AFTERCARE

• Following your tattoo session, your artist will clean down the area and wrap up your tattoo with glad wrap. In around 2 hours following your appointment, take a shower and remove the glad wrap, you can use a small amount of foam soap and gently wipe and clean the area so it’s smooth, removing any blood or blood plasma that has dried on your skin. Re-wrap with FRESH glad wrap (please do not re-use the glad wrap from the studio).

• Repeat this process again right before you go to bed. Clean the area, wipe it down until it’s smooth, then re-wrap.

  If it isn’t possible to re-wrap with glad wrap please don’t worry too much, but we do recommend keeping it covered for at least the first night, unless specifically mentioned by us.

• In the morning, remove the cling film (if you have wrapped it for the first night), and follow the above steps to give it a really good wash, ensuring no blood etc is stuck to the skin. It’s especially important to give the tattoo a really good clean on this first morning. Please note, it will be quite gross the morning after, but don’t worry, this is just the blood plasma being tinted by the ink and is completely normal!

• We don’t necessarily recommend re-wrapping it following this, just keep it clean during the day. In the afternoon, give the area one more really good wash, wash anything that’s dried onto the skin off, make it nice and smooth like it was directly after your session. At this point, apply a small amount of cream (just a pea sized amount) and rub it in gently to all areas of the tattoo. Continue to apply cream once a day for two weeks.

You'll notice the tattoo will start to peel like sunburn after 3-5 days, totally normal, do NOT pick the flaky skin! Any heavier scabbing, use even less cream (or none at all) and allow it to dry out. Any loose skin should fall off in the shower when it’s washed.

It may get itchy but do not scratch, you can however slap it! Most people find that helps.

Products like Second Skin are intended to seal your fresh tattoo off from bacteria and dirt, to promote faster, cleaner and safer healing.

If you would like to use Second Skin or a similar product, please consult with your artist. There are a few variables that affect its suitability, including placement and size of your tattoo. Your artist will be able to best advise you on the optimum method for healing.

If you are using Second Skin, in the hours after your session, you may see some pooling of plasma and discharged colour which may make the tattoo appear murky. Fresh tattoos do leak plasma and ink, so as long as it’s not leaking out of the film and the tattoo is still sealed and protected from air/bacteria, this is normal and part of the healing process.

Keep the Second skin on for 3 to 5 days, it is not recommended to wear it past this time.

Once Second skin is removed, wash your tattoo well with warm soapy water ensuring to remove any stuck plasma (do not exfoliate or rub with anything rough) and pat dry with a clean towel. For a few days following this your new tattoo might feel dry and flakey, make sure to use the aftercare cream supplied by your artist once a day.

If your skin around the tattoo is showing signs of redness and irritation with the dressing on, it may be reacting to the adhesive of the Second Skin. Remove the dressing immediately, wash well as above and dry with a clean towel. Do not use any aftercare cream until any redness or irritation is gone.

Like any other method of healing, if there is any redness/irritation, pain or odd smell around the area of the tattoo itself, this could indicate infection so please be mindful and consult with a doctor, antibiotics or an antibacterial cream like Bepanthen may be required.

If you have absolutely any questions please don’t hesitate to reach out to us. Thank you!

For further info, please visit:

https://secondskin.ink/products

https://www.saniderm.com/

https://www.3mnz.co.nz/3M/en_NZ/p/c/b/tegaderm/i/health-care/medical/