A Simple Guide to Tattoo Aftercare
It’s important to note before we start, that these are only our recommended guidelines and how we’ve tested the healing process in the past. Each artist has their own preferred healing methods. You should try new ways to heal your tattoos, taking advice from a few sources and tailoring your aftercare regime to suit you and your body.
Intro.
Whether it’s your first time getting tattooed or if you’re a well seasoned collector- we think it’s always important to keep up to date with the latest aftercare advice and what you can do to best look after your ink! Sometimes it can be really difficult to find a way that best suits you and your body; but we’re here to tell you the basics of the aftercare process and things to avoid.
Firstly, if you’re new to getting tattoos, it’s important to understand how the skin heals. The first few days typically include inflammation, swelling and soreness of the area. After this has settled, the tattoo begins to dull down, become quite tight. The skin will then begin to peel (kind of like sunburn!), but your dead skin will slowly reveal the fresh tattoo underneath. For a few weeks, or even months, after the flaky stage- tattoos appear to be “shiny” and almost look a bit silver; but this does slowly go away once new layers of skin are formed.
Everyone’s bodies work in completely different and wonderful ways, so like we said before, use this as a guide and the timings may not be accurate to you and your experience.
Day 1: Fresh tat.
Generally, tattoo artist’s will wrap the area in clingfilm and send you on your way. We recommend you remove the clingfilm as soon as you get home, and give the tattoo (and surrounding area) a gentle wash with some warm water and a simple soap. Use the palm of your hand to gently rub the area until all of the gooey bits come off into the sink/ shower. Pat dry with a clean paper towel, or better yet, let it air dry!
My artist said to leave the clingfilm on for hours! What should I do?
We’ve found that clingfilm can be a little bit suffocating for your skin. This can create a build up of sweat and other bodily fluids in the area. Whilst it’s great to get you home, we don’t believe that it’s the most sanitary. Bacteria thrives in damp, warm, suffocated environments- so taking off that clingfilm as soon as possible to give your fresh tattoo a wash is definitely a thumbs up in our books.
On the first day, we recommend skipping out on the aftercare balm- why? We think it’s actually best to let the skin ‘seal’ over first. Keeping the area moist can make it hard for the skin to actually heal over in the first place. Use of aftercare balms too soon can lead to ‘oozing’, so it’s best you gently clean off the cream and let it dry out for a day or two.
Day 2-3: Getting a little dry.
After giving your tattoo a day or two to breathe, it will begin to feel a little tight. This is because the skin has sealed over and started the healing process. We recommend using our Tattoo Care. With clean hands, get a small amount (pea sized), rub between your hands to melt, then gently rub or pat the cream onto the area. Repeat this 2-3 times a day (I personally like to do morning and night- the Skin Jungle Tattoo Care locks in moisture for hours and I don’t think you need to apply any more than that!).
My artist told me to use nappy rash cream- why should I use something else?
Over the years, nappy rash cream has been proven to irritate the skin more than help it. 7 out of its 11 ingredients are not beneficial for healing- some aren’t natural and in some cases actually considered to be harmful for the skin! Nappy rash cream contains one yucky ingredient, Paraffinum Liquidum (better known as a non-natural mineral oil with a base being petroleum… this is essentially crude oil produced by petrol!) This can suffocate the skin, meaning it will clog pores and bring you out in spots and redness!
From a personal point of view, I think rubbing nappy rash cream onto my skin can feel super greasy and gross- I much prefer the feeling of natural products, they feel so much more nourishing!
Side note: whilst most of us enjoy a nice soak in the tub, you should definitely avoid submerging your tattoo for prolonged periods of time- this means skipping out on hot tubs, swimming pools and baths for a few weeks (but you can still shower!)
Day 4-8: Full blown flakey.
This is the part of the healing process where you may begin to notice some flakiness. As gross as it may look, do not pick the scabs or flakes- this can cause your ink to look all patchy!
Continue the use of tattoo aftercare 2-3 times a day. By keeping the skin moisturised and hydrated, it stands a much better chance of amazing heals and can actually relieve some of the itchiness you may experience.
Whilst you should never scratch a healing tattoo, we’ve found that it’s safe (and does feel kind of good!) to gently rub the palm of your hand over the area- although it may not “scratch that itch” it will for sure help.
My tattoo doesn’t seem right- it’s red, swollen and hot! What should I do? Sometimes, tattoos don’t always heal the way we expected. Infections are common in the tattoo process, this can happen for so many reasons (some of which are out of anyones control). Between days 3-5, you can usually spot if a tattoo is infected. We recommend contacting your doctors and getting some medical advice; they may even prescribe you some antibiotics or some kind of ointment.
Side note: keep your tattoo out of the sun (and sun beds too). UV rays can cause premature fading and upset the healing process of your tattoo. Plus, it may feel really sensitive because the skin isn’t 100%.
Day 9-14: The light at the end of the tunnel.
As the tattoo healing process is nearly over, start introducing your normal activities again! (The gym for example). Even at this point, it’s still super important to keep an eye out for infections (although it is very rare for an infection to begin at this stage), so make sure to keep the area clean.
You may find that the main flakes have come off and there’s still some holding on for dear life- don’t worry- these will also depart in due time! Just keep on creaming the tattoo 2-3 times a day.
I’m afraid my tattoo will fade- is there anything I can do to stop this? Well, there are SO many reasons that a tattoo may fade, but our biggest advice is to keep the areas moisturised and sub-protected indefinitely. Your skin isn’t indestructible, so make sure you look after it!
Conclusion.
We know that the tattoo healing process isn’t the most exciting (I personally actually dread this part!), but we’ve spent a lot of time researching some of the best ingredients to make it that little bit easier. Our Tattoo Care cream’s have been reported to reduce redness, soreness and have been found to heal tattoos faster. So why not give that a go?
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