Caring for Your New Tattoo
Your tattoo is a permanent piece of art, and proper aftercare is essential to ensure it heals beautifully. Poor aftercare can affect healing and lead to permanent damage, so it’s important to follow these guidelines carefully.
Healing Without Second Skin
If you are using second skin for healing, please scroll down for the correct aftercare instructions.
Initial Care
Remove the wrap 30–60 minutes after your appointment and wash the tattoo thoroughly with cool to lukewarm water and a tattoo-specific cleanser or mild soap.
For better sleep and to protect your sheets, you can re-wrap your tattoo for the first night.
Stage 1: Wound Healing (First Few Days)
Your tattoo is an open wound and highly vulnerable to infection. Treat it like any other wound—keep it clean and monitor for redness.
Some redness is normal, but if it worsens or becomes concentrated in spots, irritation or a mild infection may be developing. This is not uncommon but should be addressed quickly to avoid damaging the tattoo.
Use the antiseptic cream provided sparingly for the first 2–3 days, or longer if redness persists. If you notice irritation or signs of infection, please contact us.
Stage 2: Skin Repair & Scabbing
Once the skin closes over, a light to moderate scab will form. This stage is all about nourishing the skin and preserving the scab for as long as possible.
If scabs come off prematurely (due to work, gym, clothing friction, etc.), it WILL damage the tattoo. Avoid activities that could cause this.
Over-moisturising can cause scabs to soften too much, leading to poor healing. Apply cream sparingly.
Once the scabs naturally flake off, increase moisturisation to help restore your skin’s health.
What to Avoid
To ensure the best healing, please avoid:
Excessive Moisture – No long showers, baths, or swimming until the scabs fall off naturally.
Sun Exposure – Keep the tattoo out of direct sunlight for at least a week.
Picking or Scratching – Let scabs fall off naturally to avoid damaging the tattoo.
Tight Clothing – Avoid fabrics that rub against the tattoo.
Dirty Environments – Keep the tattoo clean to prevent infection.
Over-Moisturising – Too much cream makes scabs mushy and affects healing.
What to Do
Follow these essential steps to support healing:
Wash Gently – Use mild soap and lukewarm water on the first night.
Protect Overnight – Wrap your tattoo in cling wrap for the first night to prevent irritation.
Apply Cream Sparingly – Use a tattoo-specific balm to keep the skin nourished without over-hydrating.
Monitor for Irritation – If redness or tenderness occurs, use a light antiseptic cream (e.g., Savlon) until it clears up.
Additional Notes
If you have any concerns, feel free to message us—we’re here to help.
The most critical healing period is the first 7–10 days, but full recovery takes a few weeks.
Patience and proper care will ensure your tattoo heals exactly as intended.
Taking these steps will protect your tattoo and keep it looking its best for years to come.
Recommended Tattoo Aftercare
I highly recommend Kinn Tattoo Care, a local Sunshine Coast based company making natural tattoo aftercare right here in Queensland. They offer aftercare, cleansers and skin prep to aid the healing of your tattoo.
You’ll also be given a small tub of Savlon Antiseptic cream on the day. This is great for the first 2-3 days when your tattoo is most vulnerable, after that however a dedicated tattoo balm will be better in nourishing your skin and healing your tattoo. If your tattoo shows signs or irritation or infection however, you might find antiseptic cream a better option to clear it up than regular tattoo balms.
Infection Warning Signs
These tattoos are both early stages of infection. Notice the isolated areas of red, this will be the first sign. The next sign will be yellow or coloured scabs (on a non coloured tattoo) and scabs that begin to be more like craters that go into the skin, rather than sit on top of the skin. Applying antiseptic cream like Savlon regularly (but lightly) and keeping the area clean should stop this and ease it, if it occurs. If Savlon is not settling it down, you might need to get a prescription for stronger antibiotic cream from a doctor to stop it from progressing.
Tattoo aftercare creams generally aren’t antiseptic, they’re more antibacterial in nature. They’re better for skin nourishment however if your tattoo is looking like these, you need something stronger.
This is an example of a severely infected tattoo. At this point you need medical attention and antibiotics to stop it getting worse. Severe tattoo infections can lead to serious illness and in some cases even amputation or death.
This tattoo infection will likely leave lifelong scarring
Healing With Second Skin
Second skin is a fantastic option for tattoo healing, especially in highly detailed tattoos where a lot of skin trauma is present, or where work environments put the tattoo at risk of infection or irritation. Please observe the above images of infected tattoos and monitor your own. If you notice signs of the above under your second skin, you need to remove it and start antiseptic cream. If you notice skin irritation and redness from the second skin, remove the skin.
DO NOT USE SECOND SKIN IF YOU ARE ALLERGIC TO BAND-AIDS or ADHESIVES
Saniderm, a company who make tattoo second skin, have a fantastic article on using second skin. I recommend you read this. There is also a YouTube video which shows how to apply the skin. Please use these resources below however reach out if you have any questions that they were not able to answer.
In my experience the best results come from using the second skin for a full 7 days, the closer to this the better. It is not advisable however to keep it wrapped if it is very wet under the skin. I find it best to re-wrap after a full day as re-wrapping too early could mean the tattoo is still weeping. You can apply antiseptic cream to your tattoo when you re-wrap it, however let the cream soak into your skin and then air it out for an hour - following this clean your tattoo and dry it thoroughly before applying the second skin. DO NOT APPLY CREAM DIRECTLY BEFORE WRAPPING YOUR TATTOO.