How should I prep for my tattoo?
Well-hydrated skin allows ink to saturate better and allows ink to glide seamlessly in your skin. Adequately hydrating ahead of your tattoo session promotes faster healing with less scabbing.
Drinking enough water helps your body handle the physical stress of a session. The application of the tattoo will be smoother, less painful and be less likely to tear. Dry, dehydrated skin may result in patchy, faded or less vibrant tattoos. Be sure to aptly hydrate during the healing process as well.
Take a long hot shower and thoroughly scrub your whole body with soap the day of your tattoo. Wear antiperspirant or deodorant if you can. Feel free to wear perfumes and lotion the area you intend to get tattooed. Artists are working on you for long periods of time and it is important to smell good, be clean and take care of your skin.
Proper hygiene ensures the tattoo heals correctly without scarring, fading, or color loss. Wearing freshly washed clothing that hasn't been exposed to pets, irritants or household smells helps prevent contamination of your tattoo and makes the experience more enjoyable for your artist.
Gently exfoliating in the shower and moisturizing your skin prior to your appointment creates a more precise, less painful and more vibrant tattoo experience.
Avoid using harsh chemicals and use a gentle scrub or loofah to prevent irritating or breaking the skin. For best results, pair exfoliation with consistent moisturizing in the weeks leading up to your session to keep the skin hydrated, smooth and elastic.
Keeping the skin you plan on tattooing protected or covered from the sun about 4 weeks before a tattoo procedure is crucial because UV damage easily causes long lasting inflammation, dead skin build up and skin peeling, where the skin is too sensitive or damaged for proper ink application.
The effects last much longer than most people realize since sometimes it is unnoticeable until an artist begins working. Sun damage greatly hinders an artist's ability to provide a proper tattoo. It negatively affects the needle's penetration and your skin's ability to retain ink, leading to poor healing, ink rejection, and distortion of the final design.
It is imperative that you inform your artist of any burn or potential UV damage as soon as possible. Do not show up to your tattoo appointment with sun damaged skin.
Being well-rested and relaxed for a tattoo appointment is essential to increase pain tolerance, reduce anxiety and it ensures a better, safer experience. It helps to avoid dizziness, fainting and increases your overall stamina for the session.
Lack of sleep increases inflammation in the body, sometimes causing the tattoo to be more painful, swollen, and tender than it would be if you were well-rested. Fatigue can make your muscles tight, amplifying discomfort and tension and making the session much more difficult.
A compromised immune system caused by poor sleep can lead to longer healing times and a higher risk of infection.
Avoid alcohol for at least 24 hours before a tattoo session. Alcohol consumption close to your tattoo appointment causes excessive bleeding, pain and poor ink retention, making the experience more difficult for both you and your artist.
Because alcohol causes dehydration and puts stress on your body, it impairs your immune system and interferes with the healing process and overall outcome of the tattoo. It causes slower healing, often resulting in a faded or distorted design.
Avoid consuming alcohol for at least 48 hours after your appointment to ensure optimal healing.
Everyone's skin heals a little differently from one another's and aftercare may need to be adjusted depending on the outcome of your heal or to fit a style your artist produces so it is important to follow up with your artist during the healing stage.
That being said generally the basics are:
- A gentle (preferably unscented) antibacterial pump soap like SoftSoap.
- An artist recommended ointment in a tube like Aquaphor (not all ointments are suitable and the thinner the application the better.)
- An unscented hypoallergenic skin lotion (in a pump or tube) like Curel Healing Lotion.
You may also purchase a tattoo aftercare kit like TattooGoo, a second skin healing bandage such as Recovery or a tattoo aftercare gel such as Mad Rabbit. Reach out to your artist to discuss in further detail.