Congratulations. You’ve been through the pain and paid the money for your new tattoo or piercing. I know better than anyone how much it sucks to sit in a chair for six hours while a tattoo artist drills you will a needle and hearing those beautiful word “It’s Done” feels fucking incredible. But you better not leave that shop thinking that all of the work is over and done with. Unfortunately, no matter the tattoo or piercing, there will be aftercare and it is vital that you keep up with in it. Tattoos are forever but failing to take care of a tattoo can result in some pretty stomach clenching results, like infection, loss of pigment, and scarring. And piercings can be even more of a battle field, as each piercing ranges from 2 months to a year to heal properly and failure to comply with your aftercare instructions can lead to infection, rejection, and migration of the piercing. Dealing with a healing tattoo or piercing is honestly a huge pain but believe me when I tell you that an infection is something that you should avoid at all costs. I’ll spare you the gore of showing you the gruesome pictures of what happens when your tattoo or piercing gets infected, but if you don’t believe me you can’t say that I didn’t warn you of the consequences of not following your aftercare instructions. But at the same time, I am sympathetic to the fact that many people aren’t informed of the proper aftercare techniques and how to best take care of a healing body modification. Here’s a brief rundown of the aftercare that EVERYONE (based on what I have learned from various piercers and tattoo artists over the past three years) should adhere to when it comes to taking care of a fresh tattoo or piercing.
Tattoo Aftercare
The most important piece of advice that any artist will tell you in reference to aftercare for a tattoo is that you should leave your tattoo alone. (SERIOUSLY). Do not scratch, peel, or itch a fresh tattoo under any circumstances even if your tattoo feels irritated. Your tattoo is going to scab and look weird for the first few weeks while it is healing and it will probably feel really itchy at times. Do not pick the scabs because this can cause the pigment of your tattoo to fall out or scab permanently. If you take into consideration all of the money that you spent and the pain that you went through to get this tattoo, you’ll want you tattoo to stay in pristine condition after the healing process has run it’s course. If it does get extremely itchy, pretend that you tattoo is like the tracks of your extensions and pat the itch instead of scratching it. You may look silly doing this but trust me, it works.
Another extremely important process of tattoo aftercare is keeping your tattoo clean. Your tattoo is essentially a fresh wound and you do not want it to get infected. Avoid soaps or lotions with fragrances or added chemical ingredients during the healing process; instead pat down a tattoo twice a day with a soapy piece of paper towel. Don’t scrub and avoid towels which can harbor bacteria. Do not go swimming (no pools, lakes, oceans) during the healing process. Neither the chlorine or the bacteria that lives in bodies of water are healthy for a tattoo. Make sure that whenever you wash or lotion your tattoo, you do it with clean hands. Also don’t let other people touch your healing tattoo because you have no idea what kind of germs that they’re caring around.Keep your tattoo lubricated. For the first two or three days you’ll want to use a tattoo ointment like A&D, Aquaphor, or Hustle Butter 3-5 times a day but make sure that you use a small amount. Instinctively you’ll want to lay it on thick, but this can cause your skin to break out in a rash. After the first few days, switch to an unscented lotion and apply this in light coats twice a day for the rest of the healing process.
Avoid harsh sunlight at all costs. Sunlight is a huge no-no for a healing tattoo and it can cause fading to rapidly accelerate. Keep your tats covered and after the healing process make sure to apply a healthy coat of sunscreen to your tattoo when going out in the sun. Staying sans-sun will keep your tattoo youthful for the long haul.
Piercing Aftercare
Taking care of a piercing could not be more different than taking care of a healing tattoo. While tattoos may take longer to complete, their healing time is significantly shorter and more simplified than a piercing. Aftercare varies depending on the piercing but by and large, your piercing will get infected if you do not take care of it properly. Your body recognizes a piercing as a foreign object and it does whatever it can to expel that piece of metal from your body. When you get a new piercing, it is important to understand that it will take time to care for your new piercing and that adhering to the healing process may not be smooth sailing. Yet no matter if your piercing is on your lobe or your nipple, there are a few universal steps of aftercare. Keep in mind that it is important to go to a reputable piercing that is using hygienic, medical grade equipment and jewelry and is trained in placement. But after you leave a licensed piercing, the well being of your piercing is determined by how well you take care of it.
Like a healing tattoo, it is important to keep your healing piercing clean and to leave that shit alone. Do not clean your piercing with dirty hands and do not play with your fresh piercing. These can both lead to infection and an extending healing process for your piercing. Wash your hands before you clean your piercing and make sure that you clean the piercing at least twice a day with a sea salt solution. Be sure to go over the percentage of salt to warm water with your piercer or purchase H2Ocean and apply with a q-tip. Some piercings may require you to submerge your piercing in the sea salt solution and you can do so by holding a small cup with your solution up to your piercing for a minute or two. If you have an oral piercing, make sure that you use an alcohol-free mouth wash as well during your healing process. If you run out of the sea salt, never fear. Just use an antibacterial soap to clean your piercing for the duration of the healing process. Remember to rinse off any soap or sea salt and dry your piercing carefully with a paper towel. You may feel compelled to pick at the crusties or puss that forms around your piercing but leave them be. Touching them can cause infection and can also result in scabbing.
Remember that you cannot change your jewelry until the piercing has healed and changing it to a smaller size may negatively affect the healing process. Be patient!
Keloids are common during and after the healing process of a piercing. Keloids are raised bumps of scar tissue that form around the piercing and their are most common when cartilage is pierced. Normally keloids reduce over time with the proper aftercare, yet if the keloid does not subside you can visit a dermatologist to get it removed. Often times people get keloids because they think that their piercing is fully healed and they stop taking care of the piercing.
It is important to remember that unlike tattoos, which are mostly universal, every piercing heals differently. Some piercings require a relatively short healing process, while others can take months to adjust. Here is a quick list of the estimated* healing times for each piercing and how long that you should wait before you change your jewelry.
Lobes: 3-9 weeks
Tragus/Anti-tragus: 4-8 months
Helix (cartilage)/Rook/Daith/Conch/Industrial/Orbital: 6-12 months
Septum: 1-3 months
Nostril: 2-3 months
Tongue: 4-6 weeks
Cheek: 3-4 months
Lip/Labret/Monroe/Dahlias/Medusa: 10-14 weeks
Eyebrow: 2-4 months
Nipple: 2-12 months
Bridge: 8-10 weeks
Navel: 4-12 months
Dermals: 3 months-12 months**
Female Genitalia: 2-6 weeks
*Keep in mind that everyone’s piercings heal differently. Your nose piercing may have only taken a month to heal but someone else’s could take 3 months. It is all relative to your own body and how you approach after care. I sourced http://www.tattoosforever.com/piercing-healing-times/ for my timeline but you can ask any licensed piercer what they recommend for aftercare.
** Remember that dermals are in a league of their own as far as healing and you should be informed before you take the plunge http://www.hercampus.com/school/hofstra/body-mod-blog-all-about-dermal-piercings
Please guys, take care of your body modifications! You’ll thank me in the long run, I promise.