DO:

• Leave the dressing on until the following morning.

  ◦        We advise removing it upon waking up, preferably in the shower.

◦        After removing the dressing, you should then wash and clean it. Please see below section on how to safely wash/clean your healing tattoo.

◦        Ensure you dispose of the dressing in a sanitary manner, wrap it up and pop it in the bin.

• Wash your tattoo 3 times a day.

◦        Wash gently (Use your clean hands to wash down the tattoo, nothing abrasive.) Using a gentle non-exfoliating soap/body wash. Ensure that you rinse all traces of soap/ shampoo off of the tattoo when you are done.

◦        Dry carefully with a fresh clean towel or use a good quality paper towel  (Ensure this is a fresh roll, specifically for your tattoo and that it has not been sat out or used for any other purpose. We recommend the Plenty brand.) Contaminated towels and clothing are a serious infection risk.

◦        Keep your tattoo clean, this is the most important part of after care.

• Wear loose fitting, clean clothing.

◦        Whilst healing, it is advisable to wear loose clean cotton clothing over your tattoo.

DON’T:

• Pick or scratch any scabs that develop.

◦        After a couple of days your tattoo will develop a light scab or flaky skin. Do not pick or scratch LEAVE IT ALONE! Disturbing the tattoo is a serious infection risk.

◦        This includes while washing the tattoo, be careful and try not to disturb any forming scabs.

• Re-bandage the tattoo while healing.

◦        The original dressing is applied under clean aseptic conditions, re-dressing the tattoo yourself is unnecessary and may introduce dirt/bacteria which is a serious infection risk.

◦        Your skin needs to breathe in order to heal, do not cover/wrap it with anything that will impact this process.

• Soak the tattoo whilst healing.

◦        This will soften any light scabbing that forms, causing it to be removed easily/prematurely. This re-opens the wound, which is a serious infection risk. Alongside this, you can impact the quality of the healed tattoo.

• Textured clothing.

◦        Avoid textured clothing that may catch or leave fibres on the healing tattoo, especially when it is drying up and flaking.

AVOID:

• Animal hairs.

• Dusty environments.

• Swimming.

• Saunas.

• Exposure to direct sunlight.

• Any foreign bodies that may be introduced as a result of childcare (sticky fingers!)

These are all damage and infection risks.

Looking after your tattoo while it heals:

You can generally expect the healing process to take 2-3 weeks.

Continue to wash and keep the tattoo clean. Apply cream if necessary (per the guidance below.)
Picking scabs removes colour and could cause infection.
During your healing process, if your tattoo feels tight or uncomfortable, apply a TINY amount of recommended ointment to relive it. Using excess cream is an infection risk, may delay healing and cause excessive scabbing.

Always wash hands before applying cream/ointment. Not doing so is a serious infection risk.
We recommend a very mild moisturiser such as:

• Palmers Cocoa Butter Lotion

• Lush Dreamcream

• E45

• There are also a number of professional tattoo aftercare products- please check with your artist before using