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Aftercare advice differs between artists, and this sheet is not medical advice. If your studio's routine differs from what is printed here, tell your client when you hand it over. The printed sheet already tells anyone worried about infection to see a doctor or urgent care, not the studio.
Looking after your new tattoo
Tonight
Leave the wrap on for the time your artist told you, and no longer. Wrap types vary: plastic wrap is often removed within a few hours, and a second-skin bandage is often left on for two to four days, but follow your artist's instructions for the specific product they used rather than either of those as a fixed rule.
Wash your hands. Take the wrap off under warm running water, wash the tattoo with unscented soap and your fingertips, and rinse until nothing feels slippery.
Pat it dry with a clean paper towel rather than a cloth towel. Leave it uncovered to breathe.
Expect some blood, ink and clear fluid on the wrap. That is normal on the first night.
Days two to fourteen
Wash it twice a day, morning and night, the same way.
After each wash, once it is dry, apply a thin layer of unscented moisturizer. If the tattoo looks shiny or greasy, you used too much.
It will scab and it will flake and it will itch. Let all of it fall off on its own.
Sleep in clean sheets and wear something loose over it.
Weeks three to six
The surface heals first and the skin underneath takes longer. Keep moisturizing while it looks dull or shiny.
Once it has finished flaking, sunscreen every time it is going to see daylight. Sun is what fades a tattoo, more than anything else you will do to it.
Not until it has healed
No picking, no scratching, no peeling anything that has not come away by itself.
No baths, pools, hot tubs, saunas, lakes, or ocean swimming. Showers are fine.
No gym, contact sports, or anything else that makes you sweat heavily, until your artist tells you it is healed enough. A week is typical, but ask your artist about the specific placement and size.
No tanning beds or sunbathing.
Nothing scented anywhere near it, and keep pets off it.
See a doctor or urgent care if
These can be signs of infection. Get medical care rather than calling the studio.
The redness keeps spreading outward instead of settling after two or three days.
It is hot to the touch, more swollen days later, or leaking anything thick or yellow.
You develop a fever.
Contact the studio for
Booking or moving your touch-up appointment.
Questions about how a healing tattoo is supposed to look or feel.
A patch that has come out patchy or light once it has fully healed. Many tattoos need a touch-up as a normal part of healing, not a sign anything went wrong.