You should keep the Saran Wrap on for about 2 hours after you tattoo to protect it from bacteria from entering the skin.

If we decide to use Saniderm instead of Saran Wrap, keep the Saniderm on your new tattoo for 24 hours. After 24 hours, remove slowly under warm water. Wash with unscented soap, and apply a new Saniderm sheet provided by me with clean hands. Leave the second Saniderm on your tattoo for 4-5 days unless you experience any irritation. If you notice any redness, bumps, or irritation at all during the healing process around your bandage, remove immediately and contact me with further instruction! After the 4-5 day period is completed, slowly peel the Saniderm off of your skin under warm water.

Once your bandage has been removed, wash twice a day with unscented soap and apply a thin layer of unscented lotion such as Aveeno (the green one) twice a day for 2 more weeks until fully healed.

After 2 hours, remove your Saran Wrap and wash with unscented soap and pat dry, preferably with a clean paper towel. Once dry, apply a THIN layer of aquaphor or unscented lotion such as Aveeno unscented lotion. PLEASE do not use anything other than unscented soaps and moisturizers. Doing so can create irritation and possible infection. Remember, your new tattoo is an open wound. Treat it as such! Wash and moisturize your tattoo twice a day to ensure a clean and uninfected healing process. Don’t forget to sing your new tattoo some lullabies as you go to sleep. This extra step will make for a happy and cared for tattoo that feels wanted and comforted to have a new home with you forever.

Once you have received your tattoo, expect the unbearable urge to take off your Saran Wrap immediately to admire your new addition. When you have survived this 2 hour period (unless otherwise been given different instructions) and can finally wash your tattoo, gently wash it as directed above. The following day, your tattoo will look perfect and will be fun to show off, but please only touch with CLEAN hands and baby the hell out of it. After a few days, you will start to notice scabbing and tightness around your new piece. Please refrain from picking, itching, or rubbing your new tattoo. Keep it lightly moisturized and make sure you whisper sweet encouragements to it as it begins the next difficult phase. Your tattoo will enter the never-ending itchy phase, the worst phase, the scabbing, peeling, why did I do this to myself phase - daresay worse than the pain of getting the tattoo itself phase. To survive this phase, I lightly tap my tattoo (do NOT scratch!) with clean fingertips and keep a thin layer of moisturizer on it. Your tattoo will look really horrible during this phase, it is what it is. Do not smother the piece with moisturizer, it needs to breathe! After the main parts of the tattoo have scabbed and fallen off, you will notice a light layer of white peeling skin. This usually happens between 2-3 weeks after the tattoo. This means it is almost finished healing! Once it has healed, enjoy your new piece. Keep it lightly moisturized to help it stay as crisp as can be throughout the years. If any ink has fallen out and needs a touch up, don’t hesitate to contact me and get it touched up!

Please hold off on exercising for AT LEAST 72 hours after your new tattoo. Healing takes up to two weeks, so please hold off as long as you possibly can to reduce the risk of infection with sweat and gym equipment and to not aggravate your new tattoo as it is healing. Do not re-bandage your tattoo and do not let your healing tattoo come into contact with exercising equipment. Also, during the healing phase, be careful as your tattoo is cracking and scabbing to reduce risk of ink falling out and infection.

In a word, NO. Please do not submerge your tattoo in any body water- that means: bathtubs, hot tubs, oceans, pools, rivers…any of that. You may shower to clean, but do not put a new, healing tattoo in a body of water please! This can lead to infection and for the ink to pull to the surface of your skin and fall out.

Please do not submerge your tattoo for 3 weeks!

Please refrain from sunbathing or tanning for about 4 weeks after you have received the tattoo! Do not use any sunscreen on your tattoo until it is completely healed, and if you need to be in the sun during the healing process, PLEASE keep it covered at all costs, even at the cost of a strange and unusual tan line. You have one chance to heal your tattoo correctly for a month or suffer a lifetime of a poorly healed tattoo because of sun damage to a new piece! Once your piece is healed, you can get into the sun again after 4 weeks. When this time comes, please use SPF 50 to keep your tattoo crisp and vibrant as long as possible. Over time and over the years, the sun will fade your tattoos, so proper protection with SPF 50 can protect your tattoos as long as possible.

First and foremost, don’t panic, it is going to be ok! :-) If your tattoo is red and irritated for the first 24 hours, give it time. After all, it is extremely sensitive and mad after being punctured by needles, so give your body a little bit of time to recover after the trauma a tattoo can do on the skin.

If it is past the 24 hour period and your tattoo is hot to the touch, covered in bumps, and still angry red, this is most likely an allergic reaction to either the ink or one of your aftercare products. In this case, please contact me immediately for further instruction and guidance!

If your tattoo is oozing yellow pus, this is a sign of an infection. Your tattoo is an open wound and the first few days are especially critical to keep your tattoo clean and free from pets, dirty hands, gym equipment, and whatever else may come into contact with your new tattoo. If you have signs of an infection, please contact me for further instruction and reach out to your doctor.