The most important part of caring for any tattoo or piercing is cleanliness. Washing your hands with antibacterial soap, especially under the finger nails, for at least two minutes before touching or cleaning your tattoo or piercing will help avoid any negative problems. You should NEVER touch your tattoo or piercing without cleaning your hands first, as this is the number one way to contaminate and/or cause infection.
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H2Ocean Aftercare Products
We carry H2Ocean Aftercare products for every type of procedure we offer. These products have quickly become the industry standard for quality aftercare. Although we strongly recommend these products, make sure you are still following good hygiene and cleanliness principals unless told otherwise by your artist. If you have any questions about these products refer to the instructions on the side of the can.
Tattoo Aftercare
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The best way to take care of a tattoo is with regular cleaning and good hygiene. We suggest an unscented antibacterial soap like Dial, or Softsoap. Wash your hands like you normally would, and gently rub with your fingers, no wash cloths, just your hand. All you are cleaning off is plasma and whatever blood, if any, that has formed. There is no need to scrub, be gentle. Water is ok just do not soak for prolonged periods. Avoid hot tubs and swimming pools until it has healed. After cleaning with your hands only, rinse all the excess soap off with warm water, and then pat dry with a clean paper towel, no bath towels. Apply some unscented lotion, like Curel or something equivalent. Make sure you don’t have any excess lotion on the skin. Repeat this 2-3 times a day until healed. Your tattoo will become itchy, DO NOT scratch it! You can scratch the ink out and have tiny spots missing. Finally, if you are bandaged, leave it on until you get home and can clean it properly.
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Piercing Aftercare
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Body Piercing
All piercings on the outside of the body should be cleaned with an antibacterial water solution. All you need to get is Liquid Dial, Softsoap, or any other non-scented antibacterial soap. First, fill a little cup half way with warm water, then squirt a small pea size amount of your antibacterial soap in the cup. Mix with a q-tip until frothy. Use your q-tip to gently rub away any crusted matter that has formed around your piercing. Never pick or scratch at any piercing new or old, scarring will make any piercing look bad. After cleaning with q-tips and soap froth, rinse with water until all soap has been rinsed away. Also, if you have any threaded jewelry, consistently check your balls by spinning them right to tighten. Balls do come free, and we can’t be held responsible if you are negligent. Do not change your jewelry for at least 3-6 months, or unless told otherwise from your piercer. The body needs plenty of time to heal. If your piercing comes out for any amount of time while it’s healing, it could close up. Try to avoid any tight-fitting clothing that could rub or irritate your piercing, use your best judgment. Its common sense, but if it hurts stop doing it. It is completely normal for swelling to occur on any piercing. It can stay swollen for 2 weeks or more. Just be patient, and use Ibuprofen to help with the swelling.
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Oral Piercing
The mouth is one of the fastest healing parts of the body, but it is also one of the filthiest. So, NO foreign body fluids should touch your piercing! Your own fluids are sterile to your body, but other people’s fluids are not. We would prefer you use a mouth wash that is not alcohol based, like Biotene, but at the least use an antiseptic mouthwash. Whatever brand of mouthwash you use, just make sure you’re rinsing at least every 3 hours. Rinse with water in between regular rinsing. If you can take ibuprofen, we would suggest it to help with swelling and pain. Sea salt mouth rinses are also a great idea. Just mix 1 part sea salt to 5 parts water. Mix well, and swish it around for a minute or so, then rinse with water. If your piercing is also on the outside skin like a lip or Monroe, still follow basic cleaning instructions. If you smoke, we advise that you avoid doing so with any oral piercing. It can cause infections and slow down the healing process. Eating is different for everyone, but the general rule of thumb is that if it hurts don’t do it. Always rinse after eating. If infection does occur, we suggest using a product called Glyoxide. It’s an oral peroxide that can be purchased at any drugstore. Just follow instructions on the bottle.