-Ideally you will leave your adhesive bandage on for about 3 days after receiving your tattoo (remove sooner if your skin appears to be increasingly red or irritated, or if you know you are sensitive to adhesives.) I’d suggest not to leave it on longer than four days.

-Within the first 12 hours of receiving your tattoo, you’ll likely notice some pooling of ink, blood and plasma below the bandage. This is normal!

-After 48 hours, some of the pooling ink, blood and plasma may begin to dry under the bandage and look kinda crusty. This is normal! But it’s probably approaching the time to take off the bandage.

-Do not submerge your tattoo and avoid getting overly sweaty while wearing the bandage.

-During this period if the bandage appears to be falling off, or if liquid under the bandage begins to leak, or if any part of the bandage moves and begins to expose the tattoo, remove the bandage and either replace it or take it off permanently.

-Take off the bandage immediately if you begin to notice a rash forming underneath the bandage, as this can be a sign of an adhesive allergy or irritated skin.

-I recommend taking this off with clean dry hands at the end of a hot shower.

-Peel bandage off with your body and close to the skin, like a command strip. Do not pull outwards away from your body. (It may feel like pulling tape off of a sunburn.) Take nice deep breaths as you pull it off, or sit down on a bench in your shower area if possible.

-Once bandage is removed, gently wash with water diluted unscented soap and ensure all soap is rinsed completely off. I recommend a diluted Dr. Bronner’s unscented castile soap. Avoid direct water pressure and instead, splash water gently onto skin.

-Pat dry with a paper towel (I like to leave some prepared pieces ready before I get in the shower) and let air dry for 10 minutes.

Occasionally I may send you home with a second bandage to apply at home. This is typically due to environmental factors (heat and weather = sweaty skin = bandages don’t stick well) or the amount of color packing we did (lots of liquid building up under the bandage). You’ll only leave the second bandage on for up to the initial 3-4 days of our appointment, so you may only have the second piece on for 24-48 hours.

-Remove bandage as normal, wash well, rinse well and pat dry. (Please rinse well as soap residue can cause rashy irritated skin under the bandage). Do not apply moisturizer

-Apply second bandage to clean dry skin by removing the white backing paper (like a sticker!), and applying directly to the skin. Try to apply to the center of the tattoo first and smooth outwards— it’s ok if there are air bubbles! Along the outside of the bandage is an orange line which you can then pinch to lift and remove, peeling off close to the skin.

-Remove the second bandage 3-4 days after receiving your tattoo

All tattooers recommend different lotions here based on their practice. These are my suggestions but ultimately, you should use products that your body is already used to.

-Apply a thin layer of lotion on your tattoo. I recommend unscented “white” lotion (Lubriderm, Cerave, etc.) or your preferred shea or coconut butter. On myself, I prefer Lubriderm for the first week or so, and then an essential oils blend such as Everyday Oil for the week after that.

-I do not recommend Aquaphor or petroleum oil based lotions after use of a second skin bandage. Aquaphor and Second Skin do the same thing: they create a waterproof barrier from bacteria and prevent infection. Your skin should be topically healed enough when you remove your second skin bandage to prevent infection. I find that Aquaphor is too thick for this stage of aftercare and may clog the pores of your skin, increasing the risk of irritation and slowing the healing process. If you like Aquaphor for aftercare, please only use a very thin layer and switch to a regular lotion after a few days.

Trust that your body knows how to heal itself! Do not over-moisturize or treat it any differently than you normally would. We want your skin to heal as naturally as possible.

-Take off adhesive bandage 4-6 hours after receiving your tattoo (or the next day, if it’s an evening session)

-With clean hands, remove the bandage and gently wash with water diluted unscented soap and ensure all soap is rinsed completely off. I recommend Dr. Bronner’s unscented castile soap. Avoid direct water pressure and instead, splash water onto skin.

-Pat dry with a paper towel (I like to leave some prepared pieces ready before I get in the shower) and let air dry for 10 minutes.

All tattooers recommend different lotions here based on their practice. These are my suggestions but ultimately, you should use products that your body is already used to.

With a traditional bandage, after washing, apply a thin layer of Aquaphor lotion on your tattoo. Use this product only for 3-4 days, then switch to a regular lotion.

I recommend unscented “white” lotion (Lubriderm, Cerave, etc.) or your preferred shea or coconut butter. On myself, I prefer Lubriderm for the first week or so, and then an essential oils blend such as Everyday Oil for the week after that.

Trust that your body knows how to heal itself! Do not over-moisturize or treat it any differently than you normally would. We want your skin to heal as naturally as possible.

-After removing your bandage and for the next three days, wash your tattoo 1-2 times per day with water diluted unscented soap and ensure all soap is rinsed completely off, pat dry with paper towels, let air dry, and moisturize with your preferred unscented lotion for at least two weeks after receiving the tattoo. I like to keep a little bag with a bottle of soap and lotion and some clean paper towels with me during this time to apply as needed if I’m not going to be at home.

-Please be cautious of over-moisturizing. We want the tattoo scab to flake off as naturally as it would a normal scab. Over-moisturizing doesn’t allow the scab to form correctly and may result in a duller looking and less contrasty tattoo.

-Until the tattoo is healed, avoid prolonged sun exposure and the beach, avoid getting overly sweaty, avoid submerging your tattoo entirely in water (i.e. bath, pool, ocean, etc.), and avoid tight clothing on the area that was tattooed. 

-Continue to wash & moisturize at least once per day.

-Until the tattoo is healed, avoid prolonged sun exposure and the beach, avoid getting overly sweaty, avoid submerging your tattoo entirely in water (i.e. bath, pool, ocean, etc.), and avoid tight clothing on the area that was tattooed. 

-During this time, your tattoo may appear dry, flaky, scabbing, itchy, red, etc. Remember this is a fresh wound and to treat it with care! Your tattoo will be healed when it is no longer doing those things. If it appears to be doing anything else (rash, bumps, excessive pus or bleeding, etc.), please contact me as well as your dermatologist/doctor.

For relief from itchiness, you can use a cold compress over the tattoo with a cloth barrier between it and your skin. If you are a topical CBD user, you can work a small amount (1-2 drops or a squeeze smaller than a dime) into your moisturizer. I do not recommend using topical CBD in the first week when the wound is still open or until the scab begins shedding naturally.

-Do not wear any sunscreen until the tattoo is completely healed.