Tattoo Aftercare

Congratulations on your new tattoo! Here is a comprehensive aftercare instruction guide for the care and maintenance of your new tattoo.

Remember, the most important thing is to listen to your artist! We can only guarantee and take responsibility for the health of your tattoo if you do exactly what we tell you to. This does not mean look on the internet for “best way to take care of tattoo”. Please, if you have any questions or concerns after reading this care guide, contact our shop by phone or email. Do not, under any circumstances, do what your friend, your friend’s friend, or Google tells you to do. Always consult your tattoo artist before trying something different than what we have specifically told you to do.

  1. Your bandage should stay on for a minimum of 8 hours, and a maximum of 12 hours unless your artist tells you otherwise.
  2. When you remove your bandage, wash your hands first, then thoroughly wash your tattoo with a mild, fragrance-free antibacterial hand soap such as Dial or Cetaphil. Do not use any sponges or loofahs to wash your tattoo. Your bare hands or a  soft wash cloth made for infants in preferable. Please refrain from using any soaps that contain aloe, oatmeal, exfoliants, tea tree oil, or fragrance.
  3. All petroleum jelly needs to be removed in this process, so apply a heavy layer of soap, firmly (not roughly) wash your tattoo, then rinse off all of the soap. You may need to wash your tattoo 2 or 3 times to get all of the petroleum jelly off.
  4. When you have finished washing your tattoo, pat it dry with a CLEAN towel. If your tattoo appears to be sticky after drying it off, gently wash it again to ensure that all of the Vaseline has been removed.
  5. You should wash your tattoo two to three times a day gently with antibacterial soap, and pat dry with a clean towel until it is completely healed. NEVER remove your scabs in the shower, as this can prematurely pull ink out of your tattoo and damage the skin which will prolong the healing process and compromise the richness of your tattoo.
  6. Fragrance-free lotion may be applied 1 or 2 days after you receive your tattoo unless your artist specifies otherwise. Lotion should be applied after each cleaning in very THIN amounts. DO NOT USE: Sunscreen, tanning lotions, fragranced oils, aloe vera, A&D or cortisone cream until your tattoo is fully healed. Lotions containing these things should be avoided. Good, simple lotions to use include: Cetaphil, Eucerin, Aquaphor, Aveeno, and 100% cocoa butter.

Should you experience swelling in the area of your tattoo, we recommend icing the area until swelling dissipates. 

Things to be avoided while healing:

  1. Bodies of water (baths, pools, hot tubs, rivers and lakes, oceans)
  2. Gym equipment (including workout mats and gym floors)
  3. Prolonged sun exposure and tanning beds
  4. Heavy working out that strains the area where you are tattooed (and always wash your tattoo at the end of every workout, while healing)
  5. Touching your tattoo unnecessarily
  6. Scratching and picking at scabs
  7. Remember that pets can be dirty. Make sure that your tattoo comes in as little contact with your pets as possible.

Questions about the information above? Just call us! 509-713-7770