How to Prepare Your Body for Healing a Tattoo
Two Weeks Before Your Appointment:
This may be a new tattoo-related experience for you, and it’s not mandatory. These are suggestions to prepare your body and skin for a successful and easy healing process.
Stop drinking alcohol. It weakens your immune system.
Avoid overly salty and processed foods. Yes, I want you to change your diet for your tattoo process.
Eat dark leafy greens everyday! This will increase the Vitamin K in your body; it helps with excessive bleeding during the tattoo process as well as brings incredible nutrients to your body and skin.
Eat mushrooms!! Shiitake, Reishi, Turkey Tail, Oyster Mushrooms. Saute them up! The longer the better, not high heat. Why? Well, beta glucans! That’s why! Relating to your tattoo, beta glucans activate our immune systems on a heightened level. And that’s what we need! A strong immune system for healing your tattoo! If you want further information, just ask me!
Drink at least 64oz of water everyday.
Use Palmers Cocoa Butter lotion on the area to be tattooed. Everyday. In the morning, and at night! The better condition your skin is in, the easier it will tattoo and heal. Which means less time in the chair.
Try to avoid direct sun to the area to be tattooed. Sunscreen or not. You will still tan with sunscreen on and I need to see your skin as close to it’s natural color as possible.
Please, no fake tanning on the area to be tattooed.
Keep in mind that that until the tattoo peels completely, you will not be able to go in the water for summer activities- no fresh water, no salt water. No river, lake, stream, creek, bathtub, hot tub. No submerging the tattooed body part underwater for any length of time.
Keep in mind, that until the fresh baby skin of your healing tattoo will not be ready for direct sun for 6 full weeks. This is the time needed for your skin to fully regenerate and heal.
Keep in mind, you will need to wear sunscreen on your tattoo everyday if it will be exposed to the sun.
Keep in mind, going to gym, yoga, crossfit, boxing, martial arts with an open wound (your tattoo) is extremely risky. Sweaty clothes act as a wick from whatever surface you are laying on right into your open wound (tatt00). Best to NOT go indoors for your workout until your tattoo peels completely. Adjust your workout regimen. Sweating is fine!! Sweating plus clothes plus workout mats and equipment equals possible tattoo contamination. If we use Saniderm bandage to heal your tattoo, just skip it for a few days. Excess movement, stretching, sweating, will cause your bandage to loosen sooner than we want.
One Week Before Your Appointment:
If you haven’t already—take a break from alcohol. It weakens your immune system. One post-tattoo celebratory cocktail won’t kill it, but more than that and you will negate all the work you have been doing to build up your immune system.
Continue with the regimen above.
Do a light exfoliation of the area to be tattooed! Put some brown sugar and olive oil in a bowl—-make a pasty sugar scrub! Scrub gently with the mix and rinse away. Pat yourself on the back!
Two Days Before Your Appointment:
Do another light and gentle exfoliation.
If you haven’t stopped drinking alcohol-stop now through the time your tattoo has peeled.
The Day Before:
Wash all your bedding!
Tell your pets they can’t sleep with you for a week and stick to it. Pet hair is a bad news for healing tattoos in the open wound phase.
Wouldn’t hurt to vacuum up all the pet hair on your furniture and carpet.
Tell your pets they can’t sit on your furniture for a a week and stick to it.
Get a good night’s sleep
What you will use to heal your tattoo: Unscented Liquid Antibacterial Soap ONLY, Clean Paper Towels for cleaning and drying the tattoo, Skin Rescue Butter which I will provide. Your first jar is free, after that it’s $25 per jar. Lasts a loooooong time. That’s it. DON’T USE ANYTHING ON YOUR TATTOO WITHOUT CHECKING WITH ME FIRST.
Tattoo Day!:
Pack a go bag! A sandwich or something else substantial for our food break on a long session; healthy snacks to keep your blood sugar and energy up. And don’t tell me “I’m fine” I don’t want to hear it. Bring snacks and water!!!!!!!!
If you’re coming to your appointment after work, pack a clean and comfortable change of clothes appropriate for the area getting tattooed. Do not wear anything that you think is cute, or sentimental, or favorite…..I will get ink on you and it will not wash out of your clothing. This includes, underclothing-bras, underwear, etc. If you need help knowing what to wear, just ask me!
Please wear loose clothing. I don’t want to wrestle with jean waistbands, or tight anything that squashes wrinkles into your skin where you are getting tattoos. Makes the stencil process a little difficult.
Please, please, if you are going to want to take your shoes off while getting tattooed-wash your feet, put clean socks on and closed shoes. Walking around all day in Tom’s or flip flops and then coming in and throwing those dirty dogs up on the table will gross me out and then I will have to clean them, which costs you time/money.
If you have long hair and your tattoo is on your upper torso/arm area, put your hair up and secure it well.
If you work out before you come, please shower and change your clothes.
Please do not wear perfume or cologne if you can avoid it. I love scents, but if there is one I don’t like and I have to smell it for hours, I’m going to be really bummed.
If we are doing a foot tattoo, please….get a basic pedicure the day before you come see me. Please.
How to Care for Your Body & Tattoo While Healing
ALL OF THE ABOVE FOR TEN DAYS POST TATTOO SESSION.
READ YOUR AFTER CARE INSTRUCTIONS —EVERY WORD and FOLLOW IT!! DO NOT deviate unless instructed to do so.
REPEAT THIS MANTRA: I will reach out to Kat in the event ANYTHING is outside the norm. (this includes ANYTHING regarding bandaging!!) I will NOT assume I know what to do. I will NOT reach out to my friends for opinions or advice regarding my healing tattoo. I will NOT search the internet for opinions or advice regarding my healing tattoo. I will NOT use anything or DO anything other than what Kat told me to do.
Aftercare
First 24-48 hours while tattoo is still weeping plasma and/or blood: Remove bandage within 1 hour if possible. Wash with wet, warm, soapy paper towels like I wash/wipe your tattoo. Be sure to gently wipe away any areas of the tattoo that have built up plasma/blood. Rinse/gently wipe away any soap thoroughly with water/clean paper towels. Pat until completely dry. Apply Skin Rescue. Very important to rub it thoroughly so the skin has a chance to absorb. With a new dry paper towel, pat away any excess. Do not leave a shiny slick on the skin surface as this will potentially cause sogginess/plasma buildup that will turn to scabs! We don’t want scabs!! Tattoos should heal and peel like a sunburn. Thin transparent flakes of skin. Not big chunky scabs.
For the first 48 hours clean and moisturize the tattoo 3-4 times per day or wash when: a) looks like there are raised areas where plasma/blood has built up into a crusty spot. B)when it feels dry, tight, or itchy c) if you’ve exposed the tattoo to anything dirty (which you shouldn’t do anyway).
Day 3-7: Your healing tattoo will start to form a dry skin layer over the surface of the tattoo. Wash in the morning after waking and a night before going to bed. Followed, of course, by moisturizing. While washing the tattoo in this healing stage, wash gently, do not try to wash off skin flakes and do not stand in the shower and let water beat down on it. Keep it out of the shower spray except while washing the tattoo. In between washing you can moisturize the tattoo with Skin Rescue only when it feels dry or tight or itchy. Otherwise leave it alone.
When the peeling starts: Do not pick or pull loose flaky skin off. Don’t touch it!!! Wash only when showering and wash VERY GENTLY WITH YOUR HAND. Do not let the shower spray beat down on your tattoo. Or the flaking skin will get soggy and come off sooner than it’s supposed to. Moisturize after showering and during the day only when it feels dry or tight or itchy. Be sure to moisturize before going to bed.
After the tattoo peeling phase is done: Shower as normal. No need to wash the tattoo during the day anymore. But, very important to moisturize 2-3 times a day for the next ten days. Once the tattoo peels, the wound phase of healing is done, but the skin still needs nutrients to support the healing of the fresh new baby skin after the peeling is done. So, continue moisturizing your tattoo for another 2 weeks, two times daily with Skin Rescue Butter.
IF ANY TROUBLES OR CONCERNS OR ROUGH HEALING SUCH AS SCABBING, PLEASE CONTACT ME RIGHT AWAY. I can help you get through a tough healing process. Not everyone heals the same way and sometimes it’s just a matter of figuring out your best healing regimen.