After Care

Your tattoo will be bandaged by your artist immediately after the tattooing procedure is completed.

Things to remember:

  • Your tattoo is an open wound and should be treated as such in order to prevent infection.
  • The average healing time is 14 days or approximately two weeks.
  • The tattoo will likely bleed, this is a completely normal part of the process.
  • Leave the bandage on for at least 1-2 hours.
  • Keep the tattoo clean – Wash twice daily (per the routine outlined below) for two weeks or until completely healed.
  • Only use clean paper towels. Avoid using bath and/or terry cloth towels.
  • Do not pick or disturb any scabs which may form*.
  • After healed – use an SPF 40 or higher to help preserve the brightness of the tattoo.

Restrictions:

  • No direct sunlight
  • No hot tubs
  • No bath tubs
  • No swimming pools
  • No oceans, or ponds

Care – Initial Bandage Removal – First Steps

The first step after removing the bandage is to gently wash the tattooed area with a gentle, fragrance-free soap. (Dove, Dial, and Ivory are perfectly acceptable.)

After washing the tattoo the first time, and only the first time, rinse the tattoo with the warmest water that is comfortable for five minutes, then rinse with the coldest water that is comfortable for five minutes. This process will allow the fresh tattoo to open up its pores, allowing excess material to leave the wound, and then contract the pores, allowing for a nice clean heal.

IMPORTANT: The hot/cold rinse should only be utilized the FIRST time that you wash your tattoo, and at no time afterwards.

Care – Day 1 and Day 2

For the next two weeks, or until the tattoo is completely healed wash the tattoo only twice a day, once in the morning, and once at night. You will still be using a gentle, fragrance free soap to wash your tattoo.

  • Wash the tattoo with warm water and a fragrance free soap
  • Gently pat dry with a clean paper towel. Bath towels can harbor bacteria; and occasionally the terry in the cloth can enter the tattoo, being a bad actor.
  • Allow the tattoo to air dry for 10-15 minutes. This will keep the moisture level down, discouraging bacterial growth, and mushy scabs. Both of which are undesirable.
  • Apply a VERY thin layer of Aquaphor ointment to the tattoo. Too much can clog pores and be a nuisance. NOTE: Apply only twice daily.

NOTE: Aquaphor is the only recommended aftercare product. Products such as A&D are not formulated for tattoo after care and contain no helpful agents for tattoos and may encourage bacterial infection when combined with the heat of the skin. Most other “tattoo specific” healing products are usually combinations of beeswax, fragrance, snake oil elixir, and random vitamins that truly do nothing but take your money and possibly cause problems for your tattoo.

Care – Day 3 through Day 6

  • Continue cleaning (washing/drying) routines as outlined above (twice daily)
  • Discontinue use of Acquaphor – it is no longer necessary.

Care – Day 7 until Healed

  • Continue cleaning (washing/drying) routines as outlined above (twice daily)
  • Begin using a fragrance free lotion (Curel, Lubriderm, and Aveno). Apply thin coats after each cleaning
  • If scabs are present, do not pick or disturb the healing tattoo*.
  • Avoid aggressive application of “anti-itch” products, which may result in pigment loss*.

Fully Healed Tattoo

  • Use a sunblock of SPF 40 or higher to help in maintaining the brightness of the tattoo*.

*Costs associated with correction through touch-ups – as a result of negligent or poor after care – will be the full responsibility of the customer.