Care
The Tattoo Care Guide
The complete guide to caring for a tattoo, stage by stage.
Care by stage
Tattoo care for every stage.
Your tattoo lives in living skin. Here is what it needs at each stage, at a glance. For the detail and a plan with your dates, open The Guide.
Build my care planStage 01 · 21 days before
Prepare the canvas.
Calm, hydrated, unbroken skin takes ink well and heals well. The 3 weeks before your appointment are yours to get right.
The full stage in The Guide
Your countdown
- 6 weeks or more
Book a registered studio and get any moles checked. Speak to your doctor first if you take blood thinners, have diabetes or a skin condition, or are pregnant or breastfeeding. If you smoke, this is the time to stop.
- 21 days
Start PRIME on the area, a thin layer twice a day. Keep the skin out of the sun.
- 7 days
Pause retinoids, acids and scrubs on the area. No peels, waxing, laser or IPL there.
- 48 hours
No sunburn and no tanning. Go easy on alcohol.
- 24 hours
No alcohol. Keep caffeine moderate and sleep well. Leave shaving to your artist.
- 12 hours
Your last PRIME. Nothing else on the area from here.
- On the day
Shower, eat a proper meal and drink water. Wear loose clothes that give your artist easy access, and bring water and a snack.
Do
- Choose a registered studio and ask how they sterilise equipment.
- Have moles or spots checked first and ask your artist to work around them.
- Moisturise the area every day for the 3 weeks before.
- Keep the area out of the sun and away from tanning.
- Sleep well the night before. Rest helps your skin and your pain tolerance.
Avoid
- Alcohol in the 24 hours before your appointment.
- Arriving sunburnt, tanned or with broken or irritated skin on the area.
- Retinoids, acids, scrubs or peels on the area in the final week.
- Shaving the area yourself, unless your artist asks you to.
- Heavy creams on the day. Stop leave-on products 12 hours before.
Stage 02 · Day 0 to about 4 weeks
Recover. The weeks that shape how it settles.
Your skin is rebuilding over fresh ink. Keep it clean, lightly moisturised, covered from the sun and out of the water. Then let it be.
The full stage in The Guide
At a glance
- Day 0
Leave the covering on as long as your artist advises.
- Days 1 to 3
Covering off. Wash gently twice a day, pat dry, then a thin layer of LOCK. Raise a swollen limb.
- Days 4 to 7
Keep washing and moisturising lightly. Loose clothes, no soaking, no sun.
- Week 2
Never pick or scratch. Tap the itch and keep it lightly moisturised.
- Weeks 3 to 4
Keep going. Still no swimming or sun until there is no shine, flaking or tenderness.
- Weeks 4 to 8
Fully closed. Start SHIELD every day and book any touch-up.
- Months 2 to 6
Protect it from sun and friction.
Do
- Leave your covering on for as long as your artist advises.
- Wash gently twice a day, and after sweating.
- Apply a thin layer of LOCK. It should absorb within a few minutes.
- Wear loose, clean, breathable clothing over the tattoo.
- Sleep on clean sheets and keep pets off the bed for 2 weeks.
Avoid
- Picking, scratching or peeling flakes.
- Baths, pools, spas, the ocean, lakes or rivers until fully healed.
- Saunas and steam rooms until fully healed.
- Thick layers of any product, including petroleum jelly.
- Antibiotic or antiseptic creams, unless a doctor prescribes them.
Stage 03 · Once healed, for life
Protect. Healed is not finished.
Sun is the biggest cause of fading you can control. UVA reaches the layer where your ink sits, every day of the year, in every season.
The full stage in The Guide
Your daily routine
- 1Every morning
SHIELD on every exposed tattoo, as the final step of your routine, 20 minutes before you go out.
- 2Every 2 hours outdoors
Reapply, and again after swimming, sweating or towelling.
- 3Long days outside
Add a broad-spectrum SPF50 or SPF50+ sunscreen, clothing, a hat and shade.
Do
- Wait until your tattoo is fully healed before any sunscreen.
- Protect exposed tattoos every day, all year, not just in summer.
- Cover tattoos with clothing when the UV Index is 3 or above.
- Rinse off chlorine or salt water and moisturise after swimming.
- Tell any laser, IPL or MRI provider about your tattoos.
Avoid
- Solariums and sunlamps, at any stage.
- Relying on sunscreen alone for long periods in the sun.
- Laser hair removal or IPL directly over a tattoo.
- Ignoring a spot that changes in or near a tattoo.
- Assuming covered tattoos never see sun. Thin or wet fabric lets UV through.
Stage 04 · From about 3 years
Restore. Refresh the look of older ink.
Every tattoo softens with time. Skincare cannot add pigment back, but it can clear the dull surface that sits over your ink, so the work you have reads with more depth and definition.
The full stage in The Guide
What skincare can do
- Smooth and clarify the skin over your ink, so it reads more clearly.
- Hydrate for an instant look of depth and contrast.
- Improve the look of skin texture over time.
- Protect what remains with daily sun care.
What it cannot do
- Add pigment back into the skin.
- Sharpen lines that have spread over the years.
- Replace a touch-up where colour has dropped out.
Do
- Protect your tattoo from the sun every day. It is the best thing you can do for older ink.
- Keep tattooed skin moisturised. Hydrated skin shows ink more clearly.
- Choose gentle surface renewal, such as PHAs, over harsh scrubs.
- Introduce any new active slowly and stop if skin becomes irritated.
- Take a photo on day 1 and day 10 in the same light to judge results fairly.
Avoid
- Harsh scrubs, strong peels or abrasive tools on tattoos.
- Retinoids or acids on a tattoo that is still healing.
- Laser, IPL or deep resurfacing without telling the practitioner.
- Expecting any cream to put colour back. Only a touch-up adds pigment.
Your care plan
Get every step, with your dates.
Tell us your appointment date, age and placement. We will map your whole routine and add it to your calendar.
Top 10 mistakes
The habits that cost tattoos their clarity.
Top 10 mythsWhat people still believe, and what is true.
Ask our conciergeA real person, with an answer for your tattoo and your skin.
This guide is general skincare information, not medical advice. Always follow your artist’s instructions, and speak to your doctor if your tattoo looks infected, irritated or is not healing as expected.
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