General
Taking care of your art
Taking care of your tattoo is no simple task. Knowing what product to use, how to apply them and the following steps to healing are no easy tasks. This is why keeping in contact with your artist after the tattoo is a great idea! They’ll always have the answers to your questions!
The different ways of healing your tattoo
Right after your tattoo, your artist will offer you 2 ways to cover your tattoo, either the meat pad or the second skin. Both options are as good as the other, every tattooist has their favorite way to help a tattoo heal.
The meat pad is good for a couple of hours, or about the time you go back home. It is recommended to keep it on until you go in the shower at night. Once taken off, wash your tattoo by simply rinsing it with water, you can use non-perfumed soap for this, but be sure to be gentle with the tattoo. Never put the water flow directly on the tattoo, it can cause damage during the healing process! To rinse, simply put the water in the palm of your hand and let the water slowly flow on your tattoo. Never scrub the tattoo!!! Gently tap with a clean towel or paper towel to dry the tattoo. Once the tattoo is completely dry, apply a small amount of unperfumed cream to hydrate the tattoo. By doing this once or twice a day, the tattoo should take between 2 and 4 weeks to heal. It is important to keep doing it until the tattoo is fully healed.
The second skin is good for 48 to 72 hours if the tattoo does not bleed too much. In the case that your tattoo bleeds and creates blood blisters or ink blisters under the second skin, take off the second skin and make sure to not let your tattoo under the liquid for too long. When you are ready to take off the second skin, make sure to do it in the shower under tepid water. Once the second skin is off, wash the tattoo by simply rinsing it. To rinse, simply put the water in the palm of your hand and let the water slowly flow on your tattoo. Never scrub the tattoo!!! Gently tap with a clean towel or paper towel to dry the tattoo. After that, wait 2 days before applying any type of lotion or ointment to let the tattoo breathe and dry up. You can apply the lotion up to 2 times a day until the tattoo is healed. The healing time should be between 2 and 4 weeks.
The essentials during the healing process!
To make sure the healing of your tattoo goes to perfection, it is crucial to use the right tools. A clean and hydrated tattoo is the key to perfect healing, to do so, an unperfumed soap and an unperfumed lotion are needed. Anything containing perfume will cause irritation and redness on the tattoo and it will be painful. Here at AbyssTattoo, we sell the Hustle Butter, a well-known and recognized tattoo cream that helps hydrate, soothe and nourish the tattoo. If you prefer to buy your cream at the pharmacy, we recommend the Aveeno cream and a Dove bar soap to wash the tattoo!
Things to avoid during the healing process!
Multiple things can affect your tattoo during the healing process. This is why it is the most crucial moment of the process! Here’s a list of some of the things that can affect negatively the healing process of your art:
-Rubbing and scratching: To help with the itching, gently apply some lotion to the tattoo and cover the tattoo with it.
-Soaking the tattoo: Avoid taking baths, and going to a spa or pool during the healing process to avoid infections!
-Physical activities that make you sweat: If you do some physical activities, make sure to correctly clean your tattoo immediately after it.
-Exposing your tattoo to the sun: When going outside, make sure to cover your tattoo or apply sunscreen on your tattoo.
-Applying too much lotion or using healing ointment (Polysporin); Applying too much lotion on your tattoo will cause it to not be able to breathe enough, which will cause the tattoo to not heal correctly. Never put any Polysporin or any kind of healing ointment on a tattoo, as it will cause the same problems as applying too much lotion. The only case applying healing ointment would be good is if the tattoo already has a small infection.
If you have any questions about the healing process, never hesitate to contact your artist to ask questions! They are there for that and will prefer to answer your question than to see their art fade away due to bad healing. Do not forget to send them a picture of the tattoo once it is completely healed!