Appropriate aftercare is vital for the healing of precious new piece. It’s best to treat fresh tattoos like open wounds and as such, unnecessary exposure to unsanitary conditions will heighten the risk of infection.
Aftercare instructions are provided at the studio, and readily available if required.
Key Aftercare Notes:
(Applicable for the first 2 weeks of healing)
> A couple of hours after your appointment, gently wash your tattoo with soap. You may use antibacterial soap, but otherwise avoid any exfoliants, overly fragranced or abrasive soaps. Stick with soaps you don’t have a reaction too. Be gentle with your washing - it is only to remove debris, and excess ink, plasma and blood that would have seeped from the tattoo.
> Allow tattoo to create natural seal for the first couple of days. For these initial days your tattoo will feel very raw So be kind to it.
> Once sealed you can apply a thin film of moisturiser morning and night. Less is more. For most small fineline pieces only moisturise once a day. Moisturise until all flaking is gone.
> Wash very gently. Just rinsing with soapy water is usually fine, unless you work in dirty conditions or if your tattoo has been exposed to dirty conditions.
> Avoid any exfoliating, harsh, or abrasive chemicals, environments, or products.
> Avoid submerging your tattoo for periods of time in water - swimming, spas, baths.
> Avoid the beach. Between the sand, the salt, the sun, and all the cool bacteria cruising about, your new tattoo will not have a good time.
> Don’t pick, scratch or interfere with the tattoo. Touch only when gently washing (excessive washing is not required) and/or applying moisturiser.
> Generally bodies are pretty good at healing themselves, but do note that certain medical conditions and medication can impact the body’s ability to heal.
General Tattoo Healing Process:
> Raw - just finished in the studio
> Sealed - Body has produced a seal to commence its healing process. At this stage your tattoo should feel as sensitive.
> Scab - The vast majority of pieces get a scab of some type. This is a normal body process. Excessive scabbing or large scabs may indicate an issue.
> Flaking - When the scab is ready to go it will start flaking off like sunburn. Your tattoo is not externally healed until all this flaking is gone.
> Full Healed - Internally the healing process continues once the outer layer of skin has finished flaking. Depending on the piece, this internal healing stage may continue on for many more weeks.
If you have any questions please feel free to reach out to me anytime.
Touch Ups;
I offer 1 (one) free touch up within the first 6 months post tattoo, except where numbing cream has been used. Numbing cream impacts my ability to get ink appropriately into the dermis layer of skin, so most often if it has been used, a touch up will be required. Because numbing cream impacts my ability to do the piece properly the first time, there is a nominal fee for any subsequent touch ups required. These start at $50.
i can only allow for 1 free reschedule of a free touch up booking, if i have been given at least 48hrs notice of the reschedule. Though if no notice has been provided, or the appointment has already been rescheduled/changed/cancelled, then the new touch up booking will incur a $50 fee. Touch ups cost me valuable work time.
