The Inked Perspective

Every artist you visit while getting a tattoo will tell you the same thing, “Keep it clean and don’t touch it”. For many, this advice is easy enough to follow. For others, unfortunately, further instruction is needed.

The European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology have a lovely pamphlet that goes over basic aftercare and signs of infection after getting tattooed. It doesn’t just go over infections, though, because there are a multitude of reasons a tattoo may not heal correctly. This can be due to infection, allergic reactions to ink, overworking the skin, and just the general fact that someone spent a lot of time sticking a needle in your skin over and over.

“The most important thing is to keep it clean and NOT touch it,” Darrien says. Darrien was a medical assistant in Southern Missouri for five years before becoming a stay-at-home mother. During her travels, she spent a week in a Dermatology clinic. When asked if she saw any infected tattoos, she visibly shudders.

“Yes, so there was this one girl that came in and had an allergic reaction to the ink in her tattoo. The first day she came in, it didn’t look that bad, just really red and angry.” Darrien says. “That third day, though, was rough. Her skin had rejected the ink to the point where the tattoo was literally sliding off.”

While the risk of having an allergic reaction to tattoo ink is small, around 10%, symptoms of an allergic reaction usually happen quickly. Bacterial infections, however, are more common and oftentimes more severe. A study done in 2016 even recorded one death attributed to bacteria living in the ink being used for a traditional Samoan tattoo.

These risks, while scary, are small and usually very preventable. “Wash it twice a day and don’t touch it,” Darrien tells us. For soap, she recommends using the “orange Dial anti-bacterial soap”. For aftercare cream, she recommends using an unscented lotion. When asked about petroleum based products, Darrien says “Any tattoo artist I’ve been to says to avoid them. While some products like Aquaphor and A+D ointment are ok to use on scabs, it shouldn’t be slathered on. Thick ointments like that tend to trap bacteria more than prevent it getting in.”

So, take it from the expert (and someone with multiple tattoos): “Keep it clean and don’t touch it!”