Tattoo Aftercare: Your best guideline to awareness
This is a serious tattoo maintenance guide, which clearly explains: why tattoos need maintenance? How to maintain them? The maintenance steps before, during and tattoo aftercare and the reasons why you should do so.
At the same time, I would like to point out that this is for reference only. If there are any inaccuracies or different opinions, you are welcome to correct me and discuss them.
The following text
1. Why do you need maintenance after tattooing?
First of all, we must understand that when a tattoo is completed, it means that it officially becomes a wound on the body. Because the tattoo process is to pierce the epidermis with a needle to bring the pigment into the space between the epidermis and the dermis , this process will inevitably destroy the integrity of the skin and cause a very small loss of normal tissue.
So, tattoo maintenance is: some maintenance measures taken to allow the wound caused by the tattoo to heal smoothly.
Then, we need to understand the extent of trauma that tattooing causes to the skin so that we can take the correct care measures.
As shown in the picture, the damage caused by a normal tattoo is roughly equivalent to a slight abrasion on the surface of the skin (some non-professional tattoo artists will cause deeper wounds to their customers, and poor hygiene conditions during the operation will also lead to a series of subsequent problems such as slow healing of the tattoo wound, so it is very necessary to choose a reliable tattoo shop).
2. How to maintain it?
The core idea of tattoo maintenance: keep it moist and prevent scabs.
We often mistakenly believe that scabs are a healthy sign of tattoo healing. In fact, when the tattoo wound is exposed to the air, its exudate, dead superficial skin fragments and pigment residues will be mixed and “dried” to form a hard “scab” . The hard scab will not only affect the healing speed of the tattoo wound, but it is also easy to break off prematurely, causing secondary injury, tattoo fading and infection, and even scar formation.
So, how do you keep a tattoo moisturized and heal smoothly?
3. Specific operation steps in the early and mid-term
Step 1
After the tattoo is completed, the entire tattoo surface should be cleaned to minimize cell damage and bacteria. The first choice is to rinse with saline (0.9% NaCl aqueous solution), because its osmotic pressure value is consistent with that of human cells and will not cause dehydration or excessive water absorption of cells on the tattoo surface.
Step 2
Apply a thin layer of medical vaseline to the tattoo . This step is usually done by the tattoo artist.
The chemical composition of Vaseline itself is particularly stable. It will not be absorbed by the skin when applied to the tattoo wound, and it will not irritate the skin. It can effectively prevent the invasion of microorganisms in the environment and allow the tattoo wound to heal quickly without external interference.
Step 3
Loosely wrap the tattoo with plastic wrap . The purpose of this step is physical protection, which effectively protects the applied Vaseline from being rubbed off by clothing, and also protects the tattoo from being touched or stuck to clothing, etc. This step is also completed by the tattoo artist.
Step 4
How long does the first package last?
Wrap it until tomorrow morning ! Usually, tattoos are done in the afternoon or evening. When you get home, you don’t need to remove the plastic wrap. Remove it the next morning when you wake up: first gently unwrap the plastic wrap , then use running warm water to thoroughly rinse the exudate and residual vaseline on the tattoo wound , then spray the tattoo wound with Bactroban spray to prevent infection and inflammation, and then wait for it to dry naturally. This step is done by yourself.
Many people may have questions about this part. The tattoo surface be soaked if it is wrapped for such a long time? Will it not be infected? Will it be suffocated if it is not breathable? The answer is none of them.
First of all
it will not blister: blistering is a manifestation of excessive absorption by the stratum corneum when water stays on the skin surface for a long time (wounds wrapped with band-aids will blister because band-aids themselves are impermeable and have poor water absorption). However, since we apply a layer of vaseline on the tattoo wound, it isolates the skin from absorbing water from the outside (as mentioned above, vaseline is extremely stable, it is insoluble in water, and it will not be absorbed by the skin). In addition, applying vaseline externally will not hinder the discharge of wound exudate. The real blockage is internal blockage (such as the formation of acne). It should be noted here that the plastic wrap must be wrapped loosely to ensure that the water in the exudate of the tattoo wound can evaporate normally.
Secondly
it will not be infected. Generally speaking, tattoo infection refers to the invasion of bacteria, fungi or viruses into the tattoo wound, causing inflammation. However, these bacteria, fungi, etc. will not appear on the tattoo wound out of thin air. They must be caused by external contact or the rapid reproduction of the existing parts in the closed and humid environment. The purpose of the above steps ②③ is to isolate external invasion. The skin sterilization and disinfection operation before tattooing and step. ① Ensure that the number of bacteria and fungi remaining on the tattoo wound itself remains within a safe threshold.
Of course, it will not be suffocated. Wound healing itself requires a low-oxygen and closed environment . Moreover, there is a mixed film of sweat and oil on the surface of normal skin. The tattoo process destroys this mixed film. Applying Vaseline is to form an oil film to replace this mixed film.
Step 5
Repeat steps ②③. Yes, you read it right, you need to continue cleaning, disinfecting, applying Vaseline and wrapping with plastic wrap . If you need to take a shower during this period, you can remove the plastic wrap and wash normally. Then continue to repeat steps ②③. You have to do this step yourself, don’t think it’s troublesome, compared to the trouble caused by the tattoo wound directly contacting clothes and the surface Vaseline rubbing everywhere, this trouble is really nothing.
How long will the package take in total?
The package is restored until the initial recovery.
Because everyone’s physique is different, the recovery situation cannot be generalized. Generally speaking, starting from the day of tattoo, the tattoo wound will have recovered initially by the 3rd or 4th day (after waking up, observe the amount of exudate on the tattoo wound to make a judgment. If the situation is similar to that after sleeping on normal skin for one night, it can be considered as initial recovery). There is no need to wrap it with plastic wrap. Just apply Vaseline or tattoo repair cream daily ( Bang brand tattoo repair cream is recommended , which can be searched on Taobao. It is a Spanish brand. You are not qualified to buy it even if you want to make a living, so just buy it with confidence), keep the tattoo wound moist, and keep it moist until the tattoo is moderately recovered (about 15 days from the day of tattoo).
In addition: If the tattoo area is small (the size of a cigarette box or smaller), you can ignore the above steps and directly spray the SOS liquid Band-Aid after step ① . After it falls off naturally, apply Vaseline or tattoo repair cream daily to keep the tattoo surface moist until the tattoo is moderately recovered.
4. What to do if you feel itchy?
During this tattoo maintenance process, the itching will not be severe. If you feel itchy, you can apply ice to solve it.
V. Other matters needing attention:
- During the tattoo recovery period, you should not drink alcohol and avoid eating foods that are prone to allergies or overly irritating foods (if you usually eat spicy food, you can eat spicy food after getting a tattoo).
- Avoid strenuous exercise to prevent strain on the tattoo surface.
- Do not go to the beach, sauna, swimming, etc. to avoid infection.
- You can take a normal bath, but you cannot soak in a bath, and avoid the soaking mentioned in step ④ above.
- Try to keep your tattoo out of direct sunlight.
6. Complete recovery and post-maintenance
It takes about half a year for a tattoo to fully recover. The reflection on it will fade and it will become the same as other normal skin. You may even forget that this piece of skin is actually different. In the future, just pay attention to sun protection .
The above is my personal opinion. Please think rationally before deciding whether to refer to or implement it. Thank you.
