Basic Instructions
Remove bandage after a few hours. With clean hands gently rinse tattoo and apply antibacterial soap and rinse again. Allow the new tattoo to air dry and apply a thin layer of unscented lotion. Avoid lotions with lanolin if you have a sensitivity to it. A&D ointment will also work, just use in small amounts, don’t smother it with a thick layer. Clean twice daily. You can apply lotion/ointment a little more often than that if you need but try to keep the tattoo from being too soggy. Itching is normal. Peeling is normal. This is not an allergic reaction, just normal healing. The peeling will be the color of the tattoo, this is also normal. The outer layer of the skin that peels is also tattooed and will be the same color. DON’T PEEL OR PICK AT IT. If it is itching like crazy, slap it. You may need a touchup after it is done healing (4-6 weeks). Keep your new tattoo out of direct sunlight while it its healing, also avoid keeping it submerged in water while it heals. Take showers instead of baths, and stay out of pools and hot tubs. Here are a few pictures of tattoos peeling, this is normal and usually starts within a few days of getting a tattoo. it can take a week or so for the peeling to stop.
Common Problems
If it is recommended to you by a shop to use a bacitracin or Neosporin ointment, keep in mind that occasionally people will have a sensitivity to this type of product and will break out in a red bumpy rash. If this happens, wash it off with soap and water, allow to dry, and replace it with a small amount of unscented lotion. If you use these products and this happens, wash it off and let dry and apply the lotion and it will usually clear up in a few hours. It is important that you wash it off and let it dry before you apply the lotion. The redness and itching will usually pass from this type of allergic reaction within hours of stopping its use. Even if you don’t have an allergy, scented lotions will sting a new tattoo pretty sharply.
Allergies to latex gloves may be a culprit in redness or excessive irritation after a tattoo. As a general rule, Nitrile gloves should always be used just in case, as some folks with a latex allergy can have a very nasty reaction to even minimal exposure. I myself seemed to develop a sensitivity to latex after using them for a few years early on in my career. In my case, I developed red and cracked skin on the tops of my hands and around my wrists when wearing latex gloves. It corrected immediately after switching to Nitrile.
Take care to avoid friction as much as possible while your new tattoo is healing. Clothes and shoes that rub a tattoo may peel the skin before it is ready to come off and may lead to patchy spots and trouble healing.
I have never in 20,000+ had a tattoo get infected. I have heard of a customer who contracted MRSA after taking his new tattoo to the gym and it came into direct contact with the padding on exercise equipment. If proper sterilization procedures were in place when you got your tattoo, infection is highly unlikely. But keep in mind that there is still cause to avoid contracting MRSA from another source after you leave the tattoo premise.
For more information about MRSA:
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/mrsa/DS00735
