aftercare: treatment. Tattoos are wounds. Keep your wrap on thru the first night. Beds host microbes. 1-3 days total. No lotion or petrol ointment until scab forms. Avoid water, sweating, direct sunlight. Only wrap second night for brutal tats

Saniderm or Bandage

1. Keep saniderm or bandage on until the day after the tattoo. In some instances saniderm can be left on for up to 3 days. It’s vital that the wound is fully covered while sleeping the night of receiving tattoo (this is when 99% of tattoos get infected when a client removes bandaging before going to bed). Avoid sweating and direct sunlight on healing tattoo.

Some people have an allergic reaction to saniderm. There will be severe redness and itching under and around the plastic. In this situation, follow step 2 to remove saniderm. Make sure to rebandage tattoo with plastic wrap before going to bed, ensuring it is fully protected and sealed with medical tape.

2. The day after receiving tattoo, wash hands for 20 seconds with soap & warm water then slowly peel away saniderm or bandage under warm water then wash tattoo with soap & water. This is easiest to do while taking a shower.

3. Pat wound dry with clean paper towel or let air dry. Careful that bath towel does not touch tattoo. Let air dry throughout the day, careful to never touch with unwashed hands and avoid getting dirty or sweating. If it’s a large full color or heavy blackwork tattoo, bandage a second night before bed and repeat step two in the morning.

4. Never touch a healing tattoo with unwashed hands. Once a scab has formed, apply unscented lotion 1-3 times a day until tattoo is healed. Never apply lotion before a tattoo is scabbed over as this can cause blistering. Avoid letting the scab get too dry and cracking. Don’t use petroleum based ointments (Aquaphor/A&D Ointment etc) during healing . The scab protects your tattoo. While ointments like Aquaphor protect open wounds, they prevent scabbing to form properly. Do not scratch or peel your healing tattoo. Healing tattoos itch. If itching is overwhelming, it is better to slap the tattoo with clean hands than to scratch it.

5. Tattoos take 1-3 weeks to heal. Artists really appreciate it when you send them a healed photo after 1 month. Healed photos are vital for an artist to build trust with their clients. To take a healed photo, go outside and make sure there is sunlight on your tattoo with no shadows and have a friend take the photo for you.

6. Tattoos are an immune response. Skin regenerates every month but the ink stays. This is because our immune system keeps the ink in between our skin cells. Macrophages capture the ink and since they can’t break it down it’s locked away in their vacuoles and trapped in the dermis. This is why tattoos will randomly swell and itch sometimes. It’ s part of the cycle of our immune system interacting with the ink. This is also why healed tattoos spread over time and get blurrier and the lines become thicker.

7. Always put sunblock on healed tattoos. UV rays break down ink particles which in turn are processed by our immune response resulting in a lighter tattoo. UV rays are damaging to skin in general so it’s important to protect it with routine sunblock coverage.

8. If you have any questions or concerns about healing and aftercare please contact missutattoos@gmail.com

Plastic wrap

1. Keep plastic bandage on until the day after the tattoo. It’s vital that the wound is fully covered while sleeping the night of receiving tattoo (this is when 99% of tattoos get infected when a client removes bandaging before going to bed). If plastic bandage becomes compromised, make sure to rebandage before going to bed. Wound must be fully covered by plastic wrap and taped full perimeter by medical tape. Avoid sweating and direct sunlight on healing tattoo.

2. The day after receiving tattoo, wash hands for 20 seconds with soap & warm water then slowly peel away tape and plastic bandage and wash tattoo with soap & water. This is easiest to do while taking a shower.

3. Pat wound dry with clean paper towel or let air dry. Careful that bath towel does not touch tattoo. Let air dry throughout the day, careful to never touch with unwashed hands and avoid getting dirty or sweating.

4. Never touch a healing tattoo with unwashed hands. Once a scab has formed, apply unscented lotion 1-3 times a day until tattoo is healed. Never apply lotion before a tattoo is scabbed over as this can cause blistering. Avoid letting the scab get too dry and cracking. Don’t use petroleum based ointments (Aquaphor/A&D Ointment etc) during healing . The scab protects your tattoo. While ointments like Aquaphor protect open wounds, they prevent scabbing to form properly. Do not scratch or peel your healing tattoo. Healing tattoos itch. If itching is overwhelming, it is better to slap the tattoo with clean hands than to scratch it.

5. Tattoos take 1-3 weeks to heal. Artists really appreciate it when you send them a healed photo after 1 month. Healed photos are vital for an artist to build trust with their clients. To take a healed photo, go outside and make sure there is sunlight on your tattoo with no shadows and have a friend take the photo for you.

6. Tattoos are an immune response. Skin regenerates every month but the ink stays. This is because our immune system keeps the ink in between our skin cells. Macrophages capture the ink and since they can’t break it down it’s locked away in their vacuoles and trapped in the dermis. This is why tattoos will randomly swell and itch sometimes. It’ s part of the cycle of our immune system interacting with the ink. This is also why healed tattoos spread over time and get blurrier and the lines become thicker.

7. Always put sunblock on healed tattoos. UV rays break down ink particles which in turn are processed by our immune response resulting in a lighter tattoo. UV rays are damaging to skin in general so it’s important to protect it with routine sunblock coverage.

8. If you have any questions or concerns about healing and aftercare please contact missutattoos@gmail.com