Tattoo aftercare
A fresh tattoo is an open wound, and what you do in the next few weeks decides how it will look in ten years. Especially in realism and colour: fine gradients are the first thing to go if the skin heals badly. These are the general guidelines; if I tell you something different for your piece at the end of the session, go with what I said.
The first hours
- If you leave with a clear adhesive film ("second skin"), keep it on for as long as I tell you. Ink and plasma collecting underneath is normal.
- If you leave with cling film, take it off after a few hours, at home and with clean hands.
- Once it's off, wash the area with lukewarm water and a mild, unscented soap without rubbing, and pat it dry with kitchen paper. A cloth towel holds bacteria.
The first two weeks
- Wash the tattoo two or three times a day and apply a very thin layer of healing cream. Shiny, not sticky: too much cream suffocates the skin.
- It will peel and itch. Don't scratch or pick the scabs: they take the ink with them.
- Loose, clean clothes over the area. Anything that rubs lifts the scab.
- Short showers. No baths, pools, sea, sauna or hot tub until the skin has closed.
- No sun and no sunbeds. In Mallorca this is the hardest part and the most important one: if it has to be outside, cover it with clothing, not sunscreen, which can't go on yet.
Afterwards: a tattoo for life
- Once healed, high-factor sunscreen whenever it's in the sun. Nothing ages a tattoo more, and light tones and soft greys fade first.
- Moisturised skin shows contrast better.
- If something heals unevenly on a large piece, it gets checked at a touch-up. Message me a photo in daylight once it has been healed for a month.
When to ask
Redness that keeps spreading after the first few days, heat, pus or fever are not part of normal healing: see a doctor. For anything smaller, message me on WhatsApp with a photo.