My very first tattoo was a small feather on my right wrist. Years of deliberation on the image, its symbolic meaning, and its placement on my body, combined with the fear of doubt, meant it took ages to pull the trigger and have it done. But something happened at that appointment. Today, I am covered in tattoos, and what’s more, making the decision to get so much additional skin inked ended up taking a lot less time than the decision to get a tattoo in the first place. 

It seemed that once I started, I was hooked, and to this day I have not finished adding colourful pieces to my skin, wherever they may fit. That feather? It didn’t last — it started blurring pretty soon after it healed, and ended up disappearing under my right sleeve.

As soon as I started adding bigger pieces to my body, I quickly realized that larger tattoos needed a lot more after-care in order to heal nicely. From now on, I would have to be more aware of the skin products I used as well, ensuring that the hours of pain I endured wouldn’t be for nothing.

The day before: Tattoo pre-care

It’s time. You’ve spent ages thinking about the image you’d like to get on your body, and you’ve finally made a decision. You’ve found a shop you like, a quality artist, and you’re ready to change the way your body looks forever.

Whether you go for a smaller piece that can be finished within an hour or for a larger, multiple-session design, there are a few things you can do to ensure that your tattoo experience will go as smoothly as possible.

Firstly, don’t drink alcohol the night before your appointment (or even worse, before your appointment). This is not only because being hungover will feel pretty terrible as soon as you start to hear the buzz of the tattoo machine, but also because alcohol thins the blood, resulting in more bleeding, which makes it harder for the pigment to adhere to your skin and heal correctly.
Even if you’re a tattoo virgin, you’ll probably know that getting tattooed will hurt, and how much it hurts will vary depending on the placement on the body (the head, ribs, groin, hands, fingers, inner arm, elbow and inner forearm being the most notorious). Being hungover won’t make it any easier to bear the pain of getting inked, nor will it make the experience any more pleasurable for the artist, who has to be in close proximity to your body for hours.

Secondly, get a good night’s rest the night before, especially if you’re preparing for a long session. You might be surprised at how much getting tattooed can take out of you. No matter how big the piece, you’ll have to sit very still while the artist is working on you, sometimes with your limbs bent in awkward positions. Being well-rested will only make this process to go smoother.

Feeling nervous before your tattoo appointment? Good. Whether you’re getting your first and only piece done, or have been getting inked for years now, it’s quite a special ritual to go through. A few butterflies in your stomach will help with getting that first rush of adrenaline going as soon as the work starts, which will help tremendously with the pain.

Eat well before getting tattooed, and if it’s a long job, bring snacks for during and after: you’ll be asking quite a lot from your body in the next few hours, and feeling hungry and weak will just make it that much harder to handle the pain. Whole grains are recommended, together with fruits, such as bananas or berries. Basically, foods high in carbohydrates and protein will give you a nice base from which to draw energy in the hours to come. Try to prepare a healthy lunch or dinner for after the tattooing as well, so all you have to do when you come home is to heat it up. Getting tattooed can take a lot out of you, and you may feel physically exhausted or extremely sleepy afterwards.

Another thing to keep in mind is the clothing you’ll be wearing; it’s important to wear clothes that will allow easy access to the area where your tattoo will be applied. Also wear something that you’re ok with getting stained: not only will there sometimes be some ink splatter, but also wound-fluid or even blood. Avoid wearing wool and go with cotton instead. Most of the times, your fresh tattoo will be covered with a piece of plastic for at least the first few hours, but if not, you don’t want a scratchy sweater rubbing on your new, highly-sensitive tattoo.

During the tattooing process

As mentioned before, there will be some pain. The level of pain depends on the tattoo’s placement on the body, but also on the person getting inked — we all have different amounts of pain that we can handle. Here are a few tips I can give to help you get through it easier:

First, focus on your breathing, and try not to tense up. Not only will tensing up make it harder for the artist to do their work, it will only intensify the experience of pain. Instead, try to accept that this is happening to your body, and focus on inhaling deeply and exhaling slowly.
Certain meditation techniques have helped me through some of the most difficult spots (inner arm and elbow, for one, and worst of all, my fingers) and amazingly, I’ve even found myself drifting into a slight dose every now and then.

If you’re lying down or sitting in a position that allows you to read, go for it. Chatting with the artist can help too, but always check ahead if they’re ok with that, or if they prefer to work in silence to be able to concentrate.

Take breaks, but not too many. During a multiple-hour session, your artist will of course need breaks as well, after sitting hunched over you for long periods of time. However, after each break, you’ll notice that sometimes even hearing the tattoo machine starting to buzz might already make you feel phantom-pain. That first rush of adrenaline doesn’t last forever, and the faster the artist can work, by limiting the interruptions, the better your tattoo will end up looking, and the less pain you’ll have to sit through.

The day after: Short- and long-term aftercare

If you’ve already had ink done by multiple artists, you probably already know that opinions differ wildly on how to take care of a fresh tattoo. Each artist will give you different instructions, and it’s up to your own common sense to decide what works for you.
I can only speak from my personal experience, but there are a few basics that have worked so far:

As soon as your ink is done, the artist will most likely wipe off and disinfect the whole area before wrapping it with a thin layer or plastic, sometimes rubbing on a bit of Bepanthen (a cream often used in Europe after tattooing) on it before wrapping your tattoo.
The reason for using plastic is that it keeps the skin moist, ensuring that the tattoo doesn’t start crusting too soon, preventing the skin from bleeding, and with that, having some of the ink running out as well. At the same time, the plastic protects your fresh tattoo, which is basically a big wound, from coming into direct contact with clothes, other people, dirty surfaces, etc.

Opinions differ on how long plastic should be kept on: with small tattoos, you’ll most likely get the advice to keep the plastic on for a few hours, or until you get home, after which you wash your tattoo with disinfecting soap, put a thin layer of Bepanthen on it, and let the tattoo dry out and heal naturally without it being covered anymore, applying the cream with clean hands whenever needed.
With big pieces, however, I’ve gotten some mixed advice over the years myself, from leaving on the plastic overnight right after a session, to washing my tattoo as soon as I got home and re-wrapping it three times a day for the first four to seven days, each time washing it with disinfecting soap and creaming the tattoo up before wrapping it again.
Nowadays, I usually take the plastic off in the evening after a session, gently wash the tattoo during a shower, and directly after apply the cream and plastic, repeating this process for at least three to four days after the session. After those first days I stick to the disinfecting soap and cream until the first layers of scabbed skin come off, and only cream is needed to keep the skin moist and supple.
Since I tend to go for big, colourful pieces, the plastic gives a nice layer of protection during those first days, and at the same time prevents my clothes from getting stained or greasy from the cream. Over the years, I’ve noticed that the not-tattooed parts of my skin tend to get sensitive from the added plastic layer, and I try to move past that phase faster each time.

A sidenote on plastic and wrapping your fresh tattoo: if you decide to leave the plastic off and let your tattoo dry out, under no circumstance later wrap it back up again. Without the protective layer of plastic, your fresh tattoo is open to what ever kind of bacteria it may come into contact with. Adding plastic again after the tattoo has already dried out somewhat will only turn a new crust into a bacterial breathing ground. If you want to go for plastic for a couple of days, I’d recommend to wrap your tattoo immediately after each shower, or after each time you’ve washed your tattoo.

As for scabbing: it’s only natural. Never pick at the scabs, which kind of look like sunburnt pieces of skin, as this can damage parts of your tattoo that haven’t healed yet, and leave your tattoo looking blotchy. One thing you can do is to gently rub over your tattoo in circular motions in the shower during the shedding process, this way only removing parts of the skin that are ready to come off.

With a freshly healed tattoo, you still need to avoid taking baths or swimming in either swimming pools or fresh water for at least six to eight weeks, in order to ensure that your tattoo has healed fully to prevent infection. Sunbathing is also advised against, as the sun will make the ink fade all the more faster.

Tattoo after-aftercare

Once your tattoo is fully healed and looking awesome, how long it will look vibrant and fresh depends on your lifestyle and health choices.

Some fading over time is inevitable. How much your tattoo blurs or fades can almost never be predicted, but it can be prevented by not choosing a very small design, or simply avoiding parts of the body that are more prone to blurring. (And of course, by choosing an experienced artist who knows what they are doing.)

Drinking moderately, avoiding direct contact with the sun and eating healthy will ensure that your tattoo will look good for many years to come. For my skin, I only use organic, chemical-free (and perfume-free!) products on my body, and haven’t sprayed perfume on my skin, tattooed or not, for many years.

When it comes to sun protection, I’ve always used SPF 50, which I believed has helped maintain the bright look of the ink on my arms, even thought some parts are already more than eight years old. In the Amazingy webshop, you can find a multitude of organic body lotions and sunscreens that can help your healed tattoos to look great for years to come.
A great organic balm to use is Dr. Bronners Naked Body Balm, which not only has great benefits for dry skin, but also helps with making older tattoo’s appear fresher and brighter. The best part of this balm; not only does it contain hydrating jojoba, avocado and hemp oils, it’s also completely free of fragrance and synthetic ingredients.

What are your personal tips on tattoo pre- and after care? Feel free to share in the comment section below!