In order to effectively heal a tattoo with a minimum of ink loss, one must clearly understand what exactly a fresh tattoo is. The process of professional tattooing involves a needle, or needles, rapidly penetrating the skin (300-400 penetrations per minute), and depositing pigment in the surface layers of the skin. This process abrades the skin, leaving it raw, inflamed, tender and liable to form Surface peeling or a scab. The ideal aftercare product for a new professional tattoo would be an organic balm that will achieve the following:
WHAT NOT TO USE
Historically, we as a society treat or body art as an infection. Some people tend to coat their fresh ink with antibiotics and antibacterial products and hope for the best. It is not surprising that we have had so many problems with our professional tattoo aftercare. This thought process or model uses a “get rid of” or “anti” strategy. Ideally, what we really need is the direct opposite. We need to encourage our body art to stay, look good and be durable. With this in mind, we DO NOT recommend using any petroleum based product, Neosporin, Bacitracin, A&D ointment or Vitamin E. None of these products are effective enough at reducing the possibility of scabbing which will increase ink loss or inflammation. Most of these mentioned products have a petroleum base that will not allow our body art to breathe. In order for the skin regeneration to occur oxygen is critical!
There is an old wisdom that demands that we should treat organic matter (i.e. our bodies) organically. With that in mind, the best aftercare for a tattoo would be organic as well. There is a big picture to consider when our bodies are out of balance. Healing our body art is simply a matter of bringing back the balance. Therefore aftercare becomes more than a matter of applying some sort of goop to the affected area. Our goal should be to soothe irritation and allow our bodies the correct state for self-healing and acceptance of our body art. Keep in mind that no amount of correct aftercare and product use will make up for poor lifestyle choices. Be aware of your body and keep the tattooed area clean. With care and attention you should be able to enjoy your body art for many years to come!