HOW TO TAKE EXTENSIVE CARE OF YOUR NEW TATTOO
Congratulations on your new tattoo!
We hope you had a pleasant time while getting tattooed and enjoyed the most of it!
Now it’s time to properly take care of your fresh ink. Remember, aftercare starts as soon as your tattoo is done.
First things first:
You know tattoos, in the beginning, are just like open wounds and you should take them seriously. Tattooing is a medical procedure too because the artist uses a needle to insert the ink underneath your skin.
If you got tattooed in a controlled environment that is clean and properly taken care of within industry standards, you should feel safe. In a studio that looks safe and sound, and if the crew did everything that should be done to keep you away from infections, you have less to worry about. But when you walk out that door, you’re the one who should be taking good care of it.
This article will help you to take good care of your fresh ink for the next couple of days, weeks, and months.
YOUR TATTOO WILL BE COVERED
Before the next couple of days, 1MM Studio Artists will cover your tattoo with a bandage which is called “The Second Skin” This covering prevents bacteria from getting into your skin. It also protects the tattoo from rubbing onto your clothes and getting irritated.
The bandage will stay on your skin for the next 4 nights. If you live with cats and dogs, this is more crucial. You know those friends are bringing a lot of bacteria into our households and this makes it harder to take proper care of your fresh tattoo.
For the next four nights period, you can do most of what you do usually. You can go for a hike or take shower with it. The only thing that you should care about is not to expose your fresh tattoo under too much sunlight and while taking shower, you’d want to keep your tattoo away from the streaming water.
If you tend to hit the gym often, please try to keep it chill, since the skin gets sweaty, and the cover will most likely fall off.
In the first four nights period, your tattoo will still be bleeding under the bandage. This means all that blood and plasma will be trapped under the bandage which will make it look messy and ugly. Don’t alarm yet, this is all expected. That messy look will be washed away after removing the bandage.
Your skin will also be red and sore. It might feel slightly warm to the touch. In this case, you can apply a clean bag of ice on the tattooed area for 15 minutes two times before going to bed. This will also help your tattoo heal faster.
What if the tattoo bandage comes off before YOU REMOVE IT?
It’s very important to keep the bandage on for four nights. Please keep an eye on the bandage and prevent it from coming off from the corners or the edges. If that happens and you see it’s coming off, try to stop the peeling by placing a band-aid or any type of tape which allows the skin to breathe.
Your second skin will be cut off rounded corners to make it stay longer. But, sometimes we just don’t notice the second skin coming off. In that case, if the bandage is peeled off too much and the tattooed area is exposed to open air, there is no way for you to keep it clean anymore. So, please take the bandage off then wash it and keep it as clean as possible.
The second skin is for one time only. Never ever cover your tattoo again with any kind of bandage or second skin.
If the bandage comes off on your first night, there’s a chance your tattoo will still bleed. The blood can dry overnight and stick to your clothes or bedding. If this happens, gently take the fabric off. DO NOT force it off or be rough with it. If it still does not come off, wet the area with lukewarm water and gently slide it off.
CAUTION: YOU MIGHT HAVE A SENSITIVE SKIN Condition
Although we use the industry-leading second skin which is “Saniderm”, it’s not good for everybody. In some cases, a form of redness or little red bumps may appear on the skin. If that happens, it means that your skin is showing an allergic reaction to the bandage material. So keep an eye on the covered area and if you see any kind of redness in the shape of the bandage, please remove it immediately. That redness is not affecting the tattoo but it might stay with you for 4-5 weeks long we know it’s annoying and we don’t want you to have any kind of bad experience. In this case, remove the second skin, wash it and keep it as clean as possible.
HOW TO REMOVE THE BANDAGE COVER
You should be very careful removing the second skin bandage.
Ok, we love this second skin stuff because it helps a lot to take care of your fresh tattoo in the first couple of days. But it’s kinda hard to remove it from the skin because the material is very durable. Well, not that hard but you should be careful with it because if you don’t mind you may hurt your tattoo.
Before you start, make sure your hands are clean and you have unscented antibacterial soap ready. Avoid soap with fragrance, moisture beads, or scrubs.
The best way to remove the second skin is to take a lukewarm shower, let it wet, get it to soften, and then remove it very gently by peeling off / rolling it over.
WASH YOUR TATTOO GENTLY
After removing the bandage, wash your tattoo using your fingertips gently with any kind of soap which is gentle on your skin. It could be an antibacterial soap or a regular one but you should do it quickly and don’t spend too much time washing it.
Make lather your hands with soap and warm water. NO washcloths, bath towels, or sponges on a fresh tattoo.
Gently clean the tattoo using a circular motion until all ointment and plasma are removed. Rinse the tattoo gently until the skin is clean.
After the washing, go grab a clean paper towel and pat it dry, don’t rub it since it might damage your fresh tattoo.
Wait for a little while then you’ll see your tattoo is getting dry. That’s when you’ll need a moisturizer. The best moisturizer is without oil and fragrance-free. Please don’t use Aquaphor. Since it’s greasy, it’s blocking the pores and not letting the skin breathe. That’s why you should choose a moisturizer without oil. Also, fragrance-free moisturizers are better because it’s lowering the chance of irritation on the skin.
Clean your tattoo this way once a day in the shower for the first 2-3 days.
It will probably take 10 to 15 days to heal completely. Since you probably get a fine-line tattoo from us, that type of tattoo heals faster and with fewer implications. If your tattoo is with lots of shading or saturated color, then it will probably take 3-4 weeks to completely heal.
Don't be too quick to get back to your normal life
Your tattoo is not ready to face the outside world yet. So please be patient going on to your casual living. Your fresh tattoo is still in the healing process and it should be handled with care. Keeping it clean is always better than washing it away.
Once you remove the second skin, your tattoo starts building up scabs. You know, those scabs will be very itchy. Please never scratch your tattoo and never pick up those flakes. If it gets really itchy, give yourself a couple of nice slaps and it will help you a lot.
In the healing process, you’re gonna be the boss. If the scabs are not completely gone and if it’s not looking like your own skin yet, you’d better stay out of pools, lakes, the ocean, and excessive sunlight.
How to take care of a healing tattoo
In the healing process, your tattoo will have a duller, cloudier appearance. This happens as your skin heals. Scabs will start to form.
Scabbing is the most inevitable part of the healing process. If your tattoo doesn’t build any scabs you should consider yourself lucky. Because, even if it’s a delicate line work without any shading or color packing, it still has a big chance of scabbing in the healing process.
Those scabs are the first enemy of a properly healed tattoo. If you let them get dry too much, they will take away some parts of the ink applied while falling off. If you apply an excessive amount of moisturizer, the same happens. So, try to keep it fresh instead of over-moisturizing it. If you feel it’s too dry, apply a small amount of the moisturizer. It’s always better to keep it less moisturized than over-moisturized but there is a sweet spot between them.
You want to make sure you keep your showers quick, and that you try to keep your new tattoo out of any direct stream of water for the first two weeks.
How to take care of your tattoo once it heals completely
Do you know how you should be wearing SPF 30 or higher on your face every single day? Yeah, you should also be applying it to your tattoos—even after the healing stage
The first enemy of your good old tattoo is tanning. Every time the skin gets tanned, the movement of your skin cells also moves around the ink molecules and it causes a “blurring” effect on your art piece. It’s always better to use sunscreen on your tattoos when laying under the sun.
Heads up! Every tattoo fades away in a matter of time, but not in six months or so. That’s why 1MM Studio resident artists love to check their work after they’re healed completely. Once the tattoo is 6 months old, it’s the closest thing to a 6 year old tattoo. So we’d like. to check how’s your tattoo doing anytime after six months. For research purposes, 1MM Studio Artists offers a free small tattoo once you come back for a check-up anytime after 6 months.
People have long used coconut oil on their tattoos. They apply it after the tattoo is completed or when it heals. One supposed benefit is that it makes the design shine.
