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Looking After Your New Tattoo
By: James Beckett
You are probably in the minority if you are going to go ahead with the decision to get that tattoo
because a lot of people get scared off by the process. Lack of knowledge is probably the biggest culprit for this happening because the fear of getting a tattoo that ends up as a health nightmare of
lack of awareness how to live with a tattoo after you get one runs off a lot of potential body art lovers. And when you add to that a media perception of tattoo artists as unsavory characters
who operate dirty, back alley operations is far too common and radically incorrect. To start with finding out that tattooists are professionals like anyone else helps a lot. They want your tattoo
experience to be healthy and successful as much as you do.
Yes there are some tattoo salons that are not operated in a clean and honest way. But you can
find bad apples in any field of business so we can't fault the entire industry for a few bad operators. But it does mean that you should take the time to make sure the tattooist you want to
use lives up to high health standards in giving tattoos. A salon that is doing body art should be a legitimate business and one that has a good reputation in the community. You are entirely within
your rights to ask for references of happy and healthy former customers and to call those references. Then if you do all that and you even suspect the tattooist isn't trustworthy, just move
on until you find one who is.
When you put the health of your skin in the hands of a tattoo artist, you want to know they take that responsibility seriously. Their care and concern will be reflected in three ways. First, they will
know their stuff when it comes to ointments and cleansers to use while the tattoo is being applied so the entire process is antiseptic. Secondly, after the tattoo is on, you want to see them clean it
and bandage it so you can walk out of there knowing it is well cared for day one. And third, the tattoo shop should give you instructions and perhaps even additional ointments and bandages to
take care of it over the next week or two so it will heal up well while leaving behind a beautiful tattoo.
When you get home, that natural desire to wash the tattoo vigorously should be resisted because
it isn't dirty. In fact, if all of the steps we just discussed are done well at the tattoo shop, that tattoo are may be the cleanest area you have on your body. But as the next few days unfold, keeping it clean and dressed is important and it is your job. Just make sure that your cleaning is
done in accord with your post tattoo instructions from the tattooist and that you keep it dry for several days so the ink of the tattoo can set. And along with proper cleaning and changing the
dressing, also give the tattoo some time without covering to speed the natural healing process.
Your tattooist should be available to help you wish questions even after you have paid him for the
tattoo and he can guide you on the right medicated ointments to buy for the important few days and weeks after the initial application of the tattoo. Most of what you will need can be found at
the local drug store so it shouldn't be a big expense. Just be sure to be faithful to use the ointments he has you buy and avoid using harsh soaps on the tattoos area because the skin is still
very tender and recovering from the tattoo.
The skin where your tattoo will continue to need special care even after the initial three to six
days of using the medicated ointment. So some very basic moisturizing lotion can help keep that skin soothed and moist as the healing continues. One of the major name brand baby lotions is
just the right thing because if it is safe for the delicate nature of a baby's skin, it will be right for the skin you are nurturing back to health.
The final step of healing will be phase that may be the hardest for you of all of them but you have
to be ready for it so you preserve the beauty of the tattoo you have worked so hard to get. When the tattoo area develops scabs, you will feel an instinct to work on them with your fingers.
Resist that instinct because allowing the skin to heal as it already knows how to do will sure you don't remove some of the tattoo itself by working on that scabbing before it has finished doing its
job.
Taking care of a tattoo is as much a part of the life of being a lover of body art as getting one
was in the first place. By caring for the skin that proudly displays your tat, you will assure good health and a great looking design for a long time. And when you invest the effort, the money and the discomfort into a pattern that will be on your body forever, that tender loving care is certainly
justified. |