Tattoo Aftercare
We hope you enjoyed your time with us, we have put all our creative love and energy into giving you the perfect tattoo, created for you as a one of a kind design, now it’s up to you to look after it and take as much care healing it as we did creating it!
​
How quickly you heal depends on your own immune system and the size of your tattoo, bigger tattoos will take longer to heal, colour tattoos also can take longer to heal because they cause more trauma to your skin.
Day 6-10
The scabs will begin to flake off. Don’t pick at them or try to pull them off, let them come off naturally. Otherwise, you could pull out the ink and leave scars.
At this point, your skin may feel very itchy. Gently rub on your aftercare when needed to relieve the itch, by day 7 your tattoo should be mainly healed, larger/coloured tattoos might take longer possibly 2 weeks. Keep up the aftercare until all scabbing has come off and your skin feels like a normal texture again.
Day 4-6
The redness/any bruising should start to fade. You’ll probably notice some light scabbing over the tattoo. The scabs shouldn’t be as thick as scabs you get when you cut yourself, but they will be raised. Don’t pick at the scabs — this can cause scarring and pull parts of the ink out your tattoo, causing it to look patchy.
Keep washing your tattoo once or twice a day and apply a thin layer of aftercare cream throughout the day.
Here is a step by step on how to look after your new tattoo:
Day 1
You’ll come home from the artist with a covering over your tattoo. When you get home, you can remove it. Once the covering comes off, you’ll probably notice fluid oozing from the tattoo. This is blood, plasma (the clear part of the blood), and some extra ink. It’s normal. Your skin will also be red and sore. It might feel warm to the touch and can possibly be red/bruised, these are all normal.
​
With clean hands, wash the tattoo with warm water and anti-bacteria soap ie, most carex hand soap is anti-bac. Pat dry gently and use a clean towel or kitchen roll, then you can apply a thin layer of aftercare, we recommend our studio aftercare Diablo balm or alternatively a plain non-perfumed moisturiser is best, here are some good brands:
-
Palmers Shea cocoa butter
-
E-45
-
Lush- dream cream
​
Avoid any nappy rash creams/ savlon creams/ any perfumed or alcohol-based cream, you want as plain as possible, Leave the covering off so the tattoo can heal, if you notice your tattoo start leaking just gently wash it again and repeat the process, your tattoo should be washed before bed on the first night.
Day 2-3
When you have a shower in the morning wash your tattoo, gently pat dry and apply a thin layer of aftercare, you will want to keep your tattoo moisturised throughout the day but not smothered, little and often I’d best.
In the first few days, you will want to be very gentle with your tattoo do not wear any clothes/footwear that will rub your tattoo, before you go to bed wash your tattoo gently again and apply aftercare.
Recap
-
Wash your tattoo in the morning and at night.
-
Apply a thin layer of aftercare throughout the day.
-
Always have clean hands before touching your tattoo.
Things to avoid
-
Do not soak your tattoo, so no baths, swimming or hot tubs, until healed, but showers are fine.
-
Do direct sunlight, so no sunbathing until healed and no sunbeds.
-
Do not touch it without having clean hands
-
Do not let anyone else touch your tattoo
-
Do not go into dirty environments like gyms, saunas, steam rooms, tanning beds
-
Do not let pets near your new tattoo
​
We pride ourselves on our high hygiene standards, using only medical-grade cleaning products, as soon as you leave our studio you are leaving the sanitary environment. Please note the following:
-
dirty clothes
-
bed sheets
-
towels
-
hands
can carry bacteria which can cause an infection, your tattoo is no different to any other wound, we have broken the skin so you will need your immune system to heal it, being aware of these factors will help you heal you tattoo safely if you have any questions about healing your tattoo please do not hesitate to contact us, we are happy to answer any questions!
Touch Ups
Not all touch ups are free.
If you have left it more than 6 months after the tattoo is healed to get any touch ups done, there will be a minimum charge of £80.
If the aftercare clearly hasn’t been followed (we can tell!) there will be a minimum charge of £80.
If you feel you need a touch up, (this is usually done a few weeks after your tattoo has healed) please get in touch with the artist you got tattooed by.