Tattoo After Care Tips

Now, you have your fresh new tattoo, and you want to take good care of it! From this point on, your artist is not responsible for any infection or problems you may have with your tattoo if you don't take proper care of it. It is very important that you follow these guidelines. A really beautiful tattoo can turn into a disaster if the proper aftercare is not taken.

Leave That Bandage Alone!
Your artist took the care to cover up your new tattoo for a very good reason - to keep air-born bacteria from invading your wound. Yes, as pretty as your new tattoo is, it is still a wound. Open flesh is a breeding ground for bacteria and infection. Leave the bandage on for a minimum of two hours. Excitement of having a new tattoo will make you want to remove the bandage so you can show your friends, but your friends will just have to wait until later.

The only exception to this rule is if your artist covered your tattoo with saran wrap or some kind of plastic. This is extremely detrimental to a tattoo, so it should be removed immediately. You're better off not having any covering than to be suffocating your new tattoo with plastic wrap.

Wash and Treat
After you remove the bandage, you will want to wash your tattoo. Use lukewarm water and mild, liquid antibacterial or antimicrobial soap (Satin and Provon are my highest recommendations. Dial tends to be too harsh - generic brand antibacterial soaps are actually better) to gently wash away any ointment, blood and/or plasma and to completely clean the area. Do not use a washcloth or anything abrasive. Your hand is your best tool in this case. (If your tattoo feels slimy and slippery, you have probably been oozing plasma. Try to gently remove as much of this as possible - when the plasma dries on the skin surface, it creates scabs.)

Then pat (do not rub) the area firmly with a CLEAN towel completely dry. Follow with a very light application of your choice of ointment. A&D vitamin enriched ointment would be my first choice, but if you don't have any, Bacitracin or a similar antibacterial ointment is acceptable.

**Do not use Neosporin. This is a wonderful product for cuts and scrapes, but not for tattoos. Some can have an allergic reaction to the Neosporin, which causes little red bumps. When the bumps go away, so does the ink, and you end up with a polka-dotted tattoo.**

Specialty Products and Lotions
If you prefer, you can also use a specialty product such as Tattoo Goo or H2Ocean. It's not necessary, as many over the counter products work just fine, but it's your choice. Use the products as directed as continue for 3-5 days. Another good product which has been highly recommended is Bepanthen Nappy Care Ointment.

After that, continue to keep it clean, but you can use lotion when needed instead of ointment, to keep the skin soft. Whatever lotion you use, it should be dye and fragrance free. A lot of artists recommend Lubriderm, but I have found that Lubriderm stings when I apply it. Instead, I have had great success with Eucerin. See also: Aftercare Contradictions: Why there are so many views on what product is best.

Bathing, Showering, Hot Tubs, and Swimming
Yes, you can (and should!) shower with a new tattoo. It's OK to get your tattoo wet - just don't soak it. Submerging your tattoo in a bath or hot tub can cause serious damage, so you'll want to avoid those for 2-3 weeks, but showering is perfectly fine as long as you don't saturate your tattoo. If you get soap or shampoo on your tattoo, just remove it quickly with water. Swimming - whether it be a pool, fresh water or salt water - should be avoided for at least 2 weeks.

Scabbing and Peeling
After a few days, you will notice some peeling and possibly a little scabbing. Excessive scabbing could indicate a poorly-done tattoo, but a little is sometimes normal and there is no need to panic. Apply warm moist compresses to the scabs for about 5 minutes 2-3 times a day to soften them and they will eventually come off on their own. (Do not apply ointment or lotion to a softened scab - wait for it to dry) You will also start to itch, just like a sunburn when it begins to heal. The advice here is, don't pick, and don't scratch! If the skin itches, slap it. If it is peeling, put lotion on it. And if it is scabbing, just leave it alone. Your tattoo is almost healed, and now is not the time to ruin it!

Protection from the sun
After your tattoo is healed, from now on, you will always want to protect it from the sun's ultraviolet rays. These can fade and damage a brilliant tattoo very fast. Before spending a lot of time in excessive heat, protect your tattoo with a minimum 30SPF sunblock. This will keep your tattoo vibrant for many years, and it will continue to be a source of great pride...

if you feel something has been missed, please post below and i will add it!

Enjoy your new tattoo

Home Tattooing

I have read quite a few tattoo magazines with articals about home tattooing...

and everyone of them say " don't use home tattooists ".

I have been to a tattoo parlor and a home tattooist for my tats,
And I had to wait for 9 months to see the parlor tattooist and the work cost me an arm n a leg.

So the next tattoo that I got I went to a tattooist that does it from home.
And it was a hell of a better job plus it din't cost me the earth (coz he din't have the overheads of running a shop).

I have stopped using the parlor tattooist now coz i can get it a lot cheaper and the tattoo is a lot better .

And befor anyone says it YES the home tattooist has a room just for tattooing you would think that it is a tattoo parlor he's got everything that a parlor shop would have.

Now i have started tattooing and have no plans to start a shop, I just do it as a hobby.

at the end of the day if someone is dedicated to the art of tattooing and wants to become a tattooist why do you have to be shown how to do it from a pro ? ... who taught the first ever person how to tattoo ?

I think that you have to learn for yourself, and agree that you should get some pigs ears or fake skin befor you even consider tattoo a customer. you have to become one with the machine and make some amazing designs befor you ruin someones life.

I guess what i'm trying to say is ...

Not every home tattooist is amazing but some are and the same goes for so called "pro" tattooist that have tattoo parlors.

Don't jip the home tattooists.

some only want to do it as a hobby and don't want to become a "pro".

Sorry if this offends anyone ... its ment to be an opinion on the subject.

First Tattoo Machine

The first electronic tattoo machine was invented by an American tattoo artist named Samuel O’Reilly in 1890, which gave birth to the new era of tattooing in which people started to have different kind of tattoos on various parts of their body. But tattoos were not respected in its earlier days and were considered as a kind of non sense thing suitable only for drunkards or sailors and sometimes, criminals too.

Interesting Tattoo Statistics

Statistics have shown that American acceptance of the art of tattooing has grown by over 10% in the last 80 years. If this doesn’t sound like much to you this is the difference in an average of 6% or about 10 million Americans in 1936 up to 16% in a survey recorded in a 2003 Harris Poll.

Butterfly Tattoo Design With a Flutter

Different people have different reasons for picking up a certain motif of a tattoo on their body. While tattoos reflect a number of popular sentiments, butterfly tattoo designs are usually etched as a symbol of beauty and virtuousness and also rebirth. The reasons however may vary from one person to another and may be pretty subjective. This may depend on one’s individual choice.

A number of myths and positive connotations attached to butterflies also make them a preferred choice. They represent peace, harmony, calmness, and nobility. Some also believe that butterflies are responsible for looking after the entire earth. A popular belief also claims them to be the harbinger of fairytales and the legends associated with them in various cultures of many societies across the globe. These cross-cultural butterfly tattoo designs also form a part of the teachings of many societies. A butterfly tattoo design is not restricted to any particular gender. It encompasses all ages and nationalities.

Bird Tattoo Designs

Be it your ankle, area above your breast, wrist or your back, any of these body parts can be utilized for you make a complete style statement. All you need is to simply get a tattoo inked on your body, which has become a complete rage these days.

Tattoos give you a huge variety of symbols that can be etched on one’s body. A very popular and sought after motif is that of a bird.  The types of birds and design elements that can be used are numerous.  Sometimes birds are combined with other images to tell a story or convey a theme.

However, it is not simply about going into the first tattoo parlor you come across.  There are a number of aspects that need to be considered and taken care of before deciding on your final tattoo design. The location on your body and the kind of design to be inked are two important factors that need to be decided upon.

Dragon Tattoos

Summer or spring season are the best time of the year to flaunt your body art and one unique and different motif that you don't see very often is the dragon tattoo. Dragon tattoos are not merely a work of art but carry a lot of meaning and have enough room for creativity and self expression. Different people have different perceptions of a tattoo and a unique definition and perception for their kind of design. With the amount of experimentation done with Dragon tattoos in terms of their appearance and designs in the past couple of years, the popularity of these motifs has increased.

The mythical attributes attached to the Dragons make them further desirable. A reptilian creature, close to the lizard family, dragons are mentioned in varied folk tales around the globe. However, in the form of a body art, these tattoos are widely experimented with.  For instance, the fire breathing mouth of the reptile is prominently displayed in some dragon tattoo motifs. Large wings on the other hand accentuate the tattoo design of a flying dragon. The appearance of dragons is an imaginative aspect and individual creativity can further add a different dimension to it altogether.