Tattoo Aftercare

[ABF]

I'm curious to know whether there's a consensus here about tattoo aftercare. My artist's tattoo shop recommends using aveeno lotion or aquafor, but never vaseline (petrolatum) or A&D ointment. Aquafor, however, is 41% petrolatum, and I have a good friend who swears by A&D ointment. Plus, I had surgery (elective...) earlier this year and my surgeon recommended petrolatum on a couple of places which were slow to heal. They closed up almost overnight. I use Aveeno on my tattoos , including the new one I got Tuesday night. (love it.) But, I'm wondering about other peoples' experiences.

Also, any advice for aftercare of a large tattoo in a hard to reach location? (I'm going to get a larger piece on my shoulder in September.)

And, what about putting benzocaine or one of those other 'caines to help with residual pain? My new work, which goes around my ankle, is ok now but was on the uncomfortable side yesterday and last night. (Ok, I'm not that much of a weenie! It was ok.) I'm just wondering for future reference.

Thanks everyone. This is the coolest website.

anne

[INKED Inc.]

Hey Anne. For what it's worth, here's my healing regimen: I use bacitracin for the first 24-48 hours, applying it every 8 hours or so. I then switch to Lubriderm (unscented) for the next couple of weeks, applying it a few times a day. This seems to work for me.

As for the hard to reach spots, an understanding partner helps. :)

[foghorn]

i use an anti bacterial soap for first couple days and air dry for 15 minutes starting the second day i will use aquaphor or tattoo goo(be careful to not over use it) in very thin coats 3 times a day.

[BlahStuff Jake]

My shop gives me A&D, but I always switch to *very* thin coats of Aquaphor when I get home.

[Nina]

I doubt there will be a consensus ;).

Let me get on a microbiologist soapbox here for a minute: please don't use antibiotics on fresh tattoos, or indeed any wound that is not actually infected. It's unnecessary and promotes the development of antibiotic resistant germs. Same goes for anitmicrobial soaps. Every soap is antimicrobial by its nature, and the added substances in the "antimicrobial" soaps only make the resistance problem worse. For more info: www.apua.org. OK, I'm done now ;)

Now, what do I do: I've found that removing the lymph that seeps out of the tattoo for up to 48 hours decreases the formation of thick scabs to almost zero. My friend Lish has written this up quite nicely: http://www.compunction.org/healing.txt. In short, it means: wash your fresh tattoo carefully every couple of hours with a mild detergent until it no longer feels "gooey", then let it dry and leave it alone. Don't put anything on it until the third day, then use a good body lotion, jojoba oil, whatever.

The biggest advantage for me: You won't stick to your sheets or shirts this way!

I'll admit that I have strayed from Lish's ways with my sleeve though :-). Since taking off my sweater and washing my arm every couple of hours at work was somehow impractical, I kept the tattoo covered with saran wrap (no lotion or anything) until it stopped oozing. If you do this, it's absolutely crucial to change the wrap at least every 8 hours, also, you should know your body well and be able to recognize an infection. And check the box, don't use anything that's not supposed to come in direct contact with food ;). Wounds don't need to "breathe", in fact, the "moist healing" regimen is a standard technique in medicine these days. The cells that are supposed to repair the wound don't dry out this way, and healing is faster.

My arm had practically no scabs, and even the elbow kept pretty much all of the color on the first try. It didn't get infected and my arm didn't fall off :D.

[Judy]

My shop recommends Curel. It's the only thing I've used. I haven't had much trouble, except on the last part.

The color on the Monarch was done the day before Thanksgiving last year. Then we rode up to my in-laws the next day, everyone was hugging me and patting my back right over my tattoo. Even my husband was flinching. It turned out pretty good considering all the abuse it went through!

[TS]

From the 4 different artists who've worked on me, I've had 4 different recommendations. Similar care instructions to Nina's above, come from the artist who's done the largest amount of work on me (wash gently w/mild soap and water, then apply mild lotion such as Aveeno several times a day, no sunscreen for one month). And, one time my dermatologist even exclaimed "wow, that's a beautiful tattoo" and did comment on the nice healing, whilst looking under her magnifier, lol!

[TS]

Hi Elle, My understanding is that there's a possiblity of having a reaction to the various sunscreen ingredients since the tattoo is still healing, even though the initial healing is over in 2 weeks. My tattoos always get bumpy and itch for about a month, then things settle down.

[Nina]

I put sunscreen on mine as soon as the flaking stops. But then again, my sunscreen is a moderately expensive hypoallergenic one (Vichy 50+), because cheap sunscreen makes my *intact* skin break out fiery red & itchy upon sun exposure. Without sun exposure, I just get pimples. Fun!

[ABF]

Nina, it sounds like your regimen is closest to what my artist also recommends.. but your explanation sounds better! (And I'll lay off the antimicrobial soap...) I went back and looked at her shop's instructions again and they said absolutely no Neosporin.. but bacitracin was ok; evidently their anti-neosporin rule isn't based on the resistance factor but more likely that some people are allergic to it. (It still seems inconsistent to say no petrolatum, but aquafor is ok. Oh well.) I appreciate the info from everyone; I have seen so much inconsistency I was interested in what you had to say.

My husband has had a killer case of poison ivy this week; I've been a little worried about exposure to my new tattoo... even the thought of it is excruciating. So far, no problem.

[tscrimshaw]

Yep - my artist also recommended Bepanthen Plus cream. It seems to do the trick. I quite like the Bravery Award on the Bepanthen website. I could have done with that after having my elbow area inked...

[Mark]

Here's my method, for it's worth: I leave the fresh tattoo wrapped and covered for 2 hours after leaving the studio. Then I unwrap and wash it with warm water using a CLEAN cotton handkerchief - until the lymph goo is gone. Apply a small amount of Bepanthen. Repeat this exercise 2 or 3 times a day for about 3 days. Then just wash and dry the tattoo once or twice a day for the next week - by which time it's usually healed. Don't do any soaks in a bath until at least 10 days after being tattooed. I'm sure there are a few different opinions on this topic and it's an important thing to consider, so thanks for raising it!

[ABF]

I'd never heard of bepanthen until you guys mentioned it. I looked it up and it is available in the U.S. online, but I don't recall seeing it in a retail drugstore. (It's also not offered online through a U.S. retail marketer [like CVS, Walgreen's, etc.) I'll order some for next time.