Taking Great Care of your new heARTwork:
- bodies are designed to heal - the less you do, the better!
Learn to stay out of your bodies way. For areola restoration, I do recommend buying a cheap formed (holds its shape) bra to keep your clothing off it, at least a cup size too big to give your tattoo some breathing space.
TAGADERM/SANIDERM
- Leave on uninterrupted for 3-7 days, the longer the better.
- remove carefully, pull away from tattoo, not back like a bandaid
- watch out for localized redness, heat or swelling, as well as fluid bubbles
- Text me a photo if any of those things are happening.
ABSORBANT BANDAGE - Leave on for 24 hours
- wash well in the shower, take off all excess fluid.
- Keep your tattoo dry so airborne bacteria won't cling to it.
- Shower like normal, but don't put cream on wet skin!!!
- mostly just leave your tattoo alone unless it feels dry and itchy - which is your body asking for moisture. It will be hard to feel this with damaged nerve endings so just please do NOT over-moisturize, as explained below
- you will receive specific instructions on how long to keep your original bandage on and what to do when you remove it.
- if anything just looks 'off' (other than basic wound healing stuff of course) - text me a photo of what's happening BEFORE you make a choice on what to do with it.
- plenty of tattoos have met their maker due to bad advice from well-meaning friends - make sure your tattoo professional is your FIRST point of contact - they want great results as bad as you do, I promise.
The 2 common things that cause damage to a healing tattoo are moisture and friction:
MOISTURE - Putting too much cream on it is culprit #1!!!
- I tell people to rub it all the way in and for some reason they hear 'slather'. DON'T DO IT!!! Keep your skin DRY!!!
- when the surface of your skin is basically dry to the touch, it is less likely to attract airborne bacteria, dander, pet hairs, etc... It is also less likely that your clothing will stick to it:
FRICTION - clothing rubbing on the healing wound or even sticking to it!!
- remember that every time your shirt rubs over your breast, that is a low-level friction on a healing wound.
- even though you might not be able to feel it because of the nature of the trauma, please pay attention to how this may be affecting those delicate new skin cells that are trying to form!
My most well-kept secret is BACTINE - a slight analgesic, antibacterial, antifungal - it will help dry your new tattoo out and prevent irritations for those of you who can't keep the tagaderm on for 5 days. Available at drug stores in the first aid or bandaid section.
products I don't love -
- aveeno (it's quite abrasive)
- honey/coconut oil (food products are not appropriate wound care)
- aloe vera, vitamin E, etc -type additives - chemical versions
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