An in depth look at tattoo and body piercing aftercare.
For those of you who like a good read, you’re gonna love this. And for those of you who don’t and just want the quick answer of how to look after your new tattoo or piercing just click on Aftercare.
What is the best way to look after your new Tattoo. Now, I could just write a few carefully chosen words on this subject and it may suffice, but Tattoo Artistry has become so big these days and there are so many different varying opinions that I thought, why not write something a bit more substantial, of a professional nature, as I have been a Professional Tattoo artist now for over 26 years working to very high standards, and with an exemplary reputation, as my wife, can tell you. Have I mentioned my wife Deb? No! Well, I will now.
Deb was a top west end artist in advertising for years and worked for the real cream of the crop. And recently she has turned her hand to tattooing and is doing exceptionally well as I knew she would.
Whilst travelling around the world together, back in the day, before family commitments when we had some money, we liked to visit art galleries and tattoo studios. Now I know you are probably thinking that this sounds like a bit of a busmans holiday but you have to understand that anything art is a real passion for both of us. She was pretty impressed at how well we were treated by the vast amount of the Tattooists who knew who I was and where I was from. Actually, while were on this subject, one of the best of these was on Venice beach in LA, where bay watch was made. We spent a little time at a tattoo studio belonging to Andy Neville.
This studio was full of characters getting ready to go to a big tattoo convention in San Diego so there was quite a buzz around the place. We were invited along but unfortunately we couldn’t go as we were flying out to Hawaii the next day. Believe me, if I could have changed the flight time I would have. Andy was having a bit of a competition with Lew from Miami who incidentally has been mentioned by Amie James on Miami Ink, about who had the better Corvette Stingray or the best Rolex watch. Generally showing off a bit but all done in good humour.
What’s this got to do with tattoo aftercare you ask? Well, nothing really but I thought you might be interested.
There was a time when you had a tattoo and the artist would tell you to give it a wash now and again and apply a little bit of Vaseline.
Then, for years, the cream to apply was good old Savlon the wonder healer. Personally I was never convinced that this was the way to go as whenever I used it I found that my tattoos would sometimes seem dull afterwards, like they had lost some pigment strength.
It is at this point, that I must mention a customer I worked on some years ago. For the purpose of this article we’ll just call him John. John was, for want of a better phrase, er, a little eccentric, if you know what I mean. Anyway, his tattoos would heal so brightly they would physically glow, like they were radio active.
One day, after doing him a tattoo I asked him what he was putting on them, to which he replied, “ margarine and beer”. Yeah, I know what you’re thinking, but before you go running to the fridge lets have a little think about this. The fact is that John just had that sort of good skin for tattooing.
Now, any tattoo artist out there will know what I am talking about when I say that. You see, some people just have a sort of skin that makes the artists life so much simpler. It’s just amazing. The outline just glides in and gives you this perfect even line, like it had been drawn by a Venetian Goddess using a precision German engineered fine artists brush, endorsed by Leonardo da Vinci himself.
And then, the shading and colour just flies in with no effort at all and the finished result is, well…… At this point I will take a short break so I can stop salivating. That’s better. It’s a skin thing. If you aren’t a tattooist I wouldn’t expect you to understand. If you are then stop drooling and read on.
Over the years I have spent some considerable time surveying my customers asking them what products they have used and what one they thought works best. And to be honest with you it’s varied, but coupled with my own experiences as well I have eventually nailed down a solution.
The finished tattoo has to go through a healing process. This process starts, by the body forming a scab which is basically a naturally formed plaster which seals the wound until such time that a new skin is formed underneath, and then, and only then, the scab starts to crack and release itself from the body. Therefore, this is what nature intended, so should we interfere with it? Well, yes, but in a very informed and subtle way.
This is where the healing products come into play. First, any cream that you use should only be used sparingly, especially if they are water based as they tend to penetrate the new tattoo, diluting the ink and the result is a gooey mess full of pigment which is rejecting itself. The consequence of this can be a dull piece of work.
Before I go any further, I feel that dressings should be mentioned. What is the right Dressing? Now, some tattooists will use cling film and I have doubted its use in the past, because in the literature of some films it says that it should not directly touch food stuffs. Well, if it shouldn’t be touching food then it probably shouldn’t be touching skin. We have to remember that certain plastics do contain chemicals. However, there are some cling films which are safe to wrap food in now and also there is the film which is used in hospitals so this must be safe. Other tattooists use gauze dressings and I have found these to be ok as long as a fair amount of Vaseline is placed on the tattoo prior to being dressed, to prevent it from sticking. ( It is now some weeks since I wrote this article and during this time Deb has done me a nice tattoo, and as an experiment I decided to use the cling film. I have to say that it really does have a positive effect on the tattoo. A very calming effect. Usually when I have a tattoo on my leg I find it pretty sore afterwards but on this occasion it has been fine. I left it on there for 4 hours which is quite enough I feel. Since then I have been using it on my customers and have to say, to good results.).
Your new tattoo is a wound and so it should be kept clean. I feel the best way to do this is to remove the dressing approximately 3 to 4 hours after the work is done. Wash the tattoo immediately with slightly warm soapy water, just using your hand, ensuring to remove any dried blood. This helps to keep the scabbing down to a minimum. Then, just for the first few times you wash it, rinse it afterwards with cold water. This has the effect of shrinking the pores in the skin and reduces some weeping and swelling. Carry on washing it twice a day until the tattoo has healed. For the first two days don’t apply any creams at all. Let nature do what is intended and let it dry out and form a scab. I have noticed that some people get a bit concerned these days if they get a scab on their new tattoo. Please dont be to concerned as no two tattoos are exactly the same and some will scab more heavily than others.
On the third day you can start to apply a very thin smear of a suitable aftercare product that suits you. There are a considerable number of tattoo aftercare products on the market today such as Tattoo Goo and Aloe tattoo cream, all of which are fairly good but I am still a firm believer of using Vaseline. The reason for this is that it is a greasy substance which sits on the top of the scab and just eases it slightly reducing that tightness and therefore the itching which is only caused when the scab has formed and started to shrink in size and then is pulling on the surrounding skin. Use the Vaseline only when you really need it.
Pile cream? There are tattooists out there who recommend this as a tattoo healing product and sing its praises. And then the customer does the same. The theory is that because it shrinks piles it therefore shrinks the tattoo scab. These types of creams are designed to work on the anus which according to a doctor I have spoken to is a different type of tissue in the way it behaves than your normal external skin, and in all probability the tattoo would have healed just as adequately without it.
Now, some people ask for your valued advice and then go away and do the complete opposite of what you have told them, usually because their friend has told them the best way of doing it and usually, strangely enough, this friend doesn’t even have a tattoo themself. But hey! That’s the way it is. I have come to a conclusion over the years and that is, if it works for you then carry on with it.
The simple fact is that your tattoo will heal up quite nicely, basically, by just keeping it clean and not picking the scab. Yes, that’s right, DONT PICK THE SCAB, unless you want to ruin all the hard work the tattooist has put into it, not to mention that you have just spent a considerable amount of money and suffered, just a little bit, to have a nice piece of artwork on your person. Be patient and wait for a thing of real beauty to emerge on your very valuable skin. It’ll make you proud. And then you’ll want another one.
Art Lewis.
Body piercing aftercare in depth.
Body piercing is basically a flesh piercing. What does this mean? Well, it means that there is a hole going through, not only the skin but through the flesh as well. This is why the average piercing takes such a long time to heal as a tunnel of scar tissue has to form internally which is quite a difficult thing for your body to do, considering the jewellery is still in place and is effectively keeping the wound open. During the healing of your piercing you may sometimes notice a yellowish discharge coming from it. There is no need to be concerned as this discharge is lymph and is a naturally occuring part of the healing process which forms a crust around the piercing. This must be regularly cleaned away.
And as the wound is still open it is important that the piercing is kept clean and equally important that the jewellery is made of the correct metal which should be Grade 23 plain polished Titanium or PVD Gold or Blackline. These metals alleviate the problems caused by allergic reaction from nickel. All piercing jewellery should be nickel free.
You will probably know if the jewellery contains nickel as it may become sore and inflammed and generally very angry looking and will sometimes omit a unpleasant odour. This jewellery should be replaced immediately with a more suitable piece.
The best solution for bathing your piercing is a solution of salt water which you can make yourself or if you are too busy to make it, you can buy saline solution which is salt water in a can, from your local chemist. And it should be used three times a day, twice at the very least.
Now, I get asked quite frequently if it is ok to use Savlon wound wash, Surgical spirit or Dettol and the answer to this is a definite No. And then I get told, well my friend used it and hers healed ok.
Well fortunately it worked for this person but this doesn’t mean it will work for everyone. There is a reason for this. When you cut or graze yourself you may apply a little antiseptic solution for the initial cleaning of the wound but you generally wouldn’t put it on three times a day as there is no need. Plus the fact that all of these products, no matter how mild, are chemicals and placing a chemical onto your skin three times daily may eventually cause a chemical burn.
The beauty of salt water is that to my knowledge no one is allergic to salt as our bodies contain a certain amount of it permanently so we can use it regularly with no adverse effects. Good eh!
