+ how to heal a tattoo
+ by lish, crank@got.net


	follow this exactly.

+ the short version:

	don't keep any sort of covering past hour five or so. (i do better
if i leave on the shop's thick coat of vaseline & paper towels for 4-6
hours. i discovered this completely by accident & i can only figure it's
because of the bleeding involved, as my body is not generally a friend to
petroleum.) you should NOT have left the shop with saran wrap on your
body. saran wrap is not meant to touch your FOOD, let alone your open
wounds.

	days one & two: every few hours (starting at 4-6 hours
post-tattoo, when you remove the bandage), wash gently with warm water &
your favorite soap. it does not need to be "antibacterial" soap; all soap
is, by its very nature, antibacterial. i've found gentle facial soaps like
"purpose" to be very good at cutting the vaseline & lymph. wash until the
skin is no longer slimy-feeling, & BLOT yourself dry with a paper towel.
(viva are the softest.) this keeps lymph down, & keeps the scabs light.
dry, your arm should not be shiny - if the skin is not matte, you did not
wash it thoroughly enough. the tattooed skin will tingle after this
treatment; this is normal, so don't fret.

	days three through healing: moisturize lightly with any unscented,
non-petroleum lotion. this keeps the piece flexible so you don't crack
what thin scabs there are.

	do not soak. do not pick. do not peel. you do not need A&D,
vaseline, neosporin, bacitracin, tattoo goo, bactine, betadyne, or
anything else that will likely be recommended to you. a tattoo is a
precision abrasion & your body can heal it fine without the goop.


+ details for the detail-oriented:

	you should leave the fresh tattoo alone, only washing it as
described above, until it feels tight. at that point moisturizing is the
thing to do. many people start moisturizing right away, & i think that
causes some problems. even gentle curel wasn't meant to be put on open
wounds.

	the reason you're washing it is to keep the lymph down. if you
keep the lymph down, you keep the scabbing light. & by keeping the
scabbing light, you have more freedom of movement, you're less likely to
crack the scabs, & you don't wake up stuck to the bedsheets. (well, you
don't wake up stuck by your tattoo, anyhow. see a psychologist, you
sicko.)

	once the scabs form, you don't want to get it wet. washing off a
hard or semi-hard scab is not the same as washing off gooey lymph. this is
the point where you start using lotion to keep the tattoo supple. LOTION,
meaning nothing with a white petroleum base & nothing antibacterial. don't
drown it, just use the lotion whenever it feels tight.

        that's it. you'll flake & you'll heal & you'll thank me.

	judge the coloration and solidness of the ink after the skin
returns to a normal texture. ideally, the tattooed skin should be
indistinguishable from non-tattooed skin. seek touchups as necessary after
this point, but don't go crying about "my black tribal dolphin looks gray"
& "my taz isn't solid in some spots" until the damned thing actually
heals.


+ solving problems:

	tattoos done in a professional, sterile environment are not likely
to become infected or bleed terrifically, & so these issues will not be
covered here. it IS likely, however, that you will experience some
fantastic itchiness during the healing process. slapping at the skin can
be helpful, or scratching is allowed PROVIDED you scratch ONLY the
NON-TATTOOED skin surrounding the new work. do NOT pick scabs. do NOT
scratch the unhealed skin. choosing a non-petroleum lotion with a strong
(or even mild) fragrance can burn in a very itch-relieving way & will not
harm your tattoo, but this method is not recommended for pussies (or those
with allergies).

	so, it's been a full month. you've followed this text to the
letter & have successfully gone through the initial flake & the onionskin
shed. & yet all is not well, you say? here are the most common
post-healing problems & what you can do about them.

- scar tissue

	if the artist went too deep or worked the skin too much, if you're
prone to keloids or other outrageous scarring, if you had an allergic
reaction to something, if you picked the scabs, or a skillion other
things, you may experience raised scar tissue over part or all of your new
tattoo. the best recourse against scarring is tissue massage. some people
will say ONLY to use one product or another, but the important part is the
massage itself. so use olive oil, vitamin e oil, hand lotion, cocoa
butter, or nearly anything else that helps you to thoroughly massage the
scarred tissue. fully cleanse yourself of the extra when you're finished.
you should spend five or ten minutes several times a day doing this,
depending on the degree of scarring. working the tissue like this
strengthens bloodflow & encourages the tissue to act as it should.

- blotchiness, blurriness, vacations

	it's important to judge this only AFTER you've fully healed, at
the point that your skin has returned to normal (or thereabouts). if your
tattoo looks blotchy or has "vacations" (areas that didn't take ink), it
will need a touchup. most artists offer touchups for free or a nominal fee
depending on the size of the problem. if you picked the scabs, don't
expect a free ride - it's pretty obvious when someone's been picking.

	if your tattoo looks blurry around the edges, this is a different
problem. blurriness is nearly always caused by an artist putting his
needles in too deeply - the ink spreads to immediate surrounding tissue &
gives a hazy & undesirable effect. this can be relieved with a touchup,
but a different artist is recommended. the blurriness will need to be
tattooed over, which will very slightly expand the existing work.
sometimes the blur can be covered in white, which gives a different &
sometimes preferable look to a piece.

- black looking gray

	if your black ink looks gray or your colors otherwise are not what
you want, you MAY be able to have them touched up. but you need to first
realize that you're seeing the ink THROUGH layers of skin, much like
looking through a window. if the window is tinted (ie your skin tone),
what you see through it will appear differently. a very dark gray may be
the best that will show up on your skin, so accept it if a respected
artist tells you your piece is perfect.


+ the most important part:

	do your research FIRST, BEFORE you get to the tattooist's chair.
shitty tattoos can be removed, but it's outrageously expensive & they will
never fully be gone. spending a day or three or ninety doing research
about which artist is right for you & how your tattoo should be applied
will save you the rest of your life in regret.


[ related text - how to heal all piercings:
  http://compunction.org/healing2.txt ]