Best post tattoo care?

[darkest light tattoo]

I recommend my clients to wash the tattoo after they get home in the shower so the entire area around the tattoo can be cleaned completely. Three days with no ointment at all my reason for this is that the skin that has been tattooed needs to dry out and will act as a natural bandage for the fresh skin under the dead skin that will begin to peel within 3 to 5 days depending on the person and there over all health . As soon as the tattoo starts to itch and the skin starts to scale start using aquafor and urge clients to wash the tattoo every time they apply ointment. the biggest problem I see with tattoo healing is the over use of ointment. whatever you use it should be applied just like lotion on your hands:completely rubbed in with no residual ointment or lotion left on the tattoo.

Most of my tattoo works heal up within 7 to 10 days and peel once some occasions twice depending on how much ointment the client has used.

My best advise is leave it alone keep it clean and out of the sun and other elements Ive had people that surf back into the water within 5 days using this method.

[Dapper Dan]

In the past I've used paw paw ointment or bepanthen or similar,

I got a little sparrow on my arm a few weeks ago and it's still in the healing process

I've done absolutely nothing different this time but my skin pretty much rejected the standard routine and my arm broke out in little red (like pimples) bumps and the scabs were massive on the tattoo

Naturally I decided to boycott my usual routine and in a trip down to the health food shop I found a tiny bottle of "miracell" 4 drops of this magic liquid two times a day and the giant scabs fell off and the pimply rash disappeared, I think ill be sticking to this "miracell" in the future

Only problem is its $30 aud for the tinyiest little eyedropper and bottle

Ill be getting my stomach tattooed in about a month so ill report back with the results on a larger area

If anyone is curious the magic ingredients of this "miracell" are..

Apricot kernel oil

Sesame oil

Coconut oil

Avocado oil

Jojoba oil

Squalane

Camellia kissi seed oil

Aloe Vera oil

Lecithin

Vitamins a, d, e

Myrrh oil

Guess it's just a magic potion of sorts

In saying that if anyone can get their hands on some hemp balm I've had miracle results with that in the past as well

:)

[Riyko]

What i've found works for me is washing the tattoo really well with soap and hot water 2 hours after getting the tattoo done, then I let it air dry and use Aveeno on it (unscented) lastly for the rest of the night I tape a piece of gauze over it (i've only ever seen the gauze thing done in Canada and I like it Saran Wrap makes me feel like the area is being suffocated by blood and other liquids). I use the Aveeno every day for 2 days 2-3 times a day and after that I let it go and do it's own thing.

[onthefly]

Gee, I wish I saw this question three days ago.

I heardd Put either A&D ointment or neosporin on it and cover it for a day or st. You can buy both at the store. Some color might come out and I have always had some bleeding. Don't rub it - tab it.

[Fala]

I don't have a lot of work, but I typically wash the tattoo after a few hours in lukewarm water with a plain castille soap (Dr. Bronner's), then apply Aquaphor for the next 24-48 hours. I don't recover it with anything after washing. After the 24-48 hours are up with the Aquaphor, I apply a home-made healing salve and Aveeno for at least a week thereafter. Have had no color loss with this method, and the itching is more bearable. The one time I used A&D, I had so much fall-out the shading had to be redone.

[cltattooing]

Gee, I wish I saw this question three days ago.

I heardd Put either A&D ointment or neosporin on it and cover it for a day or st. You can buy both at the store. Some color might come out and I have always had some bleeding. Don't rub it - tab it.

neosporin is a big no no, it will pull the ink right out of your skin.

[thornton8000]

I followed the artist sheet instructions the 1st few days with ad ointment and dial soap then I was a shopping and found tattoo goo and let me tell ya it had been awesome for me and my wife with our 1st tattoos and her fresh second one in the last few days. I'm in the healing part where it itches like crazy at times but of some of their lotion on and it's gone and life is good and I don't do the rewrapping it's lotion and salve and plain old air all day and it feels like everything is going well

[HaydenRose]

I have finally perfected my method.

Leave the bandage on overnight.

Wash ASAP with un scented dove white soap.

Let it dry out the first day. No touching or washing, just let it relax.

If its settled down and gets dry I start using LUBRIDERM (why did I never try this magical lotion before?!?!) the second day.

Then basically wash and lotion once a day, letting it dry at least 1 hour after washing before putting lotion on. Twice if it gets crazy, scary dry and cracking.

I tried dry healing but it cracked too much and pulled ink out. I was frustrated because I have never found a lotion that agreed with me, but Lubriderm is incredible. It's like putting nothing on it and I don't feel like I'm smothering my tattoo with a pea size amount of lotion lol. This is my first tattoo where (so far) I haven't lost any color!!!! Yay!!!!

[cltattooing]

@HaydenRose That's damn near exactly how I heal my tattoos, I like that method a lot.

[reverend1]

I have finally perfected my method.

Leave the bandage on overnight.

Wash ASAP with un scented dove white soap.

Let it dry out the first day. No touching or washing, just let it relax.

If its settled down and gets dry I start using LUBRIDERM (why did I never try this magical lotion before?!?!) the second day.

Then basically wash and lotion once a day, letting it dry at least 1 hour after washing before putting lotion on. Twice if it gets crazy, scary dry and cracking.

I tried dry healing but it cracked too much and pulled ink out. I was frustrated because I have never found a lotion that agreed with me, but Lubriderm is incredible. It's like putting nothing on it and I don't feel like I'm smothering my tattoo with a pea size amount of lotion lol. This is my first tattoo where (so far) I haven't lost any color!!!! Yay!!!!

I do the same thing but I use Aveeno.

[tatB]

I have finally perfected my method.

Leave the bandage on overnight.

Wash ASAP with un scented dove white soap.

Let it dry out the first day. No touching or washing, just let it relax.

If its settled down and gets dry I start using LUBRIDERM (why did I never try this magical lotion before?!?!) the second day.

Then basically wash and lotion once a day, letting it dry at least 1 hour after washing before putting lotion on. Twice if it gets crazy, scary dry and cracking.

I tried dry healing but it cracked too much and pulled ink out. I was frustrated because I have never found a lotion that agreed with me, but Lubriderm is incredible. It's like putting nothing on it and I don't feel like I'm smothering my tattoo with a pea size amount of lotion lol. This is my first tattoo where (so far) I haven't lost any color!!!! Yay!!!!

Congratulations! Figuring out the perfect healing method is every tattoo collectors dream, especially if you had healing troubles in the past (I sure did) because that is a nightmare.

My current method is to wear the original plastic wrap for 4-6 hours then wash with unscented dove soap and re-wrap for any between 24 to 72 hours, washing and changing the plastic warp every 8 or so hours.

I think my past issues were caused by:

1. Using too much or too little aquaphor.

2. Washing with antibacterial hand soap (i think this dried everything out too fast)

3. Letting direct shower pressure hit the fresh tattoo during the first few days. (now i keep the plastic wrap on in the shower to protect it while i wash the rest of my body. then i remove and dump cups of water on the tattooed area).

also this thread and the http://www.lastsparrowtattoo.com/forum/tattoo-after-care/2406-re-wrapping-tattoos-page6.html thread are the reason i found and joined LST.

[Brock Varty]

I just started completely dry healing. I am constantly healing something and just don't want to deal with lotion and shit. As long as you are careful, dry heal work really well.

[HaydenRose]

I just started completely dry healing. I am constantly healing something and just don't want to deal with lotion and shit. As long as you are careful, dry heal work really well.

I think letting it do its own thing as long as possible is great, but for me with dry healing I could see that it was cracking (sometimes very subtly) and it was the same as if I picked a scab real quick. So I'm soooo glad I found a lotion that doesn't irritate the tattoo because it keeps it moisturized just enough to avoid any cracking, but not so moisturized that it can't breathe and heal. Trust me, I'm a huge proponent of letting the body take control and not using anything. For ex: I refuse to take pain meds for my constant migraines, my fiance thinks I'm crazy but NSAIDs and shit give you ulcers and can give you more headaches on the rebound! So even though I use lotion, I use it only in the morning after showering and that's it. I keep it clean and open to the air, so I don't see any need to scrub it with soap more than once a day.

[Delicious]

I did a drier heal on my leg, still used the aquaphor, but not as much or as often... it was nice, in comparison to my ankle, healed alot quicker, though there are a few tiny little dots where the color fell out, barely noticeable, you'd only see it if you were looking for it. Thats kind of my fault, I picked at it once or twice in a moment of weakness. I think I'm going to stick to a drier heal, but not completely dry with only a little lotion like you guys. My skin isn't built for that, it needs consistant moisture

[gougetheeyes]

un scented dove white soap.

YES. Had a little conversation about this a while back and this dude was horrified I was using bar soap because it's full of bacteria and blahblahblah.. But it's worked out great, especially since that's the soap I've been using since I was a kid.

[HaydenRose]

I always tell people if they are going to use a bar soap, don't rub said bar directly on your tattoo.

They say, "why"? I respond, "Because I know damn well you swipe that bar of soap between your cheeks like a goddamn ATM card... just lather up the soap in your hands and then wash your tattoo"!

Hahaha I can't believe people do that! My fiance does...bleeuggh (reason why we have separate soap bars). I've always wiped my hand then whatever I need to wash.

[Delicious]

Incidentally, I am a hygiene freak when I get tattooed.. I already wash my hands quite a bit, but it gets out of hand when I get a tattoo.

[Hogrider]

Because I know damn well you swipe that bar of soap between your cheeks like a goddamn ATM card... just lather up the soap in your hands and then wash your tattoo"!

When I'm healing I have one bar of soap set aside for the tattoo and nothing else gets cleaned with that. If I was rich I'd hire someone else to wash the unmentionable parts when I'm healing a tattoo! :-)

[tatB]

When I'm healing I have one bar of soap set aside for the tattoo and nothing else gets cleaned with that. If I was rich I'd hire someone else to wash the unmentionable parts when I'm healing a tattoo! :-)

some people might hire a person to wash the tattoo and take care of their own unmentionable parts... but i don't think i would trust anyone to touch one of my healing tattoos either.

[exume]

When I'm healing I have one bar of soap set aside for the tattoo and nothing else gets cleaned with that.

This is me. I had Gold Dial bars for the last two, might try something else next month. Still searching for the perfect healing regimen.

[Nurse74]

Username1 - that is awesome!!!

[Benjamin King]

I'm not gonna read through all 20 pages here to see in anyone has mentioned it, but I use Preparation H. Yeah, hemerrhoid cream. I was up at Adrenaline in Vancouver a little while back and Justin Cox turned me on to it. I was telling him about how I always had problems with big, thick scabs and up to that point I had never had a tattoo heal that didn't bleed out a little. He told me to put Prep H on it a couple times a day and lo and behold, every tattoo I've healed since I've used Prep H and they have all been perfect. Something about shrinking the blood vessels so they don't scab. I don't know the exact science, but I'd be interested if anyone else had any better insight into why it works.

Basically I don't touch it for 24 hours and then I hit it with the Prep a couple times a day for a a week or so. Very small amounts, just enough so it shines. After a few days of the Prep and regular washing, I take a couple finger and rub them in a circular motion over the tattoo, very gently, and presto! It's off, for the most part. No scabbing, no patches. Like people have said, everyone's skin is different so you gotta find what works for you, but if you have a lot of trouble with scabbing this might be worth a shot!

[Gregor]

Prep h is the old skool solution . Heard a few of the older guys with tattoos mention this before

[exume]

With my most recent tattoo, Myke asked me how I took care of my tattoos, and quickly told me to stop doing that, and go with the re-wrap method. He said to go home and wash it like normal, and after washing for the first few days to basically smother it with aquaphor, really get it in there, and afterwards dab it all off with a paper towel. Wrap the tattoo up in saran wrap for the first 3 nights just to sleep in. I thought the apply/remove of aquaphor sounded kinda crazy, but damn if this wasn't my fastest, most solid heal yet. After the 3 days of rewrapping I basically dry healed, didn't get itchy or even feel the need for lotion for a week.

[HaydenRose]

I'm picturing tattooed people going to pharmacies, swiping a bunch of prep H tubes into a basket and checking out at the register while receiving some odd stares... Excellent.