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.
This is not to say that there has never been a tattoo artist that didn't conduct himself in a sanitary way. There are bad elements in any business. So the first step of taking care of a tattoo is to be discriminating in who you use to put the tattoo on you. Make sure they are running a good business that has been there a while and is in good standing with the community. Get references and then go and check them out yourself. If you look at their facilities for giving you a tattoo and you are not convinced they will take care to apply the tattoo in a safe fashion, just keep looking.
The tattoo artists should put your health at a high priority which will be reflected in three things you will get from them while getting the tattoo. First, they will use a reliable ointment that is antiseptic throughout the process to keep your skin clean and free of infection. Second, the post application process will include additional cleaning and a bandage on the tattoo to help your body heal from the needle work. Finally the tattoo artist should be the first one to teach you how to take care of the tattoo when you get home.
When you get home with your new tattoo, in that it might still sting or itch, you should resist the urge to wash it too much. The very act of getting the tattoo, if it's done right, is completely clean so it's fine. But it will be up to you to keep it sanitary and to change the coverings so the tattoo area is always free of anything that could contaminate it. But also work to keep it dry, at least for the first few days as the wound of the tattoo heals. And if you can go without the covering or bandage for a little while each day, you should because the oxygen will speed the healing process.
Talk to your tattooist both about the ointment he uses during the process and what kind of treatment he would recommend for the recovery period. It will almost certainly be something you can get at the local drug or grocery store. You will use this treatment for the next week or so but be gentle when you apply the ointment directly to the tattoo. Change the covering at least once a day so it is completely clean and don't wash the tattoo area with soap for at least a week to avoid irritating the open skin that is still getting over the trauma of the tattoo.
After you finish the first week or two applying the ointments your tattooist recommends, the recovery time is not over. You should get a stock of good gentle lotions that have no perfumes or additives to keep the skin moist as the healing continues. Don't be shy to shop the baby supply aisle at the supermarket for a gentle lotion to use for this purpose because if that lotion is good enough for a baby's bottom, it's good enough for the skin of your tattoo area.
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.
This is not to say that there has never been a tattoo artist that didn't conduct himself in a sanitary way. There are bad elements in any business. So the first step of taking care of a tattoo is to be discriminating in who you use to put the tattoo on you. Make sure they are running a good business that has been there a while and is in good standing with the community. Get references and then go and check them out yourself. If you look at their facilities for giving you a tattoo and you are not convinced they will take care to apply the tattoo in a safe fashion, just keep looking.
The tattoo artists should put your health at a high priority which will be reflected in three things you will get from them while getting the tattoo. First, they will use a reliable ointment that is antiseptic throughout the process to keep your skin clean and free of infection. Second, the post application process will include additional cleaning and a bandage on the tattoo to help your body heal from the needle work. Finally the tattoo artist should be the first one to teach you how to take care of the tattoo when you get home.
When you get home with your new tattoo, in that it might still sting or itch, you should resist the urge to wash it too much. The very act of getting the tattoo, if it's done right, is completely clean so it's fine. But it will be up to you to keep it sanitary and to change the coverings so the tattoo area is always free of anything that could contaminate it. But also work to keep it dry, at least for the first few days as the wound of the tattoo heals. And if you can go without the covering or bandage for a little while each day, you should because the oxygen will speed the healing process.
Talk to your tattooist both about the ointment he uses during the process and what kind of treatment he would recommend for the recovery period. It will almost certainly be something you can get at the local drug or grocery store. You will use this treatment for the next week or so but be gentle when you apply the ointment directly to the tattoo. Change the covering at least once a day so it is completely clean and don't wash the tattoo area with soap for at least a week to avoid irritating the open skin that is still getting over the trauma of the tattoo.
After you finish the first week or two applying the ointments your tattooist recommends, the recovery time is not over. You should get a stock of good gentle lotions that have no perfumes or additives to keep the skin moist as the healing continues. Don't be shy to shop the baby supply aisle at the supermarket for a gentle lotion to use for this purpose because if that lotion is good enough for a baby's bottom, it's good enough for the skin of your tattoo area.
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.
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