The Do's and Dont's of Getting a New Tattoo - Buy Tattoo Aftercare Online

Have you ever wondered, in general what we should do, (or not do) after we’ve had our new tattoos done?

Do listen to your tattoo artist’s instructions on aftercare.  The recommended aftercare process will vary from artist to artist, but generally they’ll tell you to keep the tattoo covered for the first few hours, and then to gently wash it with lukewarm soapy water.  After this, you’ll need to look after it with an aftercare cream or lotion that’s right for you.  Your tattoo artist should be able to recommend some of the best tattoo lotions to you.

Don’t soak your new tattoo in water!  As previously advised, it does initially need washing with soapy water, but this should just be brief to get read of all the debris.  Don’t soak it in the bath or shower, as this will do it no good.

Do wear loose fitting clothing where possible.  There’s nothing worse than when the tattoo is initially healing and gets stuck to your clothes, and it can be a bit of a nightmare trying to remove the clothing from it.

Don’t scratch your new tattoo.  No matter how itchy it gets, resist the urge to scratch it!  This will mess up the healing process and potentially cause the tattoo to scab and the ink will drop out.  I find that slapping it lightly helps!

Don’t pick the scabs!  If your tattoo is healing properly, there shouldn’t really be any big scabs, but occasionally this can happen, so whatever you do, don’t pick them.  This will only make things worse, and will damage your tattoo.

Don’t go in swimming pools or in the sea.  Aside from the fact that you shouldn’t be soaking your tattoo in water, swimming pools and water are an absolute no-no when it comes to new tattoos.  There are lots of germs floating about in swimming pools, and the chlorine won’t do your healing skin any good.  Same with the sea.  The salty water isn’t ideal on a fresh tattoo, so just avoid it at all costs. 

Do stay away from the sun if possible.  It can be especially tempting during the summer when you’ve just had your new tattoo done and want to show it off, but the sun’s rays will hinder the healing process, not to mention the damage that sunburn can do.  If you really need to get your tattoo out in the sunshine, at least use a tattoo lotion that contains a decent SPF (minimum 30). Even after your tattoo is healed, the sun will fade your tattoos, so it’s best to cover up with sun lotion whenever it’s particularly sunny!

Do keep your tattoo touched up! It’s a given that tattoos fade over time, and occasionally the ink can drop out depending on how well the skin has healed, but your tattoo artist will generally offer free touch ups afterwards (for a reasonable amount of time), so it’s always worth looking into this if you want to keep your tattoo looking vibrant.

If you guys have any more words of wisdom on the dos and don’ts of tattoos, then please leave us a comment below, we really like hearing your views on this kind of thing!  If you’ve recently had a new tattoo, then don’t forget to check out some of the best tattoo lotions over on our website!

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