Cleanliness and Care
There are a few ways of taking care of your fresh tattoo so that you reduce the chances of infection, and sooth the healing process for a better looking tattoo in the long term. We want you to be proud of your tattoo, and half of the battle is the aftercare.
Keep it clean
After getting your new permanent work of art, its important to keep it covered from outside elements before heading home. After the first hour or so, the next important step is washing your tattoo. Never use soaps with fragrances; the body can be sensitive. Everyone's body varies, but to minimize chances of irritation and infection, it's best not to use harsh chemicals on the freshly exposed skin. It's okay to rinse (not scrub) the tattoo with warm water in the shower, but it's best that you don't soak it in the bathtub. Soaking can cause the tattoo to not heal properly. Also, stay away from swimming pools, lakes, river, ponds, or any body of water that might contain bacteria.
We typically advise that you do not re-cover your tattoo after washing, but we've seen some that apply fresh covering afterwards (along with ointment) and their tattoos healed fine, slowly...but fine.
Keep it moisturized
We recommend our own tattoo aftercare (DORK +). Not only is it made by tattoo artists, it's also 100% natural. You can purchase our ointment in our shop.
If you don't already have some, you need to pick up a moisturizer for your tattoo. If you'd rather stick with the conventional ointment, we suggest Aquaphor. Our aftercare and Aquaphor are used to keep your tattoo moisturized, and keep harmful elements away during the healing process. This is important because as your tattoo heals it will become dried, scabby, and possibly exposed, if nothing is used. It's also to help keep your tattoo looking brighter and richer for longer. Depending on the ointment you use, you can irritate your skin and tattoo. This is why we only recommend our Collectors Care; or Aquaphor (if you must); or unscented, natural shea butter. Many tattoo artists use products such as A&D, which is fine, but in our experience, ours, and our customers bodies respond better to Aquaphor and/or 100% natural products, such as Collectors Care.
It is never a bad thing to apply some ointment. Do not overly saturate your fresh tattoo with ointment, especially when going out into the sun.
Keep in mind that petroleum based ointments (when applied heavily) tend to clog, or overly saturate the skin as it heals, preventing it from breathing properly.
Tips
Don't go out into bright, hot sun with a new tattoo
Don't overly saturate the fresh tattoo with ointment
Rinse your tattoo off in the shower, don't soak in the bath, or in a open body of water
Let your tattoo breath while healing
Use only unscented ointments, preferably natural ones