01. Remove protective dressing 1-2 hours after receiving your tattoo.

02. Gently wash your tattoo with lukewarm water and mild soap. Pat dry and apply a thin layer of either Bacitracin ointment or A&D antibiotic ointment. Avoid ointments that contain pain relief. Neosporin works well but may tend to draw color out (varies from person to person).

03. Do not re-bandage your tattoo.

04. Keep your tattoo clean at all times! (Rule of thumb is to treat it the same way you would a minor cut).

05. Avoid covering your tattoo. When possible expose your tattoo to fresh air as it will heal faster when it can breathe.

06. Keep your tattoo out of direct sunlight and tanning beds.

07. Keep your tattoo out of chlorinated water (pools/hot tubs/swimming parks), lakes, and oceans. When bathing simply allow water to run over tattoo and pat dry.

08. After 2-3 days a light crust (scab) will form. DO NOT PICK OR SCRATCH YOUR TATTOO! This is natures way of healing and doing so can alter the way your tattoo will look once it has healed.

09. Continue to use the antibiotic ointment until the crust (scab) is gone, after that a vitamin rich skin moiturizer may be applied.

10. Your tattoo should be completely healed within 7-10 days, however all healing may vary from person to person. To keep your tattoo looking good we recommend a good sunblock to protect it from harmful UV rays.

**Note: After care instructions will vary from studio to studio. However, they all follow similar guidelines. When all else fails treat your tattoo the same way you would treat a minor cut or wound.