Tattoo aftercare is essential for ensuring that your tattoo heals properly and looks its best over time. It's the process that helps prevent infection, reduces the risk of scarring, and maintains the vibrancy of your new tattoo. Aftercare involves cleaning the tattoo gently, applying moisturizer, and protecting it from sun exposure and irritation. Proper aftercare promotes the healing process, reduces discomfort, and helps prevent complications like ink fading or infection.
The basics of tattoo aftercare are keeping the new tattoo clean and dry for a period of time while the new layers of skin are forming again, then adding moisturizer to help with that healing process. Many artists recommend that you avoid soaking in a tub or going swimming for the first couple of weeks after being tattooed and of course, everyone heals at a different rate, so it could be 2 weeks or it could be 4 before you are healed up and any of those time frames are normal.
It's important to avoid soaps or lotions with a lot of perfumes, dyes or irritants in them and that's different for everyone so use the products you're most comfortable with and it's common knowledge that the healing process can be SO ITCHY sometimes, but be sure to avoid picking or scratching as it might cause thicker scabs that take up the colour in your tattoo which could result in needing to have that area tattooed again.
Every shop and every artist out there will have different aftercare instructions based on their expertise and experiences and every client out there knows how their body heals and how long it takes, but not everyone knows what to expect during the healing process, especially if this is your first tattoo! So, here are some of the things you may experience during the healing process;
- slight swelling in the tattooed area
- redness and/or soreness in the tattooed area, that may feel similar to a mild sunburn
- flaking or scabbing in the days and weeks after your tattoo
- itchiness, dryness or tightness a few days after your tattoo
All of these are a normal part of healing while the skin starts to renew itself and shed the damaged layers.
Since tattooing creates tiny wounds in the skin to deposit the ink into, that makes tattoo aftercare necessary just like caring for any abrasion or cut or skin irritation and you want an aftercare product that will also soothe the itch and help the skin heal as well as prevent moisture loss.
We created Better Butter Care with all of these things in mind, incorporating anti-inflammatory ingredients such as cocoa butter and babassu seed oil to help with potential swelling or redness, anti-oxidant ingredients such as vitamin E and calendula to make it easier for your skin to heal up swiftly and with as little scabbing as possible. When the healing is done, Better Butter Care will be there to moisturize not only your healed tattoos, but keep the rest of your skin healthy as part of daily maintenance.
Let us know if you have any aftercare questions!