Precare

Yay! You’re getting a tattoo! First off, thank you for picking me as the artist to make your dream piece come true. There are a few things you can do to ensure that you come in as prepared as possible.

Moisturise your skin

This will make sure that your skin is hydrated and prepared for your tattoo session. Hydrated skin takes ink in a lot better than dehydrated skin, so moisturise yourself if you can.

Dress Comfortably

You’ll be sedentary for hours, so you might as well be as comfortable as possible! If your prone to getting cold, definitely bring warm clothes as it can get chilly in studios. Ink also stains, so don’t wear white.

If you’re getting a back piece, wear a button-up shirt the wrong way around so that you can stay covered up and warm!

Have a Full Belly

You’ll be sitting for a while, so you should ensure that you’ve eaten as this will help keep your blood sugar high and help with fighting pain.

Stay Hydrated

You should always be hydrated, but especially when you’re getting a tattoo. When you’re hydrated, your body can take in the ink better and ease the process of getting a tattoo. Feel free to bring in a water bottle to the studio!

Don’t Take Drugs Up to 72 Hours Before the Tattoo

Drugs can thin your blood, making it more difficult to tattoo your skin. It can also make you more prone to bleeding. Both of these factors (along with many others) decrease the quality of the tattoo and can make the healing process worse.

Don’t Worry

You’re not the first nor the last to be worried about getting a tattoo. Getting a tattoo can be daunting. You are voluntarily letting someone you’ve probably met off the internet stab you over a thousand times with a fine needle that permanently changes what your skin looks like. It sounds pretty scary if I put it like that, but don’t worry, it’s not bad at all.

Feel free to ask me any questions you have! I want to make sure that you are as comfortable as possible :)

Aftercare

Yay! You’ve got a tattoo! Now that you’ve got your tattoo, you’ll need to do a few things to ensure that your tattoo heals and comes out as good as possible.

Stay Out of Water

Salt and fresh water (including pools) have bacteria which can infect your tattoo and delay the healing time. Avoid submerging your tattoo in all scenarios for at least 2 weeks.

Stay Out of the Sun

The sun is even worse for your tattoo than water is. Exposing your tattoo to the sun can scar the tattooed area, blur the ink, and fade the ink. Stay out of the sun for extended periods of time for at least 2 weeks.

After everything is healed remember to always use sun screen on your tattoos as this will help with the longevity of your ink.

Don’t Scratch Your Tattoo

Your brand new tattoo is effectively an open wound with pretty art. Scratching your tattoo can remove ink and delay the healing time. So don’t do it. If it’s itchy, lightly tap/pat the tattoo in short bursts.

Moisturising and SecondSkin

You should always apply a quality lotion on your tattoos. Lotions that are gentle, fragrance-free, and have simple ingredients are best in my experience.

I sometimes might provide SecondSkin to clients when I think it’s necessary. SecondSkin accelerates the healing process by providing a barrier against water, bacteria, and clothing, amongst other things. I usually recommend that clients to take off SecondSkin 24 hours after the tattoo session concluded.