If using cling film: remove your cling film after 2-3 hours.

If using second skin: remove (in the shower) after 24 hours. Second skin is waterproof so you can still shower in the meantime, we don’t recommend leaving it on longer as any gunk sitting onto of your tattoo should be cleaned away after this time and allow your tattoo to breathe.

1. Gently clean the tattoo of any fluid/gunk sitting on top. Use gentle unscented soap and warm water. Do not use anything abrasive!

2. Either dry the piece with paper towels (like we use in the studio) Or let your piece air dry. It’s important to remember that your tattoo is an open wound and you should try to keep it from touching things, especially pets.

3. We don’t recommend moisturising straight away as you will find your tattoo is producing fluid/gunk on its own. To add moisturiser in will slow down the healing process and not allow your piece to breathe.

4. After two days, you may find your tattoo becomes dry/tight/itchy/uncomfortable this is when you should start to moisturise after cleaning and drying the piece. We recommend using something light, gentle and unscented although lots of people use Cocoa Butter and have no issues.

5. Repeat this process until the piece is healed: Clean, dry, moisturise.

   Healing time is very personal and depends on the style of tattoo (how much trauma the skin has endured), the size of the piece, your skin type and many more factors. If you are worried at any point just reach out to your artist and they can assist and re-assure.

Things to avoid until your tattoo is fully healed:

• Swimming/Sauna/Hot-tub/Soaking in a bath. Showers are okay, your tattoo should not be submerged for long periods of time while it is healing. Especially in hot water.

• Sun-beds and exposure to the sun. If you’re going outdoors, cover your healing tattoo with loose clothing to keep it protected. Once it is healed we recommend putting SPF on your tattoo(s) to help protect them from fading.

• Letting pets close to the fresh piece. While it’s hard to say no to a snuggle, it’s very easy to get an open wound contaminated. Best to keep them covered with clothing until healed when around pets.

• Itching, as impossible as it may feel try to resist the urge to itch! Sometimes if you itch a scab you can pull the ink that’s trying to settle out with the tab and leave yourself with gaps in your piece or faded sections. Moisturiser is your friend in these situations.

• Strenuous exercise should be avoided as it increases your blood flow and could make the initial first day of healing difficult. After that it’s mostly the risk of sweating a lot and that sweat sitting on your fresh tattoo and stretching the skin/tattoo depending on what you are doing. Best to avoid until your tattoo is fully healed.