how do you care for your new tattoo?

Question

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Answer 1

your artist should have told you what to do but ,how new is it ?
if it's just done today , take the dressing off after about 2 hours , in the shower if the bandage is stuck on, just let it get wet then by the end of your shower it should come off easy , there are a number of ideas to keep it moist but i use either ozonol or polysporin but some people prefer a true vitamin e cream while it heals . just moisten it twice a day . but let it breathe for a couple of hours each day till its completely healed . DONT PICK OR SCRATCH IT. if it does get itchy just pat the spot with a warm wet towel & it will go away , i have 9 tats ....

Answer 2

1. Remove bandage in 2 hours and wash tattoo with cold water using just your clean hand. Blot dry with clean paper towel. Do not re-bandage

2.Apply a light coat of tattoo cream to kill germs and sooth the pain

3. Apply tattoo cream 3 or 4 times a day, especailly if you are going to be in water or sun, to protect it.

4. When tattoo itches use the cream again to fight itching. Do not scratch it!

5. Tattoo should be byond danger of infection after a week or so, but it must get no sun for 9 months to a year, so use tattoo cream whenever in the sun. It only takes 1 hour of direct sunlight to ruin a new tattoo. After that its cured into the skin and the sun wont fade it.

I think you can get tattoo cream at any tattoo shop if you don't have it already.

Good luck and enjoy your new tattoo.

Answer 3

for the first two days or so, use a petroleum based ointment, such as (in order of preference) aquaphor, A&D, bacitracin, tattoo goo, neosporin... you should clean the area about 6 times within the first two days. around the third day start using a glycerin based lotion such as curel or lubriderm (pref without fragrance). apply the lotion around 10 times a day, or whenever it starts to itch (DO NOT apply a thick layer. make sure it is completely massaged into skin. otherwise it will produce a bubbly scab). stay out of the sun. don't take a bath or go swimming. don't let very strong water from the shower beat down on tattoo. when you shower, don't use a wash cloth or anything besides your soapy hand to clean the area. make sure you clean away all the ointment or lotion from previous application. don't scratch.

Answer 4

Keep it clean and apply A&D ointment or triple antibiotic ointment 2-4 times a day. that is about it. Also don't scratch it (after about 2 days it will itch like hell) and do not go in a tanning bed for at least a couple of months and then use sunscreen.

Guess I'm old school.. My last tat was 7 years ago.

Answer 5

I used to slather them with petroleum based ointments. That was what my first artist told me to do. They always seemed to "leak" ink and look dirty by doing this. Now a days I make sure to wash them about 3 times a day with mild, non deodorant soap and put fragrance free lotion on them. This keeps the itching to a minimum and seems to make them heal faster. By the way, what is a and d ointment? I see it mentioned on here a lot, but have never seen it.

Answer 6

Simple, after you have it done give it a few hours and wash it off with hot water and a good anti bacterial soap such as Dial. After that for at least a week apply a thin coat of A&D ointment to it about 4 times a day. Make sure you wash it with AB soap at least once a day also. It should heal up nicely

Answer 7

When I got mine done, they told me to keep a bandage over it for 2 days. Biggest mistake! I kept mine on like instructed, and it got soggy from lack of air and now half of it is missing and it looks horrible! But make sure you keep it clean around the area, and do not cover it for long periods of time.

Answer 8

I have two tattoos and I washed each of them with Dove soap and applied Cortaid to them a few times a day.

Answer 9

Wash it with a light soap (Dove) and luke warm water and keep A & D ointment on it until it dries out and peels off.

Answer 10

Honstly as a tattoo artist, I never put anything on mine. I just don't scratch them and keep with washed with Dial antibacterial soap. it's always worked for me and I have a full sleeve. Good luck :)