Congratulations on your new tattoo!
- Always wash your hands (or use hand sanitizer, if not visibly soiled) before touching your fresh tattoo or bandages.
- Keep your tattoo clean & moisturized, but not wet or damp.
- Do not go swimming, use a hot tub, sauna, take a bath, or go sunbathing for at least 4 – 6 weeks.
- Showering is necessary. Use warm (not scalding hot) water.
- Your body will treat your tattoo like a bad sunburn or a road rash. Your tattoo may feel itchy and dry, because the punctured epidermal cells are shedding off, causing rapid transepidermal water loss (i.e. moisture is evaporating faster off your skin than normal during tattoo healing, because the top layer of dead skin cells is peeling).
- Clothing: Wear clean, loose-fitting clothes over your tattoo. Don’t let any tight clothing rub on your tattoo.
- Day 1: Leave bandage on for 4 – 8 hours or overnight. Wash hands. Remove bandage gently. Wash tattoo with warm water and unscented soap. Moisturize lightly with fragrance-free, color-free moisturizer. Do not use heavy ointments that suffocate the skin.
- Linens & Towels: Make sure to change your sheets before you go to bed and wash your towels that you will use for bathing.
- Days 1 – 3: No sweaty exercise. Wash & moisturize your tattoo 2 – 3 times per day.
- Sweat: If you exercise, please wait until 3 days after your tattoo. Exercise indoors or at night (to avoid sunlight). Try not to get too sweaty. If you do get sweaty, take a warm (not hot) shower immediately afterwards to remove sweat and then moisturize your tattoo as usual.
- Days 4 – 10: Gently wash your tattoo daily with soap and water and moisturize throughout the day; every few hours.
- Itching: Don’t scratch, pick, or pull scabs. You can lightly smack or slap or your tattoo or use ice on it for up to 15 minutes at a time, if it itches. If you’re extremely itchy, you can use hydrocortisone cream (not ointment).
- 4 – 6 Weeks: Take a healed photo and send it to your artist! She will super appreciate it. Thank you.
- Infection: I have never had a client get an infection, but it is theoretically possible. Signs of infection are discoloration, yellow pus, oozing, tattoo feels very hot and gets red, puffy, or swollen. Can be accompanied by fever or flu-like symptoms. If you notice or suspect an infection, contact your healthcare provider first, then take a photo and send it to or e-mail your artist if you have any questions or concerns.
What makes tattoos permanent?
Human skin is comprised of three layers:
1) the Epidermis (top layer),
2) the Dermis (middle layer), and
3) the Hypodermis tissue (bottom layer).
A tattoo happens when a needle (or group of needles) is dipped into ink (color pigment solution) and then pierces the skin, depositing pigment particles into the dermis. A special type of white blood cells, called “macrophages,” eat the ink particles and trap them in the dermis. When those cells die, a new generation of macrophages replaces them and eats the ink particles that the dying white blood cells left behind. This is what makes tattoos permanent and also what makes them spread or become blurred over time.
Holidays & Fading
When the tattoo needles pierce at too shallow of a depth, the ink settles into the epidermis (top layer) instead of the dermis (middle layer). The ink is not trapped in the epidermis. Instead, the top layer of skin cells is continually shed. This is one reason why some tattoos fade too quickly or why patches of color or sections of lines become erased.
Another possibility is the use of an ink pigment that is not permanent under different lighting conditions. UV rays from sunlight can fade tattoos that are done with non-permanent or non-photostable ink pigments. This is why I personally research the chemical composition of every ink pigment particle that I use in my tattoos and keep spreadsheets and data tables about the MSDS and lab analysis for longevity and stability under daylight, UV, and lasers (when available) of pigments used from every tattoo ink manufacturer that I buy from. Many tattoo artists do not even know what is in their inks.
You can help preserve the longevity of your tattoo by staying out of the sunlight. You should also wear sunscreen on your fully healed tattoo, but do not start wearing sunscreen on your tattoo until 4 – 6 weeks after your tattoo appointment. You do not want sunscreen on your fresh tattoo while it is still healing.
Blowouts
Blowouts are when the ink spreads too far outside of the intended area or line. Blowouts happen when the ink is deposited too deeply, into the hypodermis (bottom layer). You can “fix” a holiday with more ink. Unfortunately there is no cure for blowouts, aside from possibly laser removal. That’s why I try to err on the side of too shallow, rather than too deep.
Questions or Concerns?
If you have any questions or concerns with how your tattoo is healing, please take a photo and send it to your artist via e-mail. If a touch-up appointment is necessary, we can discuss it together. Thank you.