Tattoo Removers.ink provides a specific service to our patients and clients. We remove your unwanted tattoos with state of the art, non-surgical, non-invasive laser technology. To some, that doesn’t make us sound exactly like the life of the party. We don’t want to dissuade people from getting a tattoo. Actually, when you think about it, we want people to get their tattoos then not want them, so we can remove them with our awesome lasers!

But just to prove that we’re not all anti-tattoo, we want you to know that we appreciate tasteful body art as well. So we’d like to give you all some tips for taking care of your amazing artwork after you’ve spent time under the gun or whatever it is they use these days. They still use tattoo guns, right?

So let’s just say that you’ve done this whole tattoo thing right and you’ve found the perfect tattoo artist who shares the same vision that you do. You’ve saved up your deposit, gone through your initial concept consultation, and made sure to prepare mentally for your time in the chair. Then you sat through the pain and now you have that exciting new barbed wire cuff around your bicep. Okay, maybe you didn’t get barbed wire around your bicep. That’s probably a good thing because we’ve removed a lot of those.

So, now we want to make sure that you take great care of your investment. We want to help your fresh new ink stay fresh!

We’ll give you some pointers, but you should supplement this information with advice that you ask your friendly neighborhood tattoo artist. They will probably know a little more than we would on this subject. Your artist will most likely have their own tips that may vary based on their own experiences and feedback they’ve had from their clientele, so listen to their advice first and foremost. They are the ones who know all the tricks of the trade, but here are a few basics we can give to you.

1. Make sure that you leave the bandage or covering that you get from your tattoo artist on for three hours minimum after you’ve finished getting your tattoo. Your tattoo artist will have pointers for you on how to keep the bandage in place. This part of the process is collecting debris, accumulated blood, and even some amount ink from fresh tattoo itself, so you will want to keep it on. Basically, you should treat it like an open wound, because that’s essentially what it is.

2. For the first two weeks of healing, avoid wearing any tight clothing. If you choose to wear clothing that hugs your skin, you run the risk of scabbing and ink loss due to friction. Also, avoid sleeping on your tattoo if you can, in order to promote healing.

3. Wash your new tattoo multiple times a day with a soft, unscented, antibacterial soap. This will keep your tattoo from getting infected. Make sure to stay on top of this for two to three weeks, or until the tattoo is healed. If you work in a place where you’ll be exposed to germs, take this into account. Remember not to touch your tattoos unless you wash your hands!

4. Apply an ointment as after your washing routine to keep your skin hydrated. However, try to use this sparingly! Applying a thin layer instead of saturating it with ointment will advance the healing process quicker. After the first few days of using ointment, make sure to switch to a non-scented moisturizer after you wash your tattoo. If it helps, buy a lotion that fits in your pocket. It might raise questions, but just point out that you’re a responsible new tattoo owner.

5. Avoid swimming and venturing out into large bodies of water — pool, hot tub, lake, ocean, river, etc. Stay away from the gym or other strenuous activities that will make you sweat for at least two weeks. If you don’t, it could damage your tattoo and the healing process. Take showers, of course, but make sure they are quick and as cool a temperature as possible.

7. Stay with your process until your tattoo is fully healed. Try not to pick, peel, or even scratch the scabbing, harder layers. These hard layers are totally normal and picking them off or tampering with them could damage or remove color.

A couple pointers for tattoo care on the long-term:

Your tattoos will eventually lighten up after they have fully healed, it’s inevitable and normal as the layers of your skin grow back as the ink is accepted by your skin. To keep your coloring solid, make sure to apply sunscreen before going outdoors. Reapply as often as you can, especially in the summer. SPF 45 or higher, or even children’s sunscreen are great options.

Always keep your tattoos moisturized. That’s just being a good tattoo owner. If you have tattoos in areas that are prone to fading (hands, feet, elbows), this will help keep your tattoo intact longer and less prone to fading out or obscuring over the years.

If you get a tattoo and it’s not what you thought it was, then we can help. Tattoo Removers.ink provides non-invasive, non-surgical laser tattoo removal that incorporates cutting edge technology and patient comfort capabilities. Pick up the phone and call today.