Care
Tattoo Aftercare
Complete guide to healing and caring for your new tattoo.
Key Advice
The aftercare following a tattoo is important to help prevent the risk of infection. For the first week or so it is normal for the area to be red and tender. As with all body art, infection is a risk. To reduce this take advice from your practitioner and always keep it clean.
Infection Risk
The risk of infection can be greatly reduced by good general hygiene including:
- Hand washing before touching the tattoo
- Keeping the tattoo covered with non-stick gauze which is secured with hypo-allergenic tape
Hand Washing
Hand washing is the single most important method of reducing infection. Hands must be washed prior to touching the tattoo. This is particularly important for the first week where you risk introducing germs and preventing proper healing.
Wash your hands in warm water and liquid soap, always dry your hands thoroughly with a clean towel or paper towel. This will help prevent germs gaining a foothold and prevent them becoming trapped in residual areas.
Tattoo Aftercare
Good practice is to cover the tattooed area with non-stick gauze which is then secured with hypo-allergenic tape. Gauze permits ventilation and slick healing.
A tattoo covering a large area may have plastic film wrap applied; this must be cleaned (baked straight from the pack and used immediately after you have cleaned away any residual blood. Cover only for a couple of hours at most. However, simply keeping the area clean and dry is likely to be the best approach.
Any cream that you apply must be used from an appropriate pushette at home and you should wash your hands before application. Cream can be purchased from your practitioner or a pharmacist.
Antibiotic creams should not be used except if infection has occurred and under supervision of your Doctor.
Signs of Infection
If appropriate aftercare is not followed infection may occur. The signs of infection are:
- •Swelling and redness that increases around the wound.
- •A severe burning and throbbing sensation round the site.
- •Increased tenderness and increasingly painful to touch.
- •An unusual discharge (yellow or green) with an offensive smell.
Speak to your practitioner or seek medical attention immediately if you suffer from any of the above or have any other concerns about your tattoo or if there are any signs of an allergic reaction to any of the products used.