How To Wash A New Tattoo?
Aftercare for Your Tattoo – So, how can you make sure that new tattoo is something you don’t end up regretting? Follow these steps while your new tattoo heals.
- Be sure your artist covers your new tattoo in a thin layer of petroleum jelly and a bandage.
- Remove the bandage after 24 hours. Gently wash the tattoo with antimicrobial soap and water and be sure to pat dry.
- Apply a layer of antibacterial/Vaseline ointment twice a day, but don’t put on another bandage.
- Gently wash your tattoo area twice a day with soap and water and gently pat dry before reapplying the antibacterial/Vaseline ointment.
- Keep applying a moisturizer or ointment after you clean it to keep it moist.
You should repeat this process for 2 to 4 weeks. Also try not to wear clothes that will stick to your tattoo, and avoid swimming and the sun for about 2 weeks. And take cool showers. Scalding hot water will not only hurt, but it can also fade the ink. Wear a physical blocker sunscreen with at least 7% zinc oxide sunscreen during the daylight hours and/or cover it up (with clothing, a bandage).
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When should I wash my new tattoo?
The first wash – After usually no less than 5 hours, it is safe to remove the bandage and wash the tattoo. After thorough hand-washing, a person can gently wash the tattoo with hypoallergenic soap and warm water using their fingers. The moisturizer on the skin will come off, and the tattoo may appear as if it is oozing ink or a thick, sticky substance.
- This reaction is not usually a cause for concern, as it is just the excess fluid and ink from the tattoo process;
- After washing, a person should pat the skin with a clean paper towel and allow it to air-dry for up to an hour;
When the area is completely dry, they can apply a thin layer of moisturizer to the tattoo, but leave it uncovered to allow the skin to breathe.
Can I wash my tattoo with just water?
Showering tips – Yes, you can and should shower with a new tattoo. It’s okay to get your tattoo wet as long as you don’t soak it. Just try to keep your tattoo away from the actual water flow. Submerging your tattoo in a bath or hot tub can cause serious damage, so avoid those for 2-3 weeks, but showering is perfectly fine as long as you don’t saturate your tattoo.
What should you not do after a tattoo?
What should you not put on a new tattoo?
Can you shower 1 day after getting a tattoo?
You Can Shower After Getting a Tattoo, But Remember to Use Mild Soap – When it comes to showering after a new tattoo , it’s best to ask your tattoo artist when you can lather up. Their answer will depend on the type of bandage they use to seal their work before sending you off.
“Depending on what type of bandage you receive determines when you can shower,” Metz-Caporusso tells Bustle. “If you get Saniderm or Tegiderm, then you can shower immediately. This type of covering is waterproof.
If you get a classic bandage or cling wrap, then you must wait anywhere from two to 12 hours, depending on what your artist recommends. After you take that off, you can shower anytime. ” But it’s important to use a mild, fragrance-free soap when you do shower or wash your new ink.
Think classic Dial soap or anything anti-bacterial and gentle. After a gentle washing, Brooklyn-based tattoo artist John O’Hara recommends applying Aquaphor to hydrate the skin and create a barrier to prevent infection.
“The key is to apply a very thin layer, let the skin absorb the Aquaphor for about 10-15 seconds, and blot off the excess with a sanitary paper towel,” O’Hara tells Bustle. “This will give you the right amount.
Should I wash my tattoo with warm or cold water?
DON’T. –
- Don’t remove your bandage too soon! Keep your tattoo covered for as long as your artist recommends. The bandage absorbs excess blood, ink, topical anesthetics , ointments, etc
- Don’t use hot water to clean your new tattoo; wash with warm water instead. Hot water will cause your pores to open, leaving new tattoo susceptible to bacterial infection and ink leakage.
- Don’t put your new tattoo directly under running water—don’t soak it either.
- Never rip the bandage off! Use a bit of cold water to break down the adhesive until it’s no longer painful to remove.
- Don’t re-bandage or cover your new tattoo. Tattoos need to breathe and stay dry to heal.
- Don’t pick the scabs—yuck! Aside from that being a terrible habit, your fingers could transfer bacteria. Your tattoo is an open wound and vulnerable to infection during the healing process. Let the scabs fall off by themselves or gently wash them off in the shower.
- Don’t go tanning. Limit your tattoo’s exposure to sun, if possible. If you must be outside, find a tattoo-specific sunscreen with at least 30 SPF.
- Don’t swim, soak, sweat, or sauna for at least 6-weeks after your tattoo! That may be easier said than done, but wet tattoos don’t heal properly.
Should I cover my tattoo at night?
This info should guide you through the care of healing your tattoo, but if you have any other questions while it is healing, do not hesitate to contact your artist directly or call the shop for immediate reply. There are no stupid questions about healing.
- – After your tattoo is completed, your artist will bandage your tattoo for your trip home;
- Leave the bandage on for one to three hours;
- When you take the bandage off, wash it with very warm water (as hot as is comfortable) and mild liquid hand soap (like Dr;
Bronner’s, Dial or Softsoap, just no perfumed or exfoliating body washes). Pat it dry gently with a paper towel, and let it air dry the rest of the way (never scrub the tattoo with a towel or sponge). Then you will apply a very small amount of Aquaphor Ointment or plain, unscented skin lotion (we recommend Aveeno, Lubriderm, Curel, or any of their generics) to the tattoo, just enough to lightly moisturize.
- Your first night sleeping, your artist might recommend you re-wrap the tattoo with plastic wrap (like Saran Wrap) to sleep without the tattoo sticking to your sheets. This is generally for larger or solid-color tattoos. If your artist did not recommend re-wrapping, just let the tattoo stay exposed to air overnight.
- Every day from then on, you will wash the tattoo in the morning and at night, and apply lotion 3 times a day or so, or whenever the tattoo feels dry or tight.
- Always wash your hands before touching the tattoo.
- DO NOT apply Vaseline, Neosporin, Bacitracin or any other medicated or perfumed product to your tattoo.
- After a few days, the tattoo will form a thin scab over it, and in about a week the scab will begin to flake off in the shower. DO NOT pick or scratch at the scab, just keep it clean and moist and the scabs will all fall off by themselves in about two weeks. Picking any of the scabs off will cause faded color and damage to the skin.
During healing do NOT:
- Wrap the tattoo after the first night (wearing breathable clothes over it is fine as long as they are not causing friction. (Keeping tattoos wrapped in plastic or bandages will stop air from getting to the tattoo, slow healing, and make gross stuff grow in there. )
- Submerge the tattoo in water. This means baths, pools and oceans. Regular showering is fine.
- Expose it to strong sunlight (Like outdoor activities or beach days. Walking to your car is fine)
- Shave over the tattoo (ouch!)
When all the scabs fall off and the skin feels smooth again to the touch, it is all healed and you can shave over it again, and swim and everything else. Sometimes after the scab falls off there is a secondary shiny, raised or waxy coat over the tattoo. This is just another healing layer of skin. Continue to moisturize it and it will smooth out by itself over time. If you have any questions about your tattoo while its healing you are always welcome to come by the shop and have us check it out, or email the artist who did the tattoo with “AFTERCARE” in the subject line for an immediate response.
- Do not slather a big, thick coat of product over it; just enough for it to stay moist and flexible;
- If you are using Aquaphor, you can switch to a plain lotion after the first few days;
- Lotion is generally fine for everyone, your artist will recommend if you would benefit from ointment;
If something doesn’t look perfect After your tattoo is finished healing, we’ll do our best to make it right. Sometimes with excessive scabbing, or other unpredictable reactions during healing, your skin can reject some ink, leaving a “light spot” that is closer to your skin color in the tattoo (or a line might get thinner or lighter in one spot).
This is common as its unlikely your body will accept every spot of pigment uniformly, so just contact your artist via email after your tattoo is finished healing with a photo to see if a small touch up is in order.
Unless you were negligent during the care of your tattoo, touch-ups are very minor and quick, and guaranteed by our artists if you contact them about it within 3 months of getting the tattoo. Because older tattoos that have settled in fully and aged require more work to make uniform, we suggest coming in as soon as possible when it’s healed, as touch ups are performed for a fee at the artist’s discretion after 3 months.
Is it OK to wear clothes over a new tattoo?
So, What Kind Of Clothes Should I Wear Over a New Tattoo? – After getting a tattoo, and during the healing process, which can last between 2 weeks and a month in its initial and most important stage, you should be wearing loose-fitting clothes. That is of course if the tattoo is placed on your body apart from the neck, head, and feet.
For those areas, you need to pay special attention, especially in the case of feet tattoo (the issues of wearing socks and shoes). Loose clothes will cover the tattoo so much so that it stays protected. There is a lower chance the fabric will stick to the tattoo and introduce contaminants as well.
There will be minimal or rubbing of the fabrics against the tattoo, which will significantly minimize healing issues or the chance of an infection. Note: After getting a new tattoo, it will be wrapped and well protected. You can wear loose clothes over the wrap and not really worry about it.
What cream is best for tattoo aftercare?
Best Overall: Aquaphor Healing Ointment Aquaphor’s Healing Ointment is of the most widely used tattoo aftercare treatments, and you’ll find a lot of artists quick to recommend the old stand-by.
What can ruin a tattoo?
What happens if tattoo gets wet?
When you get a fresh tattoo, there is a lot of care involved to preserve the artwork. Your skin is a delicate canvas and your tattoo requires specific treatment. So what happens when a brand new tattoo gets wet ? Well, a lot of things, actually. If it’s kept wet, the softened scab will peel and stick to things, damaging what is essentially a healing but beautiful wound.
All the experts I spoke to for this piece (as well as the artists I’ve gotten my own ink from) agree that a fresh tattoo should never be submerged in a bath or a swimming pool during the critical healing phase.
However, it should be cleaned with soap and water and patted dry. Wash a new tattoo gently and then keep it only slightly moist with a thin layer of lotion during the healing process. It’s a simple rule to follow: Protect it, but don’t saturate it. It should not be drenched or immersed in a body of water for any length of time.
Joe Klein of Majestik Creations in Mooresville, Indiana tells me over email, “It is actually pretty simple when looked at from a different perspective. A tattoo is, in fact, a ‘sore,’ when broken down into simplest terms.
A needle punctures the skin, leaving behind a plasma film. If that film is soaked in water, it is the same as soaking a scab in the tub. It gets soft, comes off, and leaves scarring. Too much aftercare will cause the same effect. ” Yuck. It’s also why swimming should be avoided during the healing phase.
- Klein says, “There are chemicals in pool water that are not good to get under the skin, which can actually lead to blood poisoning;
- ” Rachel Rosenberg, who was a tattoo apprentice in Chicago before she swapped out her needle for a headset as an NYC publicist, also explains via an email interview why keeping new ink dry is essential;
“What happens to a new tattoo when it gets wet? It will stick to things!” she says. “Your fresh tattoo should be kept away from fabric at all costs, especially when wet, so as not to have your clothes attach or stick to your new piece and dry there. ” Having to pull fabric away from the healing artwork can mess with the skin and the piece itself.
“One should never be making an effort to keep their brand new tattoo ‘wet,'” Rosenberg continues, commenting on how some tattoo newbies tend to over moisturize during the healing process. “If anything, a thin layer of Aquaphor is what you want and then your tattoo wants to be left alone, aside from the few times it’s washed gently with Dial soap and patted dry with a clean paper towel.
” Alex Varkatzas , singer of the band Atreyu and a tattoo artist who has plenty of ink of his own, echos Rosenberg’s sentiments when I spoke with him, explaining that a wet tattoo could get infected. “A new tattoo should be kept clean and only slightly moist from unscented lotion,” he said.
“It should be treated just like an open wound. If a new tattoo gets wet, clean it and dry it. Then you’ll be OK. ” To recap: While you need to keep your tattoo clean, do not soak your tattoo or the scab will soften, fall off, and leave a scar.
Stick to a quick rinse in the shower, and you’ll be good to go. Images: Giphy (1); Body Electric Tattoo /Instagram (3).
How often should I moisturize my new tattoo?
How Often Should You Moisturize Your Tattoo? – Professional tattoo artists always recommended one moisturizes their tattoo(s) once or twice a day. The best way to moisturize a tattoo is by doing it in the morning and in the evening. It is also important to apply lotion or ointment after taking a shower, to protect the tattoo from drying out.
Note : Make sure to wait between 10 and 20 minutes to apply lotion/ointment onto the tattoo after a shower. In that time, the tattoo will dry naturally, so when you do apply a moisturizer, it will soak into the skin nicely.
By applying lotion onto a wet tattoo, you’re risking overdoing it.
What can I clean my tattoo with?
Aftercare for Your Tattoo – So, how can you make sure that new tattoo is something you don’t end up regretting? Follow these steps while your new tattoo heals.
- Be sure your artist covers your new tattoo in a thin layer of petroleum jelly and a bandage.
- Remove the bandage after 24 hours. Gently wash the tattoo with antimicrobial soap and water and be sure to pat dry.
- Apply a layer of antibacterial/Vaseline ointment twice a day, but don’t put on another bandage.
- Gently wash your tattoo area twice a day with soap and water and gently pat dry before reapplying the antibacterial/Vaseline ointment.
- Keep applying a moisturizer or ointment after you clean it to keep it moist.
You should repeat this process for 2 to 4 weeks. Also try not to wear clothes that will stick to your tattoo, and avoid swimming and the sun for about 2 weeks. And take cool showers. Scalding hot water will not only hurt, but it can also fade the ink. Wear a physical blocker sunscreen with at least 7% zinc oxide sunscreen during the daylight hours and/or cover it up (with clothing, a bandage).
What happens if I don’t wash my tattoo?
– Tattoo dry healing isn’t risky in itself, but there are some risks and side effects that you should be aware of before trying it out:
- Your skin may itch or burn because of a lack of moisture in the area, so it may feel impossible to ignore the urge to scratch.
- Larger areas of your skin may get extremely dry, scabbing more deeply and cracking open over large swathes that can affect how your tattoo looks when the healing process is done.
- Dry skin may tighten up, making it easier for skin to crack and affect how your tattoo looks after it heals.
What if I don’t have unscented soap for my tattoo?
Remove bandage 2-3 hours after your tattoo is complete.
- Wash your hands with soap and warm to hot water. Now wash your new tattoo with warm to hot water and a mild, unscented soap. Wash gently using only your hands and soapy water. Make sure to wash off any residual blood or plasma, ink, and ointment from the entire area around the tattoo. Dr. Bronner’s mild soap or any unscented mild soap will work.
- Gently pat dry with a clean towel or a paper towel.
- Apply a very thin layer of unscented lotion, or an even thinner layer of Aquaphor to the entire tattoo. Gently rub product into skin thoroughly. Mild unscented lotions like Aveeno, Lubriderm, Eucerin, etc. are appropriate; nothing medicated. For a baseball sized tattoo, a pea sized drop of lotion should suffice.
- Repeat twice a day for about two weeks, until it looks like normal skin.
- Wear gentle or loose fitting clothing if your tattoo is in a location impacted by clothing, shoes, or bra-straps. BE GENTLE.
Brand new tattoos may be sensitive, red, and swollen. The surrounding area may even show mild bruising. This is normal. Healing tattoos feel sometimes like a healing sunburn. For the first few days, your tattoo may “weep” clear or colored fluid. This is also normal. You may want to wash your tattoo a few additional times during the first few days.
Antibacterial soap is not necessary. Be careful not to over-do the lotion. As your tattoo is healing, your skin will shed or peel a layer of dead cells in the color and location of each part of the tattoo.
This is normal. Let any peeling skin fall off naturally. Do not pick at any flaking skin, it may not be healed underneath. While your tattoo is healing, avoid direct contact with sunlight. Also, do not soak your tattoo in water, i. baths, swimming pools, the ocean, etc.
until the tattoo is fully healed. This will be generally between 10-20 days, or more for larger or extensive amounts of tattooing. Healed tattoos should be protected from excessive sunlight. Tanning or sunbathing and tattoos don’t mix.
These are general guidelines to help you heal your tattoo. Everyone’s skin is different. Some people may find they need to continue these steps for more time, some need less time. We have done our best to make you a tattoo that will look great and last for as long as you live, now it’s your turn to ensure that it is well cared for after you leave the tattoo shop.
Can I shower 3 days after a tattoo?
– This depends on the type of covering the artist uses on your tattoo and how long they recommend keeping it on. If the tat is wrapped in plastic or a piece of regular bandage, you’ll need to wait until it’s off to shower. This can be anywhere from 1 to 24 hours, depending on the location and size of your ink.
