Once you have gotten tattooed it will be wrapped to keep your blood in and the germs out. Please keep your tattoo wrapped for about one - two hours. Once you get home or to a safe place to clean your tattoo you will want to wash it under warm water gently with antibacterial soap. Washing your tattoo several (4, 5 even 6) times a day will reduce the chance of scabbing. Scabs are made up of plasma and blood which will be washed away if you are diligent with cleaning. If you have gotten a color tattoo we recommend adding an extra wash or two.

Now that your tattoo is nice and clean, pat it dry with a clean paper towel or let it air dry. Stay away from cloth towels as they can harbor bacteria. When dry, you can then apply a plain, fragrance-free lotion of your choice. (E.g. Aveeno, Lubriderm, Eucerine and CeraVe.) Natural lotions with base ingredients like Caster oil, Coconut Oil and/or Shae butter are good to use as well. Products we highly recommend are Hustle Butter (vegan) and Redemption Aftercare. As some of these may come in a tub form, please make sure your hands are clean every time you scoop out more. Actually - make sure you hands are clean every time you touch your tattoo.

Please stay away from perfumes/exfoliants/glitter while your tattoo is still healing.

You will want to lotion your tattoo after every wash. This will happen several times a day for a total of two weeks. Two weeks is about how long tattoos take to heal. After a couple days your tattoo will begin to itch and get flakey - similar to a bad sunburn. DO NOT scratch it!! DO NOT exfoliate it!! Leave it alone and keep washing and applying lotion to it.

After your tattoo is healed you can resume perfumes, exfoliating your skin, sun exposure with sunblock. The trick to a long living tattoo is reduced sun exposure, regular exfoliating and lotion.