Tattooing is one form of self-expression – and finally, after months of deciding and waiting, your awaited skin design has come to reality! But after the process of marking the skin, what’s next? It is vital that you know how to take good care of it, and ensure that it heals wells and ends up looking how you want it.
- Follow your tattoo artist’s recommendation – Tattoo aftercare may vary depending on which studio you preferred to tattoo you. Often, even artists have different views regarding the process and things you have to remember to heal your tattoo. Fundamentally, you listen to these recommendations that they offer you and follow them – depending on the studio or the artist, they may give you leaflets containing their advice that you can take with you at home.
- Don’t forget to wash your tattoo after a few hours gently – Artists will advise you to keep the cover on your skin for 2-5 hours. Until then, you will have to carefully remove the bandage and gently wash you tattoed skin with lukewarm water along with a mild liquid soap.
- Apply enough layer of tattoo aftercare moisturizing cream – Your artist will recommend you a product that he thinks is the best tattoo aftercare cream. You should consider this advice and apply enough of this on your skin. You then have the option to cover the area again with clingfilm or gauze, or you may leave it in the open air – depending on what you artist has advised you. Others will suggest for you to repeat this process for 3-5 times daily.
- Ensure to keep your tattoo clean and dry – Avoid soaking your tattoo in water for at least a month, what is recommended is that taking showers would be okay but baths are a no-no! You should be able to keep the tattooed area clean and dry and ensure to cover it with gauze or clingfilm and medical tape, especially if the clothes you wear are likely to get rubbed on the area.
- Stay away from direct sun exposure – You should stay away from exposing your tattooed area directly on the sun unless it’s extremely necessary. This is because healed tattoos, especially the coloured ones, may fade due to the sun’s rays. Ensure to apply the healed tattoo with SPF creams when you know that you will catch some light from mister sun.
- Be patient with its healing process – You have to be patient of your tattoo’s healing process – sometimes the length of how long it heals depends on how well you take care of it during the healing period and the size of the tattoo design. Keep following the aftercare instructions!
- Avoid itching it – This tip cannot be stressed enough – o not itch! Although it may feel flaky as it starts to heal, remind your self not to pick at it as this may disrupt the ink of the tattooed area and may lead to patches or having to remove them altogether.
