Aftercare Recommendations

When you leave the studio, your tattoo will be wrapped for your journey home. It is recommended that you leave the bandage on for a minimum of three hours and a maximum of overnight (if you choose to leave it on overnight, unwrap it immediately when you wake up). When you unwrap your tattoo, make sure you are in a safe, clean environment like your own house, and do not unwrap it in public places. As soon as you discard the bandage, clean the tattoo gently with anti bacterial soap. The brand I recommend is liquid gold Dial and can be found in nearly any pharmacy or grocery store. As soon as your tattoo is clean and no longer slimy, pat it dry with a paper towel and allow to air dry.

After this, you just need to make sure you keep your new tattoo as dry and clean as possible for the remainder of the healing period of two weeks.

If you desire, you can use a small amount of an ointment called Aquaphor up to twice a day for three days. This step is optional, as I believe it doesn’t contribute much to the healing process. It is important to keep your tattoo as dry as possible, so the amount of aquaphor you’d be using is usually about the size of a tictac. Start small and if you need more you can go back for more. Avoid overmoisturizing your tattoo, because it can lead to complications in the healing process.

The first two weeks is the typical healing time. In this time frame:

  • DO NOT expose your new tattoo to excess sun. Do your best to cover it with loose clothing when outside.

  • DO NOT soak it. Taking a shower is ok—you do want to keep it clean, after all. Just make sure it’s quick. Avoid swimming, hot tubs and baths.

  • DO NOT scratch it. In a few days to about a week, your tattoo will begin to flake and peel. It’s not cute, but it’s perfectly normal. It will itch, but refrain from scratching. If the dead skin that’s on top gets scratched off before the fresh skin is done healing underneath, you could expose the ink and it could affect the way that it heals. Not to mention touching a healing tattoo with unwashed hands is never advisable.