Care and Feeding of Your New Tit -too
~ Remove Bandage in about 2 hours or as soon as it is convenient.
~ Wash your hands then gently but thoroughly wash your tattoo(s) with mild soap and water using your hands (do not scrub).
Continue to rinse until all surface blood, ointment and soap has been removed.
~ Dry by blotting very gently with a paper towel or a clean towel.
If possible, continue to air dry until tattoo feels slightly tight (15 minutes to 1 hour).
~ Apply Ointment in a thin light coat rubbing completely into tattoo. If there is any excess remove it gently with a paper towel.
Tattoo should feel moistened but not heavily coated. Preferred ointment is Aquaphor.
You may use another type of ointment or no ointment at all depending on what is most comfortable.
~ Wash tattoo a lot. Pretty much as frequently as you can for the first few days.
Each time making sure your hands are clean before
and that if the skin feels dry or tight that you reapply a light coat of ointment after.
If you are home, go ahead and wash with soap and water.
If you are at work or somewhere that you can not be sure to rinse well enough -
a wipe with a damp paper towel is still muchbetter than nothing.
Some patients find that they can use baby wipes when they are away from home and some
find them irritating. Use your judgement and do what works best for you.
~ Rebandage with a non-stick (or telfa) whenever you have to wear tight clothing directly over tattoo area (such as a bra)
or if you will be sleeping directly on the tattoo area.
While your tattoo is covered it is healing at a much slower rate - so whenever possible
expose to the air or cover with loose fitting soft clothing instead.
Never bandage with gauze or any absorbent material (tattoo will heal to bandage if this is done)!
~ Continue Washing and Ointment treatments until tattoo starts to “peel” this looks very
much like a sunburn peel and should happen in 3 to 7 days. It may have a waxy or shiny
appearance when it first peels - this is normal. Once tattoo begins to peel you can switch to
a hand lotion or stop using any ointment. Do not help the flakes or peels come off (This is
very tempting to do, but it really is important not to). Sometimes your tattoo will peel and
you won’t notice (in the shower or inside your clothing). If a week has passed and it hasn’t peeled you
can go ahead and switch to the lotion anyhow.
~ DO NOT: expose tattoo to sun (yes, this includes tanning booths), salt water, chlorine,
dust, dirt or any other substance which could dry out or infect tattoo until after tattoo peels.
(No mud wrestling or washing the dog - you get the idea) Now if you want to use the tattoo
as an excuse to get out of housework or gym class, I am all for that, but the truth is it really
isn’t necessary.
~ After all of this... you can treat your tattoo just like the rest of your skin.
Sunscreen or an opaque covering is an absolute necessity if you are tanning the area. Moisturizer is a nice thing to
do for any skin - tattooed or not.
~ Questions? - I can be reached at (585) 621-4460 (Greece) or 1-888-305-7155 (long distance only) or Webster at (585) 872-2722
or teejay1(that's the number 1 and you have to take this part out)@frontiernet.net
~ Ointments that I recommend are Aquaphor (my personal favorite), Betadine H clear,
Bacitracin (if you really think you need an antibiotic), Tattoo Goo & A&D Ointment. Please
use common sense and if the ointment burns or hurts, stop using it immediately!
~ Thank you for allowing me to be part of your healing process and trusting me with your tattooing, please let me know if there is
anything else that I can do for you.
~Namaste,
TeeJay