Please follow these aftercare instructions for healing your new tattoo:

✿ Leave your bandage on for at least three hours and up to 12 hours, or as otherwise instructed. A fresh tattoo is a wound and keeping it bandaged as instructed prevents contact with things that could cause irritation.

✿ Gently remove the bandage. If it is stuck to the tattoo at all, do not pull it off forcefully. Instead, apply a warm, wet compress to the bandage to loosen it, and then remove it carefully.

✿ Wash your hands with soap, and then gently wash the tattoo with warm water, a paper towel, and an unscented antibacterial soap (like Dial Gold antibacterial), removing all ointment and/or dried blood, plasma, and ink. Wash your new tattoo 2-3 times a day for the first week.

✿ Pat the tattoo dry with a paper towel or air dry. Do not rub dry.

✿ After washing your tattoo and allowing it to dry, use a thin layer of an unscented lotion or a balm made specifically for healing tattoos. Please do not use petroleum based ointments.

✿ Do NOT use anything meant to heal a wound on your fresh tattoo such as Neosporin or an antibiotic ointment.

✿ After 5-7 days the tattoo may start to peel. This is a normal part of the healing process. Be gentle when washing and applying lotion, taking care not to pull off any skin that is peeling.

✿ Washing and moisturizing your tattoo should continue for 5-7 days after you get your tattoo.

✿ During the healing process, do not soak your new tattoo in water for at least two weeks. This includes bath tubs, hot tubs, swimming pools, lakes, etc. Showers are fine at any point.

✿ Do not expose your fresh, healing tattoo to direct sunlight or tanning beds. If you will be getting sun exposure after your tattoo is healed, it is important to apply sunscreen to your tattoo to prevent fading.

✿ Do not pick at, peel, or scratch your new tattoo as it may lead to poor healing. 

Irritated skin may be inflamed with visible redness as well as dullness, and the feeling of tight and uncomfortable skin.

If you notice any of the following signs of infection, call your doctor right away:

✿ Expanding redness around the wound

✿ Yellow or greenish colored pus or cloudy wound drainage

✿ Red streaking spreading from the wound

✿ Increased swelling, tenderness, or pain around the wound

✿ Fever

If you have any questions about healing your new tattoo, please contact Noelle at noellemarietattoos@gmail.com