TATTOO AFTERCARE

For thousands of years people have been getting tattoos. Without getting into that too deeply let's just say getting tattooed is more popular than ever before and giving direction on how to take care of your tattoo is the ethical and typically mandated responsibility the of the artist performing the tattoo procedure. 

Most tattoo artists are not medical professionals. Period. So, although taking medical advice from an actual medical professional is encouraged in any serious medical emergency, taking care of a tattoo is rooted in basic first aid. 

If you have any questions about the condition of your tattoo never hesitate to contact your artist. Or, in a medical emergency you should not hesitate to consult medical help.

Right before your new tattoo is bandaged it will be cleaned with soap and water by the tattoo technician. Cleaning your tattoo with soap and water is the cornerstone of tattoo aftercare.

And by soap I mean a mild, unmedicated bar or liquid soap without aggregates or exfoliants. (For example, don't use pumice soap. Ouch.)

Your tattoo's bandage is one of a couple different bandages:

​

-One is a clear, adhesive, occlusive dressing that goes by several names (Dermalize, Flexifix, Saniderm, SecondSkin, Tatu-Derm, Tegaderm, etc.)

​

-The other is a sterile gauze based bandage called Dri Lok and it is not clear or self adhering and much more temporary. People elect to be bandages this way as a preference apposed to the clear bandage mentioned prior.​

​

These instructions are going to assume you got the clear, self adherant bandage and then explain what to do if you have a Dri Lok bandage after.

So lets jump in to the first few weeks of your new tattoo's care:

​

DAY 1

Your super cool clear bandage should be nice and snug on you tattooed skin. It doesn't actually stick to your tattoo, rather it is sticking to the skin just outside of your tattooed skin.

For best results, do not remove this bandage unless your experiencing extreme discomfort.

​

DAY 2-5

Try to keep the bandage on you tattoo for 3-5 days before removing it. You may notice that murky fluid has built up underneath the bandage and i suggest not trying to push out the fluid risking the integrity of the bandage. Rather you should wait a few days till the fluid dries up all by itself. And a dry tattoo is easier to take of.

With enough force the bandage will come off and sometimes the bandage might lift off your tattoo by accident. In the case that the bandage does lift off part of your tattooed skin just remove the entire bandage.

When you do actually remove the bandage it may make it easier to have warm water run over the bandage to help loosen the adhesive. i.e a shower or a sink.

Throw the bandage away and with clean hands wash your tattoo throughly with soap and water. Wash your unbandaged tattoo when you wake up, before you go to sleep, and whenever you feel you need to throughout your waking day.

​

DAY 6 THROUGH THE NEXT FEW WEEKS

Clean your tattoo daily with soap and water.

You are going to notice that your unbandaged tattoo will feel very dry and possibly itchy. It is best not to scratch your tattoo. Rather to combat itchiness i suggest washing you tattoo for relief or using a topical tattoo aftercare product.

​

TATTOO AFTERCARE PRODUCTS

There are an enormous amount of tattoo aftercare products on the market. And if you elect to use a topical product you should be sure that they sterile and unopened.

You should follow the direction on the packaging or follow these basic guidelines: With clean hands always wash your tattoo with soap and water before applying and reapplying a tattoo aftercare product, apply or reapply a tattoo aftercare product in thin layers on the surface of your tattoo, and if you experience any severe discomfort after applying or reapplying a tattoo aftercare product than discontinue using the product and immediately clean your tattoo with soap and water.

I will never suggest any product that contains medication or fragrance added because i don't know if you have any sensitivity to such substances.

​

THE NEXT FEW WEEKS AND BEYOND

If all goes well in the course of a few weeks your tattooed skin should be feeling less dry and itchy. The surface of the tattoo should start to feel like the rest of your skin surrounding the tattoo and the results are a healed tattoo. 

I will always suggest to keep your tattoo artist current on the condition of your new tattoo and never to hesitate to tell them if there are any issues with its appearance. Or if there are no issues at all then its nice to tell them how satisfied you are. 

​

INSTRUCTIONS FOR DRI LOK BANDAGED TATTOOS

Remove your Dri Lok from your tattoo after about two hours, throw the bandage away, and wash your tattoo with soap and water.

Go back up this page for the section DAY 6 THROUGH THE NEXT FEW WEEKS for the rest.

​

THANK YOU FOR READING! DON'T FORGET TO SET UP YOUR NEXT  TATTOO APPOINTMENT.

​