun and don’t submerge it in water during the healing process.
The right clothing and care practices are going to ensure that you get the best results from your new tattoo, keeping and holding its bright coloring, perfect shading and definitive line work.
Caring For Your Tattoo Over The First Week Or So
The first week of having your new tattoo is the most crucial time of having a tattoo, especially the first two or three days.
The care that you give your new tattoo within the first week of the healing process is what’s going to ensure that it maintains its boldness and luster. Keep it looking fantastic for years and years to come.
Here are a few simple steps and procedures to keep in mind during the first week of caring for your new tattoo to help you handle the healing process better.
1. Remove the Bandage and Clean
Depending on the size and location of your new ink, remove the bandage after a few hours (no more than 8 to 12 hours ever).
Thoroughly wash your new tattoo to clean it of all excess fluids and build-up using warm water and an anti-bacterial unscented soap.
You should then pat your new ink dry with a clean paper towel. Allow it to air-dry until fully dry before proceeding with your choice of either the dry healing or wet/wrap healing method.
2. Sleeping
Depending on your chosen method of healing, your tattoos preparation for your bedtime is something that should have been taken care of already.
You can either wrap your tattoo up at night when you go to bed, or you can choose to have it air-dry and open during the night.
Here I’m going to take you through the latter. Wrapping your tattoo up at night has been covered in both the previously mentioned healing methods.
Not wrapping your tattoo at night will most likely involve you using an old or spare set of bedding. You’ll no doubt wake up with a nice fresh imprint on your sheets.
A clean towel can be placed on top of your bedding if you’re not too keen on messing up your sheets.
There’s concern that using this method is the likelihood that you’re going to wake up stuck to your bedding or towel.
In this kind of situation, the best solution is to take your sheets with you to the shower. Let the warm water gently remove them.
DO NOT PULL THE SHEETS OFF!!
This will destroy your tattoo. Trust me, I speak here from my own experience.
3. Applying an Ointment or Lotion
With your new tattoo being an open wound of sorts, it needs to be treated as such and with the due respect.
Always wash your hands thoroughly before applying any lotion, as this is a direct line to your blood stream.
Your goal here is to try and keep your tattoo moist as much of the time as possible. You want to gently rub your choice of ointment or lotion over your tattoo until you have achieved a slight sheen.
Ensure that whatever you’re applying is done so in a uniform way and not slapped over your tattoo. Lotions and ointments can be applied between three and five times a day, or whenever your ink is looking a little dry.
Remember not to use too much lotion, and as a rule of thumb less is more. One exception to the rule is for those tattoos in places where your skin is very thick or is subject to lots of bending and motion throughout the day. Keep these areas slightly more moisturized for better results.
4. Sun and Water Care
These two very important points have been explained and I’ve mentioned them again as a reminder of their importance.
Always keep your new ink out of the sun and harmful UV rays, while using a suntan lotion with a SPF of at least 30 when exposing older tattoos to the sun.
Hot tubs, swimming pools, lakes, the beach, and generally any other forms of water submersion for your new tattoo should be avoided completely.
Aside from the harmful and infection-causing bacteria and germs that pose the risk of infection, soaking your ink under water will similarly do your new work some untold damages.
5. DO NOT SCRATCH, PICK YOUR SCABS OR PEEL YOUR TATTOO
This is a point that must be stressed as it’s one of the easiest and silliest ways to ruin your tattoo. Yes, it gets itchy, it’s healing.
Do not scratch it or even start removing any of the scabs.
These are the body’s natural mechanism that it uses to heal itself, and lock in the ink at a cellular level.
When you pick at the scabs of your tattoo, all you’re basically doing is picking the ink out of your skin. You’ll notice, and please do not test this, that when you pick a scab off the patch, underneath it will be the color of your skin.
Color gone, touch up, please. Apart from the needles wrecking of your tattoo, picking your scab can furthermore scar your skin and leave you with some permanent skin damage. Your scabs will come off naturally and in their own time.
They usually come off during a lotion application session or cleaning, when they’re ready and in their own time.
Conclusion
I sincerely hope that these guidelines and instructions have proved themselves to be useful to you.
Tattoo aftercare is something that’s a standard practice with a few variations in products and methods. However, the basic premise of cleanliness and protection are the same.
We were all created differently and thus we all heal in our ways and through our best methods.
Follow these easy-to-use guidelines and your own body’s healing capacity to get the best results from your new body artwork. Get the most out of your life-long living gallery.
