I have tried a bunch of different methods and had luck with a few. My system now is as follows: Leave the bandage on the first night after being tattooed, this allows all the lymph, blood, and plasma-goo to ooze. Then in the morning I hop in the shower and remove the bandages, wash with as hot of water I can stand (without burning myself) while using antibacterial soap, and let it air dry. Once completely dry, I use a small amount of aquaphor (by Eucerin). I use the aquaphor pretty much the whole time the tattoo is healing and they don't really get dried out or crack. They seem to heal up pretty well. Just my 2 cents on healing. It has worked for some pretty rough/problematic areas. Neither of my elbow 'ditches' are tattooed yet, but I think they might be next. They are really the only empty spots left on my arms. Not too excited about it after reading everyone elses comments on healing them. Hopefully my method works!