Aftercare

(Boringgg.. but helpful)

The difference between your tattoo looking new after 10 years, and looking 10 years old brand new.

The fist 14 days are the most important. And the first 7 your skin is deciding how much pigment will stay and how much will go.

I generally recommend two types of aftercare depending on different situations:

1. natural as possible tattoo after care salves preferably petroleum free. My top pick is Griffin salve which can be obtained via me or on their website or even Amazon. It’s all natural and organic ingredients from griffin farms and hand made in small batches. Second mad rabbit from Amazon. Third tattoo goo from Walmart. Fourth is good lotions like aveno, lubraderm, aquaphor. But unless it’s an availability issue there is so many better things out there for tattoos than lotion nowadays.

clean it 3 or so times daily (use your judgment but too many can dry it out) wash gently with hand soap(liquid dial, soft soap etc.) not bar soap as it can dry out the skin and are laden with bacteria 🤮 then apply a thin layer of salve (just shiny not globed or gooey) directly after cleaned and dried. Sunlight is tattoo murder and submerging in bodies of water are tattoo murder due to bacteria and potential infection and over saturated skin can cause improper healing. Showers and hand washing are ok as they are on and off quick and clean then dry.

2. Saniderm tegaderm or any “second skin” type of covering. Available in shop, Walgreens, CVS and most drugstores. Leave on and don’t mess with it for 3-6 days. It can become full of a unappealing looking mixture of blood, plasma and ink. Do not freak out. This is normal and will not harm the tattoo. In the case of leak or puncture: remove and clean the area and switch to regular after care (see 1.)

NEVER use neosporin (triple antibiotic ointment)

This is to heal away scars! A tattoo is a scar with ink in it and will also heal away. petroleum based products like A and D ointment are not great either.

Also my aftercare is just that, what I have personally found best for MY tattooing. I only request you use my aftercare on my tattoos. Everyone does it different and there’s no 100% “perfect-for-everyone” way to do it. So if and when you get a tattoo from another artist you can do their aftercare on their tattoo. Unless you find mine more helpful generally for you.