(ENEWSPF)– Congratulations on getting your tattoo! Now it’s time to take proper care of it and maintain it! Your tattoo artist should have given you instructions on how look after your tattoo. Aftercare instructions may vary from artist to artist. So what I am about to list is just a general aftercare plan, this may or may not be different from what was explained to you from your artist.
- 1. After your tattoo is finished your artist will have covered your tattoo with some sort of gauze or anti-stick padding or bandaging to make sure that the area where you have gotten your tattoo will not get infected. Leave this on for up to four hours so that you blood can have a chance to clot and not be exposed to bacteria.
- 2. Whenever you are handling your tattoo, make sure that you have clean hands! We don’t want any bacteria to get on your skin and cause an infection!
- 3. You should have now waited up to four hours, and you can now take off your gauze, or bandaging. Be sure that you have washed your hands before you start doing this! With warm water and an anti-bacterial soap, clean your tattoo of any blood that has surfaced on the area. Use your hand, or a very soft cloth to wipe the blood off. Do not use any cleaning products beside anti-bacterial soap because your skin needs to remain moist so that the tattoo can properly heal. Any cleaning products may dry out your tattoo and this can cause big problems!
- 4. After you have cleaned your tattoo, use any kind of anti-bacterial ointment, and cover your tattoo area. Do this about 5-6 times for several days. Do not use anything else but anti-bacterial ointment. We do not want your tattoo to fade and lose it’s colour.
- 5. You now have to let your tattoo air out so that it can heal properly. Do not cover it with gauze or bandaging during the rest it’s healing process.
- 6. So now it’s been a several days since you have gotten your tattoo. So you should have been applying anti-bacterial ointment 5-6 times a day, and now it’s time to move to a moisturizer. This will prevent scabbing and peeling. Make sure to use a moisturizer that is fragrance free so that it does not cause any irritation to the area.
- 7. Avoid drenching your tattoo with water. Showering is perfectly fine, just don’t completely saturate your tattoo. If you get shampoo or soap on your tattoo be sure to wash it off quickly! I do not avoid taking a bath or swimming since submerging it in a lot of water will ruin your tattoo.
- 8. Also try and avoid tanning or prolonged exposure to the sun since it will fade out your tattoo. Put sunblock on your tattoo to avoid fading. You really do not want to have to go back and get your tattoo re-touched a few years down the road now do you? Didn’t think so!
- 9. Do not pick at the scabs on your tattoo! This is not a good thing to do! No matter how itchy or annoying it is, do not do it! It can remove ink from your tattoo and ruin it. Put some moisturizer to keep your skin moist and relieve the itching.
- 10. Your tattoo will "bleed" ink during the first little while. So I advise wearing some clothing that you don’t mind getting ink from your tattoo on. It should wash out, but I still think you should wear something you do not really care about. Or you could just not wear clothing on that certain part of your body, depending on where it is of course. But do not put gauze or bandaging on your tattoo to cover it.
So there are 10 aftercare instructions that will keep your tattoo safe! Remember to always wash your hands when handling your tattoo, do not cover it with any bandaging after the first several days, stay out of the sun, do not drench your tattoo, and you should be fine! Thanks for reading!
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