How To Look After A New Tattoo. 5 Top Tips.
Ask anyone in the Tattoo Industry and they’ll tell you that the most important step of getting inked is the aftercare. A fresh tattoo opens the skin, leaving a very high risk of infections and scarring. The best way to treat a new tattoo is to care for it like any other open wound. Giving proper treatment to the tattoo will avoid these kinds of complications and ensure that your art heals to its best quality.
What’s important to know is that both you and your tattoo artist play a part in the proper treatment of your new ink. So when it comes to the question: “How do I take care of my new tattoo?” Where do we start?
1. Good Hygiene
How to properly treat a tattoo starts with good hygiene. While in the tattoo studio, your artist will likely have a clean, sterile area for the inking phase. This setup is a basic practice to reduce any risk of infection during and post your appointment. A similar practice should be adopted when you return home and in the days following your appointment. The key thing to remember is to ALWAYS wash your hands thoroughly before touching or cleaning your fresh ink. Wash your hands with soap for at least 15-20 seconds, rubbing your palms together and in between your fingers. This will help limit the transmission of any germs reaching your open tattoo, keeping it clean for a healthy heal.
2. Keep It Covered
The best way to treat a new tattoo is to listen to the post appointment instructions from your artist. After getting inked, your artists will usually apply a layer of antibiotic ointment over the tattoo and cover it with plastic wrap or a dressing of sorts. This covering keeps your tattoo from attracting any bacteria into the wound, while also protecting it from rubbing against external irritants such as clothes and surfaces.
Your artists will tell you the required time to leave the dressing on for, which more often than not will be a few hours while the tattoo settles.
3. Gently Wash Your Tattoo
After washing your hands, you want to gently wash your tattoo with warm water and an antibacterial, fragrance-free soap. Avoid using any kind of cloth or wipe to clean the tattoo, as this will only aggravate the wound. Wash with your clean hands and rinse under warm water. Pat the tattoo dry with a towel and allow it to sit for a couple minutes before adding any aftercare ointment.
4. Apply Ink Nurse
The absolute best way to treat a new tattoo is with Ink Nurse. After cleaning your tattoo, you want to apply a thin layer of Ink Nurse to the wound, giving it a soothing touch to avoid itching and peeling. It is important to remember at this step not to over-apply ointment to the tattoo. Too much aftercare solution has a small risk of clogging the pores and aggravating the healing process. After applying your Ink Nurse, you don’t need to cover the tattoo with another dressing or wrap, however, it’s sometimes good to cover it on the first night so it doesn’t stick to your sheets.
5. Allow Your Ink To Breathe
In the first week after receiving your new tattoo, you should practice the process of washing your tattoo 2 or 3 times a day, following with a thin layer of Ink Nurse. During this week when the tattoo is still healing, it’s also important to give your ink some air so the skin can breathe. After the first day post appointment, try to keep your ink free from coverage and ensure that it receives ample ventilation to promote a healthy, clean heal.
Figuring out how to look after a new tattoo can be confusing with so much information on the internet. However, the best practice you can adopt to treat a new tattoo is to listen to the instructions of your artist, and always use a trusted aftercare solution like Ink Nurse.