Best Seller
Aftercare Guide
Day one to day thirty: what you will see and what to do.
The first thirty days
How A Tattoo Heals
Five stages, about a month on the surface. What you will see at each one, and what to do.
- Days 1 - 3
Fresh
Red, warm and a little swollen; plasma and ink weep for a day or two.
Do: Leave the wrap on for 3 to 4 hours (the film for 3 days). Wash with the foam, pat dry, a thin layer of balm.
- Days 4 - 6
Settling
Tight and shiny; the redness fades from the edges in.
Do: Wash twice a day. Balm thin, three times a day. Loose clothes over it.
- Days 7 - 14
Peeling
Flakes and itching, like a mild sunburn peeling.
Do: Never pick or scratch. Pat the itch. Keep the balm light.
- Days 15 - 29
Milky
Cloudy and dull under a new layer of skin, the silver-skin stage.
Do: Keep moisturising. No sun, no pools, no baths yet.
- Day 30
Healed
Settled, sharp and black.
Do: SPF 50 on it from now on. A free touch-up within three months if a line needs it.
Pin it to the fridge
Do & Don't
Do
- WashTwice a day with a gentle foam, clean hands
- DryPat with a clean paper towel, never rub
- BalmA thin layer, three times a day
- WearLoose, clean clothes over it
- SleepOn clean sheets, the film on for the first nights
Don't
- PickThe flakes or the scabs, ever
- SoakNo baths, pools, sea or saunas for four weeks
- SunNo sun on it until day 30, then SPF 50
- Over-BalmA thick layer suffocates it
- ScratchPat the itch instead
What the artists use on the day
Aftercare
Free touch-up within three months of your last sitting if a line or a patch of black needs it.
