Tattoo Aftercare

Dear Tattoo Customers

I hope you are all doing well. I have been asked by some of you to make this post for a while now. So here we go.

First of all, I don't want to accuse anyone of being unhygienic, this is just a suggestion about how small things can save you from your new tattoo not healing properly. How a little mistake can become a big problem.

So let's pretend you just got a forearm tattoo. Afterwards, the tattoo artist should put on a second skin or cling film to protect it. If you have cling film on it, change it after 4 hours clean it under cold water with antibacterial soap and wrap it again so it stays protected till tomorrow morning. If you have second skin on, keep it covered until the next morning and take it off gently underwater by rolling it off. The next morning, go straight into the shower, remove the second skin/cling film and wash your tattoo.

Now is the first important moment! You need to dry your new tattoo with a clean towel, I recommend you get a small hand towel and keep it for drying your tattoo only. Make sure no one else is going to use it in your household. Do not put any cream on the tattoo straight after showering, let your skin breathe and close the wound (tattoo).

Then you are going to need to get dressed and find something fresh and clean, something that is not going to be tight on your forearm.

The sofa is one of the potentially dangerous habitats for bacteria. Of course, you are not able to wash your fabric on the sofa every week but try not to touch it with your fresh tattoo.

Again let's pretend we have a pet. Remember our pets are going outside and you can't control what they are doing. So imagine your pet is coming up to you to say hi and try to sniff your fresh tattoo, they may even try to lick it, don't let them!

So you are sitting on the sofa, and your pet is coming up to you and want to cuddle in, they try to rub against your fresh tattoo... The same pet was a couple of minutes ago outside, picking up all sorts of bacteria from outside.

Going to work, it's a sunny day and you're sweating a little but at the same moment, you don't want to put fresh tattoos out in the sun. The best way is to just keep your arm covered with a light, long-sleeved top, nothing that can stick and block airflow to the tattoo. Everything depends on what kind of work you're doing, if it's any type of office job let your tattoo breathe and do not cover it, again just be careful what and who is touching it. You get home and go for a shower. Not too long because too much moisture or steam can make your skin soft and that can cause the wound to open again and make your tattoo more prone to bacteria. Keep it dry as much as possible.

You're sat down and this is the perfect moment to first apply cream, nothing touching this tattoo. I always recommend moisturiser, something based on water, nothing thick and oily. Every tattoo artist will recommend something different, I believe everyone needs to find their own cream which is working for your skin. Each skin type is different, so please don't blame us for this cream that was bad for you. We are not dermatologists, we are not able to know what is gonna work for you. The amount of cream you put on is very important too, do not cover your tattoo with a thick layer of cream, so much so that you can't see the tattoo. Just a little bit to help heal it.

You need to make sure before you go to bed :

1. Make sure the cream on your tattoo has absorbed to your skin and the tattoo is not sticky

2. Change bedsheets everything must be clean

3. Make sure the person you're sharing your bed with has had a shower so there is no bacteria in the fresh bed

4. No pets in bed, sorry

A good-looking tattoo not only depends on the tattoo artist but also on how you're healing your tattoo, because even the most beautiful, expensive tattoo from famous artists can be infected if you don't take care of it. Always 50/50.

From my experience, I know how many times we Tattoo artists are blamed for infection or stuff like this. We all understand this. With all due respect dear customers, next time you start to panic, tell your friends how horrible the work we did or even worse, blame the tattoo shop and all of the artists in it for your infection, please think for a second and make sure you have done your part (healing and taking care) is 100%.

We're all human and it's not possible to live in a perfectly clean world but I want to assure you that in every licenced tattoo shop, we do everything to keep our workplace clean and hygienic. This is not only for your safety but also for our own.

I'm sure everyone who works in the same industry as me will agree.... We always want the best for you and your new tattoo because you are our living art piece!