GENERAL AFTERCARE TIPS

Everyone's body heals a bit differently - if you've gotten tattoos in the past, generally I recommend doing what has worked for you before. You know your body best. And if something doesn't feel right, please don't hesitate to ask me about it!

• Wear loose clothing around your tattoo - be mindful of waistbands, socks, binders, bras, jewelry, etc that may rub or come in contact with your tattoo.

• Unscented pump soap is recommended when washing your tattoo, since bar soap accumulates more bacteria. Make sure your hands are always clean whenever you touch your tattoo, and always dry your tattoo with a paper towel as cloth towels carry more bacteria. Make sure to be gentle with your tattoo as you wash it - don't scrub.

• Keep your tattoo out of direct sunlight for the first couple weeks! After 2-3 weeks when your tattoo is healed and there are no visible signs of scabbing, you can put sunscreen on it. Tanning/sunburning your tattoos will cause them to fade faster, so I try to use sunscreen whenever possible.

• Showering is okay! Please do not submerge underwater (swimming, bathing, also avoid saunas, etc.) until tattoo is fully healed (about 2 weeks)

• I recommend waiting a couple days before doing any hard workouts where you may be sweating excessively in the area of the tattoo. If you can't avoid it, make sure you remove the bandage and wash the tattoo afterward.

• I also recommend refraining from drinking alcohol for 24 hours after getting your tattoo.

• As your tattoo heals, it may peel and get itchy - don't scratch or pick at scabs as this can pull out ink. You can apply a thin coat of unscented lotion to help with dryness and itching. Generally speaking, handpoked tattoos tend to peel and scab less than machine tattoos, but this also varies from person to person!

• Generally bad symptoms can include fever, small red bumps that look like pimples, hotness/redness/pain/swelling several days after, abscess/boils/drainage. Contact me right away, and use your judgement if you need to go to the doctor!

SANIDERM BANDAGE AFTERCARE

• Keep this bandage on for a minimum of 24 hours. If it’s still feeling good on your skin, you can leave it on for 2-4 days.

• If you experience redness/burning/blistering right around the edges of the bandage, remove immediately - you may have an allergy to the adhesive.

• Pooling of fluid underneath bandage is normal - if fluid leaks outside of bandage, remove and follow standard aftercare detailed below

• After 2-4 days, you can remove the bandage (I like to do this in the shower - run it under some warm water to loosen the adhesive and then pull off gently). Your skin may be a little angry, this is normal.

• Wash with unscented soap and warm water and apply a thin coat of unscented moisturizer (regular unscented lotions like Lubriderm or Cetaphil work great). With this bandage, you can skip any use of ointments like Aquaphor or A & D and go straight to lotion. I like to wash my tattoos in the morning and in the evening, and apply moisturizer as needed - tattoo should not feel oily or oversaturated with ointment, it needs to be able to breath to heal well!

• Tattoo should be mostly healed within 2 or so weeks, and will settle into your skin over the next couple months. During this time, your tattoo may appear light or faded - this is normal. Different layers of your skin are shedding and working hard to heal and integrate your new tattoo.

STANDARD BANDAGE AFTERCARE

• Keep tattooed covered for 2-8 hours

• Remove bandage and wash with unscented soap and warm water and apply a thin coat of Aquaphor or A & D ointment for the first three days. After that, use an unscented moisturizer (regular unscented lotions like Lubriderm or Cetaphil work great). I like to wash my tattoos in the morning and in the evening, and apply moisturizer as needed - tattoo should not feel oily or oversaturated with ointment or moisturizer, it needs to breath to heal well!

• Tattoo should be mostly healed within 2 or so weeks, and will settle into your skin over the next couple months. During this time, your tattoo may appear light or faded - this is normal. Different layers of your skin are shedding and working hard to heal and integrate your new tattoo.