In a previous blog, we gave you a guide on the 3 stages of a healing tattoo and touched upon the use of a tattoo aftercare cream.
We thought it would be a good idea to follow this blog post up with reasoning as to why this aftercare step is essential. We don’t want you to run into problems when it comes to healing your tattoo, and applying a tattoo aftercare cream is a big part of getting your tattoo to heal correctly and make it look fantastic.
Why Is It Important?
Using a tattoo aftercare cream ensures that your tattoo will heal properly by creating a barrier against bacteria. It is one of the most important steps to successfully healing a tattoo, as it ensures that no infection can occur which could potentially make you ill as well as causing discolouration and distortion of your new tattoo.
You should be using your tattoo cream from day one, so make sure that you pick some up from your parlour or find out what your artist recommends so that you can protect your tattoo from the very beginning of your healing process.
“Can I Use ____ Instead?”
You may have heard about other products that other people have used on their tattoos, but it’s really important that you take the advice of your tattoo artist over the advice of other people.
Even though the method that they have used may have worked well for them, it may not be the best for your tattoo. After spending time and money on having your tattoo done, you will want to make sure that you are giving it the best possible care, so take the advice from a professional tattoo artist on what you should be using.
After all, we don’t want you using a product that will cause your tattoo to flare up and completely ruin all the hard work that your artist has put in to creating a beautiful tattoo. Some antibiotic ointments can work too well and although your tattoo will heal up quite fast, you may find that your tattoo becomes duller as it does so as it aids the body in ridding the skin of the ink rather than encouraging it to lock the ink into it.
How Often and How Much?
As we have mentioned many times before, your tattoo is an open wound. It may not look like it, but you need to take the best care you possibly can to keep bacteria away from it to avoid getting a nasty infection.
Make sure that you clean your hands before reaching for your tattoo aftercare cream so that you aren’t transferring any germs from your hands into the cream before it even goes on your skin. Clean your tattoo gently beforehand and pat it dry before putting the ointment on to avoid trapping moisture underneath and delaying the skin’s healing process.
You only need to use a very thin coat of ointment. Don’t smother it as your skin needs to be able to breathe to heal properly. You know you have enough when your tattoo has a very slight sheen.
As for how many times a day you need to re-apply the tattoo aftercare cream, around 3-5 times a day is about average, but this depends on the size, location and stage of healing that you are going through at any given time. Your artist will be able to advise you on this when giving you your aftercare tips.
It’s not a hard routine to follow, and it’s one that you must stick to if you want your tattoo to heal properly. As a leading provider of tattoo and piercing supplies to tattoo artists and piercers around the world, we know how important it is to take care of your new tattoo. If you are a tattoo artist or piercer and want to know more about our products, don’t hesitate to get in contact with us by calling 01922 744088 and we will be delighted to help you with your requests.
