Congratulations, you have a brand new tattoo! We bet you have been wanting it for so long and that there was a lot of planning involved. We’re sure you want to take good care of your new baby. We know you don’t want it to turn into a colourful mess, right? An amazing tattoo can be ruined by poor aftercare, take this part of the healing process very seriously. Also, your tattoo artist is not responsible of what happens if you don’t follow his instructions. If you don’t take good care of your tattoo, it will be all on you!
First thing first, try not to party hard right after having your tattoo done. You never know what is going to happen when you get just a little bit drunk, and alcohol it’s not good for your new tattoo. Actually, it’s not good to have a tattoo done after you drank a few glasses either, because alcohol makes you bleed a lot more. So take your new tattoo seriously, it’s not just a pretty drawing on your skin, it’s a wound. You wouldn’t go to a 3 days festival on the beach when you are recovering from being sick, right?
4 Vital Steps to Take Care of Your New Tattoo
1. Keep the bandage on. As aforementioned, your tattoo is an open wound. That’s why your tattoo artist covers it up. It’s to prevent bacteria and infection to invade your wound and consequently ruin your beautiful tattoo. Keep the bandage on as long as your tattoo artist told you. You don’t want to leave a plastic wrap bandage longer than 8 hours, and you usually remove any bandage after 4-6 hours.
2. Keep your tattoo clean. Go home and do this in a clean and safe environment. Remember, your tattoo is still a wound. Remove the bandage and wash your tattoo with warm water and liquid antibacterial soap. Wash away any remaining vaseline, ink and/or blood. Dry it gently with a super clean soft towel. Pat, don’t rub. You can totally have a shower with your new tattoo, just remember to wash all shampoo or soap with water thoroughly. Don’t have a bath though, it’s not good to soak a new tattoo in water.
3. Treat your tattoo. Washing and generally keeping your tattoo area clean is a must, but you’ll have to treat it with some products too. After you wash your tattoo with an antibacterial soap and when the area is completely dry, apply an antibacterial ointment. There are many over the counter products that you can use (avoid Neosporin as it is a bit aggressive) and there are also special products for tattoos. Ask your tattoo artist as he will suggest to you the best products to use. Use the antibacterial product for 5 days.
4. Moisturize. After the 5 days of antibacterial treatment, you’ll have to continue to keep your tattoo clean. Instead of applying the ointment, use some lotion. Use a fragrance free lotion. It will prevent your skin from drying up too much and peel.
Extra Tips for a New Tattoo
5. If your tattoo starts to peel, it’s normal. Keep it moisturized with lotion. If you notice scabbing, don’t scratch your tattoo even if itches. Apply warm moist compresses (5 minutes, up to 3 times a day). They will come off. Don’t scratch them and don’t apply lotion to softened scabs or they will come off and pieces of your tattoo will come off with them too.
6. Don’t go swimming for at least 2 weeks after you had your tattoo done. Sea water, sand, sun and swimming pools must be banned for at least half a month.
7. Always have sun care products handy. You want to protect your tattoo in the first months because it can get sunburned very easily. You’ll also want to use protection on your tattoo forever because it prevents colours from fading. Sun can make your tattoo fade very quickly without protection.
Are you planning to get a new tattoo? Have you ever had a bad experience with poor aftercare? Tell us about it in the comment below.
Photo credits: Pinterest.com
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