Your new piece deserves a perfect heal — and it's easy if you follow every step below. This is the full official guide: read it once now, save this page, and come back to it all week.
Quick heads up: we've recently started using the aftercare wrap — not to be confused with saran wrap. If your artist placed the aftercare wrap on your new tattoo, follow the steps below exactly.
We covered your new tattoo to keep airborne bacteria from invading the wound — open flesh is a breeding ground for bacteria and infection. So hands off, and leave it on for 3 days. It's protecting you.
Always wash your hands thoroughly first. Then peel the bandage off dry. Use cool or lukewarm water and a mild antibacterial or antimicrobial soap to gently wash away any ointment, blood, or plasma until the area is completely clean.
No washcloths, no abrasives — your clean hand is the best tool here.
If your tattoo feels slimy and slippery, that's oozing plasma — totally normal. Remove as much as you can, because when plasma dries on the skin it turns into scabs.
PAT — do not rub — the area firmly with a clean towel or paper towel until it's completely dry.
Follow with a very light application of ointment. Hustle Butter is our first choice — but if you don't have any, Aquaphor or similar products of the same type work fine. Go light: petroleum-based ointments can clog pores if applied too heavily, and that causes complications while you heal.
DO NOT USE NEOSPORIN. It's wonderful for cuts and scrapes — not for tattoos. Some people have an allergic reaction to it that causes red bumps, and when the bumps go away, so does the ink in your tattoo.
You can absolutely shower with a new tattoo — it's OK to get it wet, just don't soak it. Submerging it in a bath, hot tub, or pool can cause serious damage, so avoid those for 2–3 weeks. If soap or shampoo runs onto your tattoo, just rinse it off quickly with water. And no swimming — any water — for at least 2 weeks.
Use fresh, clean bed linen and towels for the entire first week of healing. Dirty linen on a fresh tattoo can lead to an infection — an easy one to avoid.
The most common symptom of a tattoo infection is a rash or red, bumpy skin around the tattoo area.
Sometimes your skin is just irritated from the needle — especially if you have sensitive skin — and that should fade after a few days. But if symptoms continue for a week or more, see your tattoo artist or doctor.
See your doctor if you experience one or more of these:
After a few days you'll notice some peeling and possibly a little scabbing. Excessive scabbing can mean a poorly maintained tattoo, but a little is completely normal — no need to panic.
Apply warm, moist compresses to the scabs for 5 minutes, 2–3 times a day to soften them — they'll come off on their own. Don't apply lotion to a wet scab — wait for it to dry.
You'll start to itch, just like a healing sunburn. Do not pick or scratch it. Simple rule: peeling → lotion. Scabbing → leave it alone.
Your tattoo is almost fully healed — now is not the time to ruin it!
Once healed — and from now on — protect your tattoo from the sun's ultraviolet rays. UV can fade and damage a brilliant tattoo pretty quickly. Before spending a lot of time in strong sunlight, cover it with a minimum SPF 30 sunblock. That's what keeps your tattoo vibrant for many years.