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People ask me what my after tattoo care is so I thought I'd post it here. This is the after tattoo care that I swear by. I always heal up in 4-5 days and I NEVER scab up. Mind you, this is subject to if your artist has a rough hand and scars you and the way that your body heals.
First off, the physiology behind this is fairly sound. It keeps the blood plasma from pooling on the surface of your skin and ultimately forming a scab.
After you have had your tattoo for 2-3 hours remove the dressing (my artist uses plastic wrap, it doesn’t stick and is a good barrier that won’t let a scab form in, on or around it).
1) Run your water (either shower or faucet) to a temperature just below as hot as you can stand it. I know this sounds crazy, but it does 2 things: the heat sort of numbs the area effectively taking the burn away and the heat also draws the blood plasma up and washes it away. Run the water over your tattoo for no more than 3-4 minutes and wash the area with a fragrance free soap.
2) Pat the tattoo dry with a clean, dry towel.
3) (Optional step recommended to me by my artist that I do) Take a cotton ball and saturate it with Witch Hazel and gently clean the tattoo. (Witch Hazel is a natural astringent that will help clean the area as well as keep the itch of a healing tattoo to a minimum. I bought mine at the local grocery store. It looks like a bottle of rubbing alcohol.)
4) Cover the tattoo with a thin layer of A&D ointment… rub it in (not triple antibiotic… the skin has good bacteria in it that will help it heal naturally... only use the antibiotic stuff if you develop an infection for some reason).
Repeat steps 1-4 three to five times per day (I do it when I get up in the morning, at lunch, when I get home from work and before I go to bed).
Continue this process until you start to peel (really thin layer of skin, no scabs… It takes me 4-5 days).
Once you start to peel, switch to lotion.
Big no-no’s are soaking in a tub or swimming. Not until the skin is healed or you are inviting infection. No going in the sun with it either. One thing to remember: by using this method you are thwarting the bodies natural healing process and disallowing a scab to form. You are leaving your body open to infection with basically an open wound on your body so keep it clean!
