1. Follow aftercare tips.

The healing process right after getting inked is possibly the most important phase that you need to know a lot about. The instructions for tattoo care on the first day is very different for the following days so you have to observe it carefully. As the ink will be freshest and your skin will be the rawest during this time, you have to be very careful when caring for your body art right after the session.

Fortunately, there are tons of information about post-session care. Your tattoo artist will give you tattoo care instructions that you should follow carefully. Lots of experts also shared their tips online on what to do after getting a tattoo, so you just need to find the most reliable ones.

2. Use the right products.

After getting a tattoo, you’ll need to keep it clean and moisturized for the wounds to heal properly and quickly. However, you can’t just use the first soap or moisturizer to get the job done. Due to the sensitivity of your ink, you need to be careful when choosing the right products on them.

What to put on a fresh tattoo? Experts recommend using the mildest of soaps for cleaning. Some recommend using mild antibacterial soap as well but if your skin tends to get very dry, it might be better to avoid them so your skin won’t get too dehydrated. Avoid fragrant cleansers as well as they can also cause irritation.

 Mild, lightweight, and unscented moisturizers are also preferred by experts and dermatologists for fresh ink. They’re less likely to irritate your skin and clog your pores which can cause more complications.

Some tattoo artists will also recommend a tattoo ointment or other tattoo treatments and they’re typically worth considering. You can also ask your tattoo artist which products they recommend that you use for your aftercare process.

3. Stay hydrated.

To ensure that your skin will heal properly, you should also keep yourself hydrated. Drinking lots of water helps keep the skin plump and moisturized, so this is possibly the easiest of all the tattoo care tips available on this list.

4. Don’t soak your fresh ink in liquid.

While you need to keep your tattoo moisturized, it doesn’t mean that you can have it soaked, especially during its first few weeks of healing. So avoid baths, pools, and other occasions where you’ll get your tattoo soaked. Not only will that cause scabs to get softer and sloughed off while they’re not ready yet, but such activities can also put your open wounds at risk of infections.

Keeping the tattoo dry but moisturized is key to faster healing. Avoid keeping it wet with moisturizer, too, as that will also slow down the skin’s recovery time.

5. Avoid stretching your skin too much during the healing stage.

Another important thing to remember when trying to speed up the healing process of your new ink is to not stretch your skin too much while it hasn’t recovered from the trauma yet. Exercising and other strenuous activities that can cause the skin near the tattoo to stretch will affect the repair process and cause new damages. So if you want to complete your list of things to do on how to care for a tattoo, include this entry and keep it in mind.