How To Care For Your Tattoo
After receiving your tattoo you must leave the bandage or dressing on for at least four hours. Leave the bandage or dressing on overnight if you received the tattoo late in the day. Use warm soapy water to hand wash your tattoo making sure not to use sponges or cloths. If any part of the bandage or dressing sticks to the tattoo the warm water should remove it. There is no need to re-bandage the tattoo. While the tattoo is healing wash at least twice daily letting the tattoo fully dry out before applying skin/hand conditioning lotion. You may lightly massage ointment into the tattoo such as A&D.
We do not recommend using Bacitracin, Triple antibiotic or any other ointment which may contain it. These ointments are known to cause allergies in some people. Application of Vaseline or other petroleum based products may cause suffocation to the tattoo causing a rash, therefore we do not recommend using these products as well. Your tattoo will need to breath. Do not soak your tattoo in the shower or bath tub for a long period of time while in the healing process.
Wash you tattoo regularly if:
• You work near oil and grease
• You work near chemicals
• You work near dirt
• Your tattoo is near your buttocks, genitals or armpit.
If you have to wear tight fitting clothing or work under dirty conditions, your tattoo can be protected using a dry paper towel taped to the area of the tattoo. In all other conditions wear loose fitting clothing as much as possible. While your tattoo is healing tiny pieces of skin (colored) may flake off, this is normal but don’t make it worse by forcing it. Smack your tattoo if it itches too much.
You want to give your tattoo the best chance so DO NOT:
• Pick, scratch or rub your tattoo
• Expose the tattoo to alcohol
• Expose the tattoo to salt water
• Expose the tattoo to chlorine
• Expose the tattoo to the sun for at least 10 days
Be careful using lotions which may contain excessive amounts of alcohol. Long periods of exposure to the fading effects of the suns radiation will ruin your tattoo. You will have to wait until the tattoo is fully healed and applied with a strong sunscreen before being exposed to the sun for long periods of time. It will take 7-10 days for your tattoo to heal.
