Please ensure you keep the tattoo wrapped for another 3-4 hours after your appointment as the tattoo will continue to weep plasma and excess ink and is more susceptible to any dirt or pollutants in the air or through contact.
Ensure you hands are freshly washed every time you touch your tattoo it is an open wound!
When you remove the wrapping, run the tattoo under hot water in the shower. Do not submerge the tattoo for at least two weeks. When you soak in water, your nervous system sends a message to your blood vessels to
shrink. And this can cause patchy healing and also a much higher risk of infection. If you can not access a shower use sterile wipes and very carefully wipe away the plasma do not rub or irritate the skin.
Dry your tattoo using sterile (freshly opened) kitchen towels or if needs be a fresh towel and very lightly pat your tattoo dry and
allow it to rest for a minute. If you apply cream before the tattoo is dry you will lock the moisture into the tattoo risking infection and causing the skin to go goey like a scab in water.
Apply a very small amount of cream evenly over the whole surface of the dry tattoo. Do not lather it in cream as you will essentially soak it holding moisture to the surface and suffocate the skin this way haltingthe
healing process.
I recommend using savlon for the initial healing process especially the first few days as it includes an antiseptic and coco butter for a moisturizing element after that. One or both will be effective but I find a combination
is best. Do not use vaseline, bepanthen or sudocrem.
Rewrap the tattoo for the first 2 nights to protect it from the constant pressure of your bedsheets and to stop fluff and fabric from sticking to the weeping tattoo this is also why we do not use fabric bandages
as you would have to peel away the layer of skin that has stuck to any debris.
Let the tattoo breath, aside from the first 2 nights you will want to air your tattoo as much as possible with no fabric around it and in a clean environment. If you work on any kind of building site or in a kitchen
please consider Second Skin or covering it in work to protect it from any dirt, however over-wrapping a tattoo is also damaging as it will be sitting in sweat and moisture throughout the day causing it irritation so play this process
by ear and contact with any questions if the tattoo seems irritated.
Apply cream in small amounts as often as you can throughout the day roughly 4-10 times depending on your skin type for 2 weeks. Keep it moist and clean!
DO. NOT. PICK. AT. IT. I know it's itchy but I'll be able to tell. Give it a slap like chicken pox.
Your tattoo should be fully healed within two weeks. I recommend moisturizing daily even after it's healed and sunblock if it's out in the sun, factor 50 for the rest of your life will slow the aging process of
your tattoo tenfold. Your skin is an investment, tattoos will only age as badly as you do.