Please follow these steps to insure your tattoo heals as best as it can, how you look after it will determine the quality of healing, once you leave the studio, its up to you to make sure your tattoo heals well.
When your artist has finished tattooing you, you will have the tattoo wrapped in cling film, or they may use a type of second skin such as tagiderm, which has been created to help heal skin that has been burn. This should be explained to you also at the end of your appointment.
The average healing process takes between 10-30 days, you will notice the surface skin healing after 7 days, as long as the following steps are followed.
Please remember, a tattoo is an open wound and needs to be looked after correctly to avoid risk of infection, so its important to keep in clean. Please only wash it with warm water or un-fragranced soap that isn’t heavily concentrated.
During the first 1-3 days you’ll need to keep your tattoo wrapped in cling film, unless it is a piece on a tricky area like your back. Changing the cling film, cleaning the tattoo and replacing it with fresh cling film at least 3 times throughout the day and moisturising it with cocoa butter. You can use any standard cling film found at your local supermarket. You will find that your body is trying to reject the ink from your skin and a build up of plasma and ink (thick excess liquid) will be coming from the tattoo, particularly in the very early stages. This is normal and a sign your tattoo has started healing. Please ensure you’ve cleaned this all away before replacing the cling film. For some tattoo areas, you may prefer to use micropore tape to keep the cling film in place, you can find this at any pharmacy. The cling film helps to aide the healing process as it reduces the chance of scabbing in the area
Once you are ready to remove the cling film completely you will need to start applying cocoa butter to the area. It’s important not to smother your tattoo, just a light layer to cover the surface area. We recommend Palmers cocoa butter as it is the most natural, moisturising and fragrance free. However, we also recommend coconut oil and certain brands of tattoo healing creams such as Hustle Butter, but please do not use Bepanthen, as the ingredients have changed and its no longer beneficial for the tattoo healing process.
Please ensure to touch your tattoo as little as possible and if any scabbing/skin flaking appears do not pick or scratch it off, allow it to fall off naturally.
During the first few days, it’s also important that you do not submerge your tattoo in water as this can increase the chance of infection due to bacteria in the water, ie no baths, no pools and no sea over this time. Showering is absolutely fine. When you shower, this is great opportunity to give the tattoo a good clean and remove any excess plasma or dry skin that is coming from the area. Please do your best to avoid any shampoo/other products from coming in contact with your tattoo.
Avoid direct sunlight or sunbeds whilst your tattoo is healing as this will cause damage to your skin and increase the likelihood of the tattoo to fade. Once healed, apply high factor sunscreen to your tattoo ensure it stays as vibrant as possible, please do not use sunscreen as a moisturiser.
Your artist will give you their advice at the end of the tattoo, and if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask them.
If you are having any problems with your healing, please dont hesitate to contact us at info@redpointtattoo.com