Aftercare
Leave second skin on for 1-3 days. Avoid hot water, sunlight , sweating, and movement that stretches the bandage
Remove slowly and carefully in shower under warm water. Make sure to wash your hands first. Gently wash the tattoo with soap and water
Let tattoo air dry or pat dry with a clean paper towel. Avoid touching it with your bath towel. Try to let it air out for a few hours before applying any kind of cosmetics. Wear loose clothing if necessary
Once tattoo is looking dry you can apply moisturizer. Always wash your hands with soap and warm water for 30 seconds before touching any wound during the healing process
If your healing tattoo gets dirty or sweaty make sure to wash your hands first then wash the tattoo with soap and warm water and pat dry with a clean paper towel
Avoid scratching. If you must, it is better to slap the healing tattoo hard than it is to scratch or pick scabs
Your tattoo should heal in a week or less. There should be no hard chunky scabs. If at any point there are hard chunky scabs or redness, swelling, and pain, let your artist know and seek medical care
Send your artist healing and healed updates to ensure your tattoo is healthy. We rely on healed photo data to help build trust with clients and to help us learn and improve. They are greatly appreciated! Don’t stress over quality, we’d rather have a bad photo than no photo
Q&a
Why does everyone have different aftercare instructions?
This is because aftercare is different for the style of tattoo so each artist creates a type of aftercare that is optimized to their style of tattooing. There is also a great deal of misperception that a tattoo is different than a normal wound. It’s important to consider standard sanitation procedure and sanitation theory during the healing process after your tattoo procedure.
Does it matter how long I leave the second skin on for?
Yes! It’s a balance. There is a lot of data showing that leaving the second skin on for 3-5 days can lead to a better heal, but this also increases the risk of causing a blister along the edge of the second skin or leading to pimples forming under the second skin from sweat getting trapped in your pores. Tattoos are basically viewed the same way we view a painting under glass. If the glass is dirty, it’s harder to see the painting it’s protecting. If the glass is clean, you can see it well. By keeping your skin moisturized 1-2 times a day during healing and by leaving the second skin on for at least 1-2 days, this makes for a “clean glass” effect. If the skin is left dry and the healing tattoo gets dirty etc, this leads to the skin healing not as well and to a “dirty glass” sort of effect.