Aftercare
Healing is half the tattoo.
How a piece is looked after over the first fortnight decides how it reads for the next twenty years.
The first day or two
- Follow the specific instructions you were given at the studio. They take priority over anything on this page, because they are matched to the dressing you were sent home in.
- Wash your hands before touching the area. Every time, without exception.
- Clean gently with lukewarm water and a plain, unperfumed soap. No flannels, sponges or scrubbing.
- Pat dry with a clean paper towel rather than a bath towel, and let the skin breathe before covering it again.
The first two weeks
- Apply a thin layer of the aftercare product you were recommended. Thin is the operative word — a thick layer traps moisture and softens the healing skin.
- Expect flaking and light scabbing. This is normal.
- Do not pick, scratch or peel anything, however tempting. Lifting a scab early takes pigment with it, and in black and grey that shows as a pale patch in what should be a smooth gradient.
- Keep clothing loose over the area. Friction on a healing tattoo is the most common cause of patchy healing.
Until it is fully healed
- No swimming pools, baths, saunas, steam rooms or open water. Showers are fine.
- Keep it out of direct sun. Once it is fully healed, sunscreen is the single most effective thing you can do for it.
- Avoid heavy training or anything that stretches or sweats heavily over the area for the first week or so.
- Do not shave over it until the skin has closed completely.
Black and grey, long term
Black and grey holds up well, but it holds up on contrast. The soft mid-greys that give a realistic piece its depth are the first thing sunlight takes, and once that separation closes the image flattens.
Sunscreen on a healed tattoo is not fussiness — it is the difference between a piece that still reads at ten years and one that has gone grey-on-grey. A high-factor sunscreen on any exposed work, every time it sees real sun, is the core of the long-term maintenance.
Not sure about something?
If a piece is healing in a way you were not expecting, send a photograph. For anything that looks like an infection, contact a healthcare professional first.