That is rough. Don’t let whoever did that near you again. You don’t need fancy or special creams, just use plain cocoa butter. Not too much, just enough to keep it from drying out. Too little is better than too much.
I’d skip the “deep, meaningful that represents blah, blah, blah” part. Just pick a cool image that you both like. Dragon, tiger, panther, ying/yang, skull, etc.
Don’t mess with a good tattoo. Whoever told you that you could “remove” parts of a tattoo was being extremely optimistic. You have a better chance of ruining it than improving it.
Leave dates of birth and script to the tourists.