Aftercare
The first two weeks decide how the tattoo will look for years. If anything worries you, write to me — I would rather answer a hundred messages than have you guess.
Leave the film on
Keep it on for as long as I tell you, usually somewhere between 1-3days. Fluid collecting under it is lymph, it is normal, and it dries up on its own.
Wash it, gently
Warm water and unscented liquid soap, with your hand — no washcloth, no rubbing. Pat it dry with a paper towel, not with the towel everyone in the house uses.
Thin layer of cream
Something cream with dexpanthenol, a thin layer two or three times a day for about ten days. Put more on whenever the skin feels dry. A thick layer does not heal it faster, it only suffocates it.
Let it peel
Around day four it starts to flake. Do not pick the crust and do not scratch, however much it itches — it comes off by itself.
Sunscreen, forever
Once it has healed, sunscreen every time it is out in the sun. This is the single thing that keeps the lines black.
If something feels wrong
Redness that spreads, heat, pus, fever — write to me the same day and send a photo. You are never bothering me.
Please don't
No pool, sea, sauna or gym for two weeks. No sunbathing. Don't scratch it and don't pull the crust off, however much it itches. And don't let the cat sleep on it — I know how that sounds, but it happens.