BEST TATTOO AFTERCARE GUIDE
Tattoos are artistic, creative, and an expression of your unique self. But, what many people tend to forget is that a tattoo is also a wound. Tattooing is also an invasive procedure in which a machine inserts the ink into our skin using fast-moving needles.
A fresh tattoo is thus like an open wound that you’ll have to tend to. That is why there is so much emphasis on aftercare when you get a tattoo. In this article, we’ll walk you through the best practices to keep your tattoo clean, hygienic, and safe.
Why Does Tattoo Aftercare Matter?
An open wound is vulnerable to infections and scarring. And a tattoo is an open wound. If you do not treat your tattoo carefully, it can get infected, which may permanently damage the appearance of your tattoo or skin.
Taking good care of your tattoo will also ensure that it heals faster and without any fading. If you’re getting a tattoo for the first time, tattoo aftercare can feel overwhelming. People will bombard you with all kinds of tips, which will only leave you feeling more confused than before.
It’s always advisable to follow the instructions from a reputed tattoo studio or artist, ideally one you’re getting your tattoo from.
Effective Tips For Your Tattoo Aftercare
1. On The Day
Once the tattoo is done, your tattoo artist can apply an antiseptic first aid spray with lidocaine, such as Bactine, for pain relief and infection prevention. They’ll then wrap it entirely with cling film or a Second Skin type tattoo repairing film.
Remove the repairing film after 24 to 48 hours. Brands differ, so follow the manufacturer’s instructions for the one you have.
Cling film is used for large area tattoos where repairing film isn’t suitable, and it won’t last as long. As long as it stays on long enough to get you back home, where you can rinse it clean and care for it properly, that’s fine.
Wash the area with lukewarm water and a mild, fragrance-free soap, then pat dry.
Your tattoo artist might also tell you about other precautions to keep your tattoo sanitary.
2. Avoid Sunlight, Rigorous Exercises & Swimming
Your tattoo will be still in the healing process for the first 1-2 weeks. Try to take it easy during this period. Don’t go swimming, just avoid it completly.
Avoid going out too much, especially when the sun’s out.
You’ll unknowingly expose your tattoo to sun rays, dust, and bacteria that may cause sunburns or infections. It may even lead to inflammatory hyperpigmentation that can cause tanning around the tattoo.
Even if you work out indoors, you will be sweating, and that’s not ideal for a healing tattoo.
For these reasons we always recommend getting your tattoo at the end of your holiday in Bali.
3. Stay Away From Exfoliators
While regular exfoliation is good for skin as it gets rid of dead skin cells, exfoliating while your tattoo is still healing is a bad idea. The skin on your tattoo is quite thin and any friction may cause it to tear and lead to infections.
You can go back to using your loofahs and exfoliators once the tattoo is completely healed.
4. No Touching
Don’t let anyone touch your tattoo, no matter how excited they are for you. Our hands carry thousands of bacteria from all the surfaces that they’ve touched. Touching tattoos with the same hands is a recipe for disaster.
You, too, need to wash your hands thoroughly before touching the tattoo. Only touch the tattoo when required, like for cleaning or applying balm. Avoid casual touching.
5. Resist The Urge To Scratch
After a few days, the tattoo might develop some scabs on its surface. These scabs can be itchy but resist the urge to scratch, and allow the scabs to fall off naturally.
If you scratch or peel off the scabs prematurely, the wound may reopen, prolonging the healing time. It can also cause scarring and permanent damage to the tattoo.
Using fragrance-free moisturizer or Tattoo Aftercare cream will help ease the itching sensation.
6. Use SPF
We cannot stress this enough. Sunrays are harmful to your skin, more so to an area that’s still healing.
Avoid being in the sun as much as possible. And if you must go outside, apply a high SPF sunscreen and keep your tattoo covered with loose clothing.
7. Apply Balm
Always use an ointment that’s recommended by your tattoo artist. Tattoo care ointments will ease the itching, moisturise your skin, and offer healing properties.
We recommend Tattoo Addict Aftercare, which we make ourselves. It is a water free balm of shea butter, cocoa butter and coconut oil held together with beeswax, with vitamin E and a little tea tree, lavender and eucalyptus. It was built for healing tattoos rather than adapted from something designed for another job, and we use it on work leaving this studio every day.
If your artist recommends a different ointment, follow their advice.
Why Use ‘Tattoo Addict Aftercare’ Balm
Worth saying plainly: we make it. Tattoo Addict is our own product, made here in Bali, because we were not happy handing someone a tube of nappy rash cream after eight hours of work and hoping for the best. We wanted to know exactly what was going onto a fresh tattoo, so we made something we would use ourselves.
It is built on shea butter, cocoa butter and coconut oil, bound into a balm with beeswax, with vitamin E and a little tea tree, lavender and eucalyptus. Natural ingredients, no synthetic fragrance, no preservatives and no colourants. There is no water in it, which is why it keeps without preservatives and why a very small amount goes a long way. It is not tested on animals. It does contain beeswax, so it is not vegan.
Benefits of Tattoo Addict Aftercare Cream
Coverage
Tattoo Addict Aftercare is a water-free balm, so a little goes a long way, with only a pea-sized amount needed to cover an average-sized tattoo. It also glides very smoothly on the skin, so you don’t need to rub it too much.
Skin Hydration
Your skin is made of cells and oils, keeping the level of oils at an optimal level is absolutely essential for skin health, appearance and wound recovery.
Itching
As we all know, tattoos can get darn itchy. Keeping the area moisturised is what settles it, because dry skin is itchy skin.
Scabbing
The balm keeps the skin hydrated naturally, which ensures that the scab formation is minimal and the tattoo heals faster.
Colours
Colour is protected by keeping the skin supple while it repairs, because skin that dries out and scabs heavily takes pigment with it when the scab goes.
Everything Together
The butters hold moisture in, the beeswax protects without sealing, and the coconut oil carries it all into the skin. Nothing goes in that is not doing a job, and nothing is in there as filler.
Sensitive Skin
It is made for skin that has just been worked on, so it is kept simple: no synthetic fragrance, no preservatives, no colourants. The essential oils in it are the one thing to know about if you have reacted to those before, so try a little on your inner arm first.
Tattoo Addict Aftercare: What Is In It, And Why
A short list, and a reason for each thing on it.
Shea Butter
Rich in fatty acids, and the reason the balm has body. It sits on the surface and slows the water loss that leaves healing skin tight and flaky. Most of the softening you feel is this.
Cocoa Butter
Solid in the tin, melting at skin temperature, so it goes on firm and spreads thin. It forms a protective layer that holds moisture in and takes the edge off the itch of a drying tattoo.
Coconut Oil
The lightest of the three. It absorbs rather than sitting on top, which is why the balm does not stay greasy once you have rubbed it in, and it carries the butters into the skin.
Beeswax
Beeswax binds the butters and oils into a balm rather than a cream, and it is why there is no water in the tin. The layer it leaves protects without sealing. That matters more than it sounds: petroleum based ointments close the skin off completely, and healing skin does better with air.
Vitamin E
Doing two jobs at once. On the skin it is an antioxidant and holds moisture. In the tin it keeps the oils from turning, which is what lets us leave preservatives out entirely.
Tea Tree, Lavender and Eucalyptus
These three are the scent, and the cool feel when you first put it on. They are why nothing synthetic goes in. They also happen to be among the most studied of the common essential oils, so here is what that research actually looked at.
Tea tree. In laboratory testing it acts against a wide range of skin bacteria, including antibiotic-resistant staph, at concentrations of one to two per cent, and against some fungi as well. One small clinical trial on chronic wounds used a ten per cent tea tree dressing and reported better clearance and better wound scores than the standard dressing it was compared against.
Lavender. In an animal study, one per cent lavender oil was associated with faster wound closure between days four and ten, alongside raised TGF-beta, a signal the body uses in repair, more collagen, and more of the cells that draw a wound’s edges together.
Eucalyptus. Around eighty per cent of the oil is 1,8-cineole, which is where the fresh, cooling character comes from. In laboratory testing it acts against Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcus epidermidis, two common skin bacteria, and interferes with 5-LOX, an enzyme involved in inflammation.
All of that was done on the oils themselves, at research strengths, rather than on this balm. They are in here in small amounts, for the scent and the feel. Essential oils are strong things, so if you already know you react to them, try a little on your inner arm before you put it near a fresh tattoo.
Other Uses of Tattoo Addict Aftercare
Though Tattoo Addict Aftercare is mainly used to treat new tattoos and help with healing, people have found numerous other ways to use this effective cream.
Some other uses of Tattoo Addict Aftercare are:
- Continued use on healed tattoos, to hold moisture in and keep the colour looking deep
- Lip balm
- Minor cuts
- Cracked heels
- Healing piercings
- Bruising
- Dry skin
- Sunburn
- Bites and stings
- Pimples
There are various other creams in the market that tattoo artists suggest using. But, most of them are mostly antiseptic creams or creams for rashes.
Bepanthen is one such cream that’s widely suggested, but Tattoo Addict Aftercare offers many more benefits and can be a much better alternative.
FAQs
Can I Shower With Fresh Tattoos?
Yes, you can shower with fresh tattoos. Wash your tattoo separately with water only or with mild and fragrance-free soap twice a day.
How Long Will It Take My Tattoo To Heal?
If you take proper care and follow all the instructions mentioned in this guide and by your tattoo artist, your tattoo will heal on the surface within two weeks. It will still be healing internally for up to two months.
Conclusion
We hope this guide addressed most of your doubts about tattoo aftercare. Tattoo Aftercare can be daunting, but it doesn’t have to be. You simply need to follow the instructions given by your tattoo artist, avoid sunlight, touching, or scratching your tattoo.
Make sure you use gentle products like Tattoo Addict Aftercare to help your tattoo heal effectively, ensuring that your final tattoo will be in the best condition possible.