Aftercare
The tattoo healing process can include scabbing, flaky skin, color distortions (because the color ink is now mixed with red blood), itchiness, redness, bruising, and soreness.
The entire process can take about 3-5 weeks, depending on the tattoo, your immune system, aftercare, and quality of the tattoo.
What You Need:
Unscented antibacterial soap, I use Dial Gold hand-soap and Dove antibacterial body wash for in the shower
For a moisturizer, an unscented white body lotion in pretty much any brand will do. BUT if you wanna get real fancy, I highly recommend Hustle Butter, it smells amazing as well
Daily Instructions:
WITH CLEAN HANDS ONLY: Wash your tattoo at minimum twice a day. Once in the morning and once at night. If at any point throughout the day you feel like your tattoo needs an extra wash, do it lightly. Never scrub your tattoo!!!
After washing, use a clean towel or fresh paper towels (preferably) and pat dry the area
Use a small amount of moisturizer and rub in gently, the tattoo may be sensitive so be nice to it
That’s it! Repeat every day until your tattoo is fully healed. There should be no more flaky skin or dry patches once it’s done.
What To Avoid:
Sunlight is a healing tattoo’s worst enemy, and it can be incredibly painful to let a fresh tat sit in direct sunlight. Be mindful! Wear long sleeves, bring an extra jacket, a bandanna, a hat, etc. pretty much anything that you can loosely place over top of the area to avoid the sun.
No picking, itching, scratching, or harsh rubbing! You can pick the ink right out of your skin if you mess with any scabs or flaky skin. Patting or smacking your tattoo can temporarily help with the itchiness, moisturizing can also help!
No submerging in water!!! Taking showers is totally fine, as long as you’re not letting the area sit in the running water for too long. Soaking a tattoo can cause so many problems and in some cases, it’ll make the tattooed skin so soggy that the tattoo will peel off just like a sticker (yes, I’ve seen it) so please be aware and properly dry your tattoo after every interaction with water!