The application of your tattoo created many small pinpricks in the surface of your skin. They will bleed during the initial couple of hours following the tattoo process. The tagaderm bandage we typically use should protect your new tattoo while allowing you to show it to friends and family.
Follow your tattoo artist’s recommendation on when to remove your bandage. You can shower and lightly sweat with the tagaderm bandage on. No lakes, rivers, streams, pools or hot tubs for typically 2 weeks after receiving your tattoo.
Once you remove the bandage, wash your tattoo gently with clean fingers and some gentle soap. After washing, pat dry with a clean towel then allow it to air dry. Most of our artists recommend a dry heal once your bandage is removed. If you want to apply lotion or an ointment, please use a light application and choose a gentle, non-alcohol lotion or ointment…the less additives, the better.
Please don’t load a lot of ointment on the new tattoo, as it will make it scab up a lot more than it would with a lesser amount. Please don’t put anything else on your tattoo; those stories of aftershave, bovine ointments, and peroxide are definitely to be avoided. Advice from the guy on the adjacent treadmill, or your bro’s best friend should be regarded as sketchy at best.
Your tattoo will begin to develop a light and dry scab on it on the third or fourth day following the procedure. This is normal and should be slight so the annoyance won’t be so bad, however you will still have to be patient for a little while longer to see the final product.
Do not pick at the scab as you will pull out some of the color and will have to have it touched up. The flaky and scabbing stage lasts for another 3 or 4 days for most people in good general health; extremities will take a little longer.
Here is a video showing how to remove tagaderm bandage.
If you take care of your tattoo as recommended you should have a smooth tattoo healing experience. If you have any difficulties in healing, please contact the studio; best to come in so we can see what is happening.
Things to avoid
In order to make sure your tat heals well and stays beautiful and vibrant, make sure to avoid the following:
NO TANNING BEDS unless you cover your new tattoo; that's with cloth, not sunscreen. Even a healed tattoo will be affected adversely if it is exposed to this much ultraviolet radiation. That goes for direct sunlight as well. Do try to keep your tattoo out of the direct sunlight for the first 2-3 weeks and then always put a sun block (spf 75 or above) on if you are going to be out at all. Repeated sun exposure and sunburns are the biggest cause of color loss in a tattoo. A tattoo can be touched up; however a little care will go a long way as your tattoo ages. Extreme cases can cause sun poisoning; the tattoo will eventually heal however the time will be prolonged and the tattoo will appear dull.
DO NOT SWIM OR SOAK in a hot tub, pool, lake, or ocean while the tattoo is healing (a good rule of thumb is stay out of bodies of water for two weeks; showers are okay). Soaking can cause the scab to become waterlogged and will affect the healing tattoo. A waterlogged tattoo will have a heavy scab on it and will take longer to heal. If this happens it always loses color. The effects of chlorine are well documented and it would be redundant to mention them here.
DO NOT PICK or scratch at the healing tattoo!
healing difficulties
If you were to have an unusual reaction to a tattoo it could be caused by a number of factors. Most problems are due to scratching at the tattoo. Scratching can take out color and bring harmful bacteria to the tattoo site.
Rarely someone is allergic to the pigments used in the tattoo process. The allergy can manifest itself in a number of ways, the most common is localized itching in the tattoo or itching or swelling in just one color of the tattoo. This can be aggravated with exposure to the sun suggesting that it may be a photosensitive reaction. Those persons should especially keep their tattoos out of the sun.
If you know that you experience skin allergies, please tell your tattoo artist! If they know, they can recommend strategies or even do a skin test to make sure that you will have a positive tattoo experience.