Aftercare for Tattoos & Piercings
The photos below are a timeline of the tattoo healing process.
General Aftercare
All of my piercings are done with the highest quality of stainless steel and come prepackaged and sterilized. I do recommend that you keep the initial piece of jewelry in for the entire healing process. If, for whatever reason you would like the jewelry removed during the healing process, contact SoulShine and make an appointment to have it removed.
Wash your hands prior to touching the piercing before you clean it. Don't play or fiddle with it throughout the day, it will take much longer to heal and can cause protruding scar tissue known as a keloid. Clean your piercing with a saline solution (contact solution) using a Q-tip or cotton ball 3 times a day. DO NOT use rubbing alcohol, ointments, hydrogen peroxide, or hibiclens. Just use the saline solution 3 times a day and an antibacterial soap while showering, trust me, I did the piercing not the guy at the store.
It is not necessary to rotate the jewelry throughout the day except while cleaning it. In the shower, use an antibacterial soap to clean your piercing but make sure all the soap is cleaned out from the area. DO NOT use shampoos or cream rinses to clean your piercing. Showering is much safer than taking a bath, because bathtubs harbor bacteria and submerging your piercing for a significant amount of time will prolong the healing process.
During the healing process, a secretion of whitish-yellow fluid called plasma (not pus) will form crust on the jewelry. It is very important that you DO NOT PICK THE PLASMA CRUST, this will invite an infection, so allow the plasma to crust around the jewelry and fall off naturally.
If the piercing was done inside your mouth or on your lip, use mouthwash at least 3 times a day, after every meal, and before you go to sleep. If you are of legal drinking age, DO NOT DRINK BEER, the yeast can cause an infection inside your mouth. If you must imbibe, drink hard liquor and make sure you use mouthwash before falling asleep.
Lastly, do no use makeup or other personal care products like lotion on or around the piercing. Leave jewelry in at all times if want to keep your piercing because even old, well healed piercings can shrink and close in minutes if you remove it.
Piercing Aftercare
Tattoo Aftercare
Cleaning
Leave your bandage on for one to three hours. After removing the bandage,gently wash the area with warm water and antibacterial soap. Wash with clean hands ONLY, do not scrub with a loofa. Pat dry with a clean, disposable paper towel- not toilet paper or fibrous brown paper towels, do not use a regular towel. Never touch the tattoo unless your hands are clean. For the first day or two your tattoo may 'sweat', this secretion is called plasma. Constantly clean off the plasma until it stops coming to the surface of your tattoo, by doing so you will avoid a thick scab during your healing process.
For the next week and a half, gently wash the tattoo three times per day unless you are involved in sweaty activities- in that case you must was more often. After cleaning the tattoo apply a thin coat of a fragrance free lotion such as Lubriderm or a Cocoa Butter.
After the first few days to a week the tattoo will begin to itch and peel. DO NOT PICK AT YOUR TATTOO. Allow the tattoo to naturally peel from your skin, if you do not you will pick out spots of ink throughout your artwork and need touch-ups.
Your tattoo will heal and peel within a week and a half or less.
Caution
Until your tattoo is fully healed, DO NOT submerge it in chlorine pools, hot tubs, lake or ocean water, and DO NOT allow it to be in tanning bed lights or direct sunlight. Please, DO NOT PUT SUNBLOCK on the tattoo thinking you will be able to expose it to direct sunlight or tanning beds. After your tattoo has healed and peeled I do suggest that you use at least an SPF 50 sunblock to prevent the ink from fading.