Understanding aftercare for your sleeve tattoo is a great way to be more comfortable, knowledgeable, and proactive during your healing process. Our guide for sleeve tattoo aftercare will help you out. Remember to follow the instructions given to you by your tattoo artist as well, and reach out to them if you have any questions or concerns.The day you get your sleeve tattoo You will leave the tattoo parlor with a bandage or wrap covering your tattoo. You will likely be instructed to leave the bandage on for a few hours. When it’s time to take the bandage off, wash your tattoo well. Remember to be gentle because your tattoo is an open wound at this stage and you don’t want to cause damage by rubbing hard. However, although you should be gentle it is also important to wash thoroughly. We recommend you use warm water and a product especially designed to cleanse and promote healing for your sleeve tattoo. After you’ve washed your tattoo, let it air dry and then apply a sleeve tattoo aftercare product.
The first week after you get a sleeve tattoo
As part of our guide to sleeve tattoo aftercare, we want you to be prepared for any uncomfortable parts of the healing process. The first week it is normal to have some swelling, redness, and sometimes oozing. You should not have severe pain, burning, or redness that extends well outside the tattoo area. If you have any concerns about your healing process, start by checking in with your tattoo artist and seek medical attention if you’re worried. During this week, make sure to keep your tattoo clean. This includes washing it regularly to help minimize the risk of infection. Washing is particularly effective if you use a product like CBD foam soap, which removes blood and surface bacteria. During the first week there are some important things to avoid. First, you’ll want to protect your tattoo from the sun. Do not use sunblock on the area until your tattoo is fully healed. Instead, loose-fitting, sun protective clothing is a good choice. Also, avoid swimming or bathing. It’s ok to take short showers, but you do not want to immerse the tattoo in water.
Weeks 2 - 4 after you get a sleeve tattoo
Once you’ve made it through the first week, you’re getting closer to being healed. However, you’ll still want to follow our guide to sleeve tattoo aftercare. Over these few weeks you’ll want to keep being vigilant about washing your tattoo thoroughly but gently, avoiding sun, and avoiding swimming. CBD foam soap is a good product to continue using during this time. While you still may have some itching and irritation, you’re nearing the home stretch. If you have scabs, don’t worry… these are temporary. But keep in mind that you should NOT pick scabs. This can result in a longer healing process, or even damage to the look of the tattoo. Be very careful to allow scabs to fall off in their own time.
Remember that with sleeve tattoos, you will likely have multiple sessions. You’ll need to follow the guide to sleeve tattoo aftercare for each phase of the tattoo you get. It may seem like you’re endlessly washing an itchy, irritated tattoo, but the end is in sight. Putting the energy into caring for your sleeve tattoo while it heals can mean a better result in the long run. Pretty soon the aftercare phase will be behind you, and you’ll be loving the look of your ink. If you’re interested in using tattoo numbing products during your sessions, you can learn more aboutHUSH products here. People who get sleeve tattoos are some of our most enthusiastic customers because HUSH makes it much easier - and much more enjoyable - to sit through long sleeve tattoo sessions.
