AFTERCARE INSTRUCTIONS

THINGS YOU WILL NEED:

AFTERCARE BALM.

INKY TATTOO AFTERCARE.

I personally use and recommend Inky Tattoo Aftercare. We stock it at the studio.

It is vegan friendly and made by a small business in Melbourne that I am extremely happy to support. No they do not sponsor us, we just believe in their product.

ANTIBACTERIAL SOAP.

I RECOMMEND EITHER PALMOLIVE ANTIBACTERIAL SOAP OR DETTOL ANTIBACTERIAL FOAM WASH.

COMMON SENSE.

THIS IS BY FAR THE MOST IMPORTANT THING YOU NEED WHEN CARING FOR A NEW TATTOO. YOUR FRESH TATTOO IS ESSENTIALLY A WOUND. TREAT IT AS ONE. FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS CAREFULLY AND TRY TO AVOID USING ADVISE FROM THAT FRIEND THAT KNOWS HEAPS ABOUT TATTOOS. WORK OUT WHAT WORKS FOR YOU PERSONALLY, FOLLOW THE ADVISE FROM YOUR ARTIST AND BE RESPONSIBLE WHEN CARING FOR YOUR TATTOO. 

HOW TO LOOK AFTER YOUR TATTOO.

WHEN YOU LEAVE THE STUDIO, YOUR NEW TATTOO WILL BE COVERED WITH A PLASTIC WRAP. LEAVE THIS WRAP ON FOR APPROXIMATELY 2 HOURS AFTER THE TATTOO PROCESS SO THAT YOUR TATTOO CAN SETTLE.

WHEN YOU REMOVE THE WRAP, YOU WANT TO IMMEDIATELY WASH YOUR TATTOO WITH WARM SOAPY WATER USING YOUR ANTIBACTERIAL SOAP. BE GENTLE WHEN DOING THIS BUT TRY TO REMOVE ANY BLOOD THAT REMAINS ON THE TATTOO.

LET YOUR TATTOO AIR DRY OR GENTLY PAT IT DRY USING A CLEAN TOWEL OR PAPER TOWEL.

AFTER THIS, FOLLOW THE DAILY ROUTINE WRITTEN BELOW.

DAILY ROUTINE.

WHEN YOU WAKE UP, GIVE YOUR TATTOO ITS FIRST WASH FOR THE DAY. THIS CAN BE DONE IN THE SHOWER BUT TRY TO KEEP YOUR SHOWERS SHORT TO AVOID SOAKING YOUR TATTOO FOR TOO LONG.

KEEP IT CLEAN AND DRY THROUGHOUT THE DAY WASHING IT MULTIPLE TIMES WHEN YOU FEEL IT NEEDS IT. AVOID WRAPPING YOUR TATTOO WITH CLING WRAP OR ANYTHING THAT RESTRICTS YOUR TATTOO FROM BREATHING. 

AROUND LUNCH TIME, WASH YOUR TATTOO AND APPLY A SMALL AMOUNT OF AFTERCARE BALM. DON’T SMOTHER THE TATTOO, JUST ENOUGH TO COVER IT EVENLY AND GIVE IT THE MOISTURE IT NEEDS.

CONTINUE TO KEEP IT CLEAN THROUGHOUT THE DAY.

IN THE EVENING BEFORE BED, APPLY SOME MORE AFTERCARE BALM TO GIVE IT MOISTURE THROUGHOUT THE NIGHT.

REPEAT THESE STEPS FOR THE NEXT 2 WEEKS.

AFTER APPROXIMATELY 4 DAYS YOUR TATTOO WILL START TO FLAKE AND PEEL. THIS IS COMPLETELY NORMAL. CONTINUE YOUR DAILY AFTERCARE ROUTINE THROUGH THIS STAGE AND AVOID SCRATCHING OR ATTEMPTING TO PICK OFF ANY SKIN FLAKES. I KNOW IT’S TEMPTING BUT PLEASE AVOID AS YOU RUN THE RISK OF PERMANENTLY DAMAGING YOUR TATTOO. ONCE THE PEELING STAGE IS OVER, YOUR TATTOO IS ALMOST HEALED BUT CONTINUE TO FOLLOW THESE INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE FULL 2 WEEKS.

THINGS TO AVOID.

WRAPPING YOUR TATTOO, TIGHT CLOTHING, POOLS. SPAS. BATHS. SWIMMING OF ANY KIND.  DIRECT SUNLIGHT. THE GYM. DIRTY ENVIRONMENTS. PICKING, SCRATCHING AND BUMPING YOUR NEW TATTOO.

IF YOU FEAR YOUR TATTOO HAS BECOME INFECTED, CONTACT YOUR ARTIST FOR ADVICE AND IF NEEDED, CONTACT YOUR GP SO THEY MAY EXAMINE IT AND GIVE YOU THEIR ADVISE. 

SIGNS OF INFECTION CAN BE EXCESS SWELLING AFTER A FEW DAYS INTO THE HEALING PROCESS, HARSH REDNESS SURROUNDING THE TATTOO AND HARSH SCABBING. ALWAYS TRY TO SPEAK TO YOUR ARTIST IF ANY OF THIS OCCURS TO FIND THE BEST ADVICE ON HOW TO DEAL WITH IT.

BE RESPONSIBLE AND LET’S MAKE SURE YOUR NEW TATTOO LOOKS GREAT FOREVER.