DARK WATER TATTOOS

DarkWater Tattoo Aftercare

Taking good care of your tattoo is essential for proper healing.  As long as you follow these instructions, your tattoo will heal beautifully with no need of a touch up. Please do NOT listen to your friends.

The First Week

These first days of your tattoo healing process are the most important. Your tattoo will require constant attention. Your tattoo must constantly be clean and moist with ointment.

After 1 to 2 hours carefully remove the bandage. If any part of the bandage is stuck to your tattoo, try using warm water on top of the bandage and slowly peel it off. After removing the bandage, wash your tattoo with warm water and antibacterial soap, using your fingertips to remove all ointment, dried blood, and/or ink on and surrounding the tattoo. Do not wash the tattoo with anything abrasive (i.e. loofa, washcloth, paper towel). Pat it dry with a towel. Immediately after, apply a very thin layer of ointment to the tattoo. Do not use Neosporin, Preparation H, Vaseline, etc. We strongly suggest Vitamin A&D ointment or Aquaphor. It is extremely important to treat your new tattoo like an open wound, and only apply ointment with clean hands. Never re-bandage your tattoo!              

The first few days expect the tattooed area to have swelling, redness, and a secretion of a clear fluid (blood plasma). It will also be painful to the touch. It is very important to keep your tattoo clean by washing your tattoo throughout the day to remove the plasma. If you do not, the plasma will dry on your skin which results in scabs. Once a scab forms on the tattoo, the healing process takes longer, the tattoo will be very itchy, and you will risk losing ink in that part of the tattoo once healed.

Because your tattoo will be oozing plasma and constantly full of ointment, be careful with your clothing especially while sleeping.  The tattoo will stick to your clothing or bed sheets overnight. Do not sleep on your new tattoo.

The Next few Weeks

 Once you get over crunch time, the next few weeks are also very important. Still continue paying close attention in keeping your tattoo moist with ointment and scab-free. Do not pick or scratch your tattoo, especially at any scabs that may have formed. If your tattoo itches, it is dry, so apply ointment or lotion. At this point in the healing process it is OK to switch from using the ointment to a water-based, fragrance-free lotion (i.e. Lubriderm or Curel). Switching to lotion is suggested since it tends to be more comfortable. The lotion soaks into the skin rather than the ointment that stays on the surface. However, you do not want to start the healing process right away with lotion because it will cause a strong burning feeling on your fresh tattoo.

You can (and should!) shower with a new tattoo. Do NOT submerge your tattoo in water, meaning no swimming, baths, hot tubs, etc. for at least 3 weeks.

Keep your new tattoo out of the sun!  After the tattoo is healed. when planning to go in the sun simply apply 30SPF or higher sun block to keep you tattoo looking vibrant over the years.

Signs of an infected tattoo

An infection can produce many symptoms including increased pain, increasing redness, warmth greater than that of surrounding skin, red streaks coming from the tattoo site, pus or cloudy fluid coming from the tattoo area, a bad odor, swollen lymph nodes, and/or fever.    

Piercing Aftercare

Only handling your piercing with clean hands, wearing clean clothes and sleeping on clean sheets, and cleaning your piercing gently will help you stave off infection. Twisting and turning are not required and have proven to not be useful in healing piercings. Never use any harsh chemicals or ointments on your piercing such as iodine, rubbing alcohol, hydrogen peroxide, or antibiotic ointments as they will greatly impede the healing process and possibly cause damage to your skin.

Non-Oral Piercings(Facial, Ear, Below the Neck)

 DO NOT TOUCH YOUR PIERCING! Touching your piercing risks getting an infection. Your body will take care of the rest. To keep your piercing clean, simply let warm water run on it while showering. The warm water will gently take away the “crustees” that form on the piercing.

*Special note on Facial piercings: Do not apply make-up in the direct area of a piercing as this will clog the site and cause irritation.
*Special note on Ear piercings: Make sure to not put any public phones directly on a freshly pierced ear, make sure to use a tissue or barrier against bacteria. Disinfecting home or work telephones prior to use is also suggested to prevent irritation.
*Special note on piercings below the neck: Do not wear tight or restrictive clothing especially during the first four to six weeks; this can cause severe irritation especially to navel piercings. Also, make sure you do not wash your clothes in a detergent  that may agitate a fresh piercing, perfumes and bleaches  often do this. *Special note on Genital piercings: It is crucial to use limit sexual contact and use barriers (condoms, etc.) for at least the first three to six months to prevent infection and STDs

Oral Piercings (Tongue, Labret, Monroe, Medusa, Lip)

 DO NOT TOUCH YOUR PIERCING! Touching your piercing risks getting an infection. Avoid alcoholic drinks until your piercing is healed. Alcoholic drinks,

especially beer, may cause an infection. Also stay away from spicy foods the first few days, since they may irritate your piercing. With tongue piercings especially eat softer foods for first few days.  After every meal, cigarette, or beverage, rinse your mouth with diluted mouth wash (50% water/50%mouth wash). Refrain from open mouthed kissing and any oral sex until piercing is healed. Use a new toothbrush.

Signs of an infected piercing

Your piercing should look good and feel healthy every day. You should never experience extremes of pain, swelling, redness, heat, or discolored discharge from any piercing. The common signs of infection include excessive redness and tenderness around the piercing, prolonged bleeding, pus, or a change in your skin color around the piercing area. Infected piercings often secrete pus. Different colored pus indicates levels of infection – white pus is indicative of a very small infection or could be a secretion that’s part of the healing process. If you’re secreting yellow pus, the problem is more serious. Green pus indicates the most serious problem. If you suspect your piercing is infected, it’s important that you don’t remove the jewelry on your own. Let your doctor and/or piercing professional advise you in this matter. Jewelry can act as a drain for the fluids your body is producing. In some cases, removing the jewelry will cause an abscess.

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