TATTOO AFTERCARE
Congrats on your new tattoo! Always follow your artist's instructions to keep the healing process quick and easy.
Taking care of your tattoo as it heals as well as afterwards is the key to keeping your investment still looking great in the future.
SANIDERM AFTERCARE
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Leave your Saniderm on for 3-4 days.
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Remove if it gets severely warm, begins to throbs, or if the Saniderm tears.
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Pooling of some fluid is normal, as long as the Saniderm is still intact and air can’t get in to introduce bacteria.
To remove the Saniderm:
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Run it under warm water in the shower.
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Peel it off like a Band-aid. It may come off in pieces or whole.
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After removal, finish the healing process by gently washing your tattoo once a day and patting dry with a clean paper towel. It should peel a day or two after removal and then you can begin to apply unscented lotion on your tattoo.
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No exposure to shared water such as hot tubs, pools, rivers, lakes or potentially dirty spaces like gyms until it’s fully healed.
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If you have any questions, feel free to contact your artist or the studio.
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If you have to remove the Saniderm earlier than recommended, follow these steps for the first 2-3 days ONLY, twice a day.
Cleaning:
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Wash with antibacterial soap, hands, and water.
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Dry with a paper towel. Allow to air dry for 10-20 minutes.
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Apply a minimal amount of ointment into the tattooed area.
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Aquaphor or Hustle Butter only!
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WRAPPED AFTERCARE
Your artist will most likely have tips that may vary, so listen to their advice first. They’re the artist who knows how to care for their particular tattooing techniques the best, but here are a few basics.
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Leave your bandage or tattoo covering on for one to three hours after your tattoo is finished. Your artist will instruct you on exactly how long to keep the bandage there. This process is collecting a lot of the goop, blood, and even ink from the fresh tattoo, so keep it on! You don’t want to ruin any new clothes or overly expose it at first.
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Make sure to wash your new tattoo several times a day with a soft, non-scented, antibacterial soap (Dial Soap Gold is a great brand to use) to keep it clean and avoid potential infection. Make sure to do this for two to three weeks or until the tattoo is more or less healed. Remember, never touch your tattoo unless you have just washed your hands!
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For the first few days (we suggest three days) after washing the tattoo make sure to apply an ointment to keep it hydrated. We recommend Aquaphor or Hustle Butter. Use this sparingly! A thin layer is better than drowning the tattoo in goo and will help it heal faster. It’s important that you understand that overusing the ointment is actually DAMAGING to your new tattoo.
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After the first few days of using ointment switch to a non-scented lotion after you wash your tattoo. Lubriderm is a great brand available at drug stores and comes in both large bottles as well as convenient travel sizes, which are perfectly sized to fit in your pocket or purse. Hustle Butter is great through out the whole entire healing process as well. Stay Tru Tattoo does sell it.
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For the first two weeks avoid wearing tight clothing that might rub up against your tattoo as well as sleeping on your tattoo so you don’t agitate the healing process.
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While the tattoo is healing avoid going into large bodies of water (pool, ocean, hot tubs, etc.), the gym or activities that lead to excessive amounts of sweating, and exposure to the sun for the first two weeks. This could damage the tattoo in the healing process. Showers are fine as long as they are quick and not overly hot. You don’t want to burn your new ink!
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Be careful around your pets and definitely don’t sleep with them until the tattoo is healed. There are many ways that your animals can complicate the healing process, including but not limited to scratching, dander, and playing.
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Continue this process until the tattoo is healed, and remember, don’t pick, peel or scratch any scabbing or hard layers. These hard layers are normal and picking them off could damage or remove color.
LONG-TERM AFTERCARE
Long-term aftercare is just as important as short-term. The more you care about how you treat your skin, the longer your tattoo will uphold its sheen.
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Your tattoos will lighten up after they have fully healed. That’s normal as the layers of skin are growing back over the ink and accepting it within your skin. But to keep a solid coloring, always make sure to put on sunscreen when going outside, especially in the summer.
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SPF 45 or higher and sunscreen for children are always great at protecting your skin, and several tattoo aftercare brands make sun blocks designed for tattoos.
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Always keep your tattoos moisturized, especially in areas prone to fading like hands, feet, elbows, etc. This will help keep the tattoo intact longer and less prone to fading over the years.
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There are many brands out there that offer tattoo aftercare products such as H2Ocean and Hustle Butter. If you don’t want to go the drug store route, these brands are available for you and your ink! You pay a lot for a quality tattoo, so treat it like the fine piece of art that it is and make it last!