First off, congrats on your new tattoo, I hope you enjoy your new piece for a very long time to come!

Keep reading to find my instructions on the aftercare of your tattoo along with some tips.

You will find that all artists have slightly different suggestions with healing their tattoos, there’s no one right way, so instructions do vary!


When you leave the studio you will either leave with your tattoo wrapped using Derm Shield or Plastic Wrap.

If using Plastic Wrap, you will remove it either a couple hours after the tattoo session or the next morning, depending on the time we finish our tattoo session and what we have spoken about.

Once removed, you will thoroughly wash the area with antibacterial soap. Rinse the area well and pat dry with paper towel or clean wash cloth. Let air dry for a couple of minutes if possible, anywhere from 15-30min.

Apply a THIN amount of the indicated healing ointment/balm/lotion onto the fresh tattoo. I will typically recommend an ointment for the first couple of days and then switching over to a lighter moisturizing lotion.
I recommend Hustle Butter, CeraVe, Aveeno, Aquaphor.

If using Derm Shield, you will keep the bandaid on anywhere from 1-4 days total. You can change the bandaid once, 24 hours after initial application.

When removing, gently pull up a corner and pull back over itself. If it bothers a lot to remove, I recommend taking it off under running water while lathering the area up with a gentle soap. When removed, gently clean and pat dry the tattoo and surrounding area, ensuring there is no soap or any residue on the skin.

Peel off backing to expose adhesive side and position the Derm Shield over the tattoo with the adhesive side facing the skin. Gently apply using light pressure, starting from the center to the edges to eliminate air bubbles. Do not stretch the Derm Shield during application.

Once you’re done using Derm Shield, you will thoroughly wash the area with antibacterial soap. Rinse the area well and pat dry with paper towel or clean wash cloth. Let air dry for a couple of minutes if possible, anywhere from 15-30min.

Apply a THIN amount of the indicated healing ointment/balm/lotion onto the fresh tattoo.
I recommend Hustle Butter, CeraVe, Aveeno, Aquaphor.

When Derm Shield or Plastic Wrap comes off.

*Clean and moisturize twice daily (once in the morning and once at night) at least! You can do a third time if your tattoo is drying out quickly. We are trying to avoid your tattoo from drying up and scabbing.

*If there ends up being heavy scabbing/flaking please make sure to not pull at any scabs as this will remove some of the ink, keep moisturizing regularly and let any scabs and flakes fall off on their own. (Scabbing will only occur in really heavy saturated areas, my style typically doesn’t cause this to happen unless we’re working on heavy black outs)

*It’s recommended to avoid heavy soaking of the tattoo in water (pool,beach,bath,steam room) for about 2 weeks at least.. if the tattoo is not healed within the two weeks then this is recommended until the tattoo is fully healed, not flaking, scabbing anymore.

*If you submerge your tattoo in water, whether it’s a pool, beach, or the tub you will risk infection and messing up your tattoo. I will charge a retouch fee for these kinds of retouch as instructions were not followed. You will typically see the area become foggy/cloudy/grey as if the tattoo is blurring. This only happens from soaking the tattoo in liquid for long periods of time, think a dry scab soaking in a pool for long, it’ll get soggy.