AFTERCARE

Hey there, thanks again for trusting me with your tattoo, it means a lot! 

The hard part is done, but it’s important to look after your new tattoo to make sure it looks its best when it heals. Don’t worry though… I don’t expect you to remember everything I said after your appointment, so I’ve written this handy guide to help you take care of your tattoo as well as you can, but if you have any questions then don’t be afraid to get in touch! 

1. I covered your tattoo in something called ‘Dermalize Pro’ and this stuff is amazing… It’s so much better than cling film! You can leave the first piece on for up to 24 hours, and I suggest leaving it on overnight. 

2. When you wake up and the tattoo looks like a big, black mess, don’t freak out! This is just excess ink leaving your skin. Carefully peel the Dermalize off, under warm, running water if you can. It’ll really help get that sucker off! 

3. Now using some mild, antibacterial hand soap and your hand, run the tattoo under warm running water and rub all the gunk off. Don’t use anything fragranced either… Who are you trying to impress?! 

4. Your tattoo is going to be tender and may even be a little swollen, but this is completely normal. Gently pat your tattoo dry with a piece of clean kitchen towel and then let it air dry for around 10 minutes. 

5. Now for the fun part… you may need a hand depending on where the tattoo is, but make sure they wash them! Peel off the big part of the white layer of Dermalize and place it over the tattoo. Next, peel off the smaller white edge and gently press against the Dermalize to ensure it’s stuck. Then, peel away

from the green arrows and you will feel the Dermalize tighten against your skin. 

6. There shouldn’t be any more weeping at this stage, so you should be able to leave it covered for up to 5 days. If it does start to leak again though, you can remove it before this time and move onto the next step. 

7. After 5 days (hopefully!) you can remove the Dermalize and clean the tattoo the same way as in Steps 2 and 3. There may be a sticky residue left on your skin after taking it off, but don’t worry, this will gradually dry up and come on over the next couple of days. Don’t try to pick it off! 

8. From now on, you can just clean the tattoo once in the morning and evening, using just your hand and some mild soap, and dry with a kitchen towel. Apply a small amount of aftercare cream and rub it fully into your skin. You don’t need to cover it from now on. 

10. The tattoo will take around 2-3 weeks to heal completely, and during this time it will probably itch like crazy. Whatever you do, resist the urge to scratch it! If it’s too much, then you can lightly ‘slap’ the area which will help to minimise the itchy feeling. You can take some antihistamine to help combat this too. 

11. The tattoo will also go through a process known as ‘silverskin’, which sounds cool, doesn’t it?! This is when the tattoo appears to look ‘milky’ or ‘silvery’ (see where the name comes from?). This is a perfectly normal part of the 

healing process though and is only temporary. When the healing process is complete, your tattoo should look nice and dark again! 

12. After a month or so, your tattoo may need a few touch-ups. If that is the case then please get in touch and I’ll be happy to do them, free of charge of course! 

13. That’s it. If you have any questions at any point, please, please, please get in touch! It’s so important to get aftercare right, and I’d prefer to be pestered than for you to end up with a tattoo that doesn’t live up to its potential! 

:)