Here’s a reminder of your aftercare responsibilities for the next few weeks

Expect the healing process to take anywhere from 3-4 weeks on average.

Bandage Process

If bandaged with second skin (clear adhesive bandage), leave your bandage on 1-5 days. The bandage is waterproof, so you can shower, but no swimming or submerging in the bath. If bandaged with saran wrap, remove your bandage in about 4-8 hours (pending your skin, sweat level, and what activities you have the rest of the day). I like to leave my saran wrap on until I’m getting ready for bed. I personally sleep with my tattoos uncovered, but some people like to apply a fresh layer of saran wrap for the first night’s sleep for both the health of your tattoo AND to save your sheets from ink and blood marks - especially on large or heavily worked pieces.

When ready, remove your bandage. For second skin, it can help to stretch the bandage away from itself like you’d remove a command strip, pull your skin taught, or warm the adhesive up in a warm shower. It’s normal to feel a little pulling at the skin from the adhesive, but in case of pain, either use warmer water or wait an extra day for the adhesive to loosen.

Wash your tattoo with a mild liquid soap (like unscented Dr Bronners) and allow to air dry, or pat it dry with a clean towel

Apply a thin layer of moisturizer, such as Hustle Butter or another natural, fragrance free product.

Repeat these cleaning steps 1-2 times a day until the tattoo feels settled into your skin!

Healing Process

It’s normal for a tattoo, especially a machine made tattoo, to get itchy and scabby. Don’t scratch it! Slapping it or moisturizing it can help. 

Be sure not to expose your tattoo to sun until it is healed. A bandana, the leg portion of an old sock, or even a face mask all make great ways to cover a fresh tattoo if you will be out in the sun.

A new tattoo is an open wound, so no swimming or soaking until it is healed and feels settled fully into your skin (generally this takes 3-4 weeks!). Soaking or swimming before this time can cause infection and poor healing, plus you’ll be exposing your tattoo to the sun prematurely!

In the long term, be sure to use SPF on your tattoo any time you will be out in the sun! UV is the main agent that will damage your tattoo and cause it to blur and fade.

It’s normal for tattoos to lose a small amount of saturation, blur, and look slightly different upon healing, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t reach out if you feel your tattoo might need a touch up. Your artist cares about the quality of the piece and your happiness with it, so please be in touch if anything is needed after your healing process.

Infection

In rare cases, even the best cared for tattoos may develop an infection. This would potentially look like a yellow-green tinge to the scabbing area, may feel very hot and painful (some mild redness to a machine tattoo is normal for the first few days), and the skin would likely be extremely red and irritated around the tattoo. If this begins to happen to your tattoo, don’t panic, but please reach out to your tattoo artist immediately with photos of what’s happening so they may provide advice, and also reach out to a doctor. If you’re uncertain about what’s happening in your heal, please don’t hesitate to reach out with any questions!