Aftercare

Looking After Your Tattoo

Large-scale tattooing puts a fair amount of stress on the skin, especially when we’ve worked heavily with colour, solid black or multiple passes over a large area.

My general approach to healing is simple: keep it clean, don’t interfere with it and don’t keep it unnecessarily wet.

When it comes to cream, less is usually more.

Always follow any specific instructions given to you at your appointment.

Before you leave

What you’ll need

Pick up or have ready:

  • mild fragrance-free soap
  • clean disposable kitchen roll
  • clean, loose clothing for the area
  • a suitable tattoo balm or moisturiser

For moisturiser, keep it simple: choose something non-SPF, fragrance-free, ideally oil-based and non-comedogenic. I stock Hustle Butter at the studio if you want an easy option. It smells unreasonably good too.

The First Evening

Your tattoo will usually leave the studio wrapped in clean cling film. Leave this on for roughly 2 to 4 hours while you travel home and settle in.

When you remove it:

  • Wash your hands first.
  • Gently wash with warm water and mild fragrance-free soap.
  • Remove excess ink, plasma or residue without scrubbing.
  • Pat dry with clean disposable kitchen roll. Do not rub it.

After that, keep it clean and relatively dry. If it feels comfortable, leave it alone overnight. If it feels genuinely tight, use an extremely thin layer of suitable moisturiser or tattoo balm. You should barely be able to tell it is there.

Drier is generally better than smothering it.

Keep It Clean

Wash gently around twice a day using clean hands, warm water and fragrance-free soap, then pat it dry.

Large or colour-heavy tattoos can stay red, tender or slightly swollen for longer than a small tattoo. That can look dramatic, but it is often part of the early healing process.

Moisturise only when the skin feels dry or tight. It does not need to stay shiny with cream.

Avoid:

  • picking, scratching or dirty hands
  • tight or abrasive clothing
  • heavy friction over the tattoo
  • baths, pools, hot tubs and the sea
  • anything that keeps it soaked for prolonged periods
Less cream is more.

The Peeling Stage

The tattoo will normally begin drying, flaking and peeling. Heavier flakes or small scabs can happen where there has been solid colour, heavy black or repeated passes.

This does not automatically mean anything has gone wrong.

Leave it alone:

  • Do not pick it.
  • Do not pull loose skin away.
  • Do not scrub it.

Itching is common. Keep moisturising light. The tattoo can look dull or cloudy beneath the peeling skin for a while.

Settling Down

Most obvious peeling should now be finishing. The surface may look healed, but deeper layers are still settling.

Colour-heavy areas can stay slightly shiny or textured for longer. Keep treating the area sensibly and do not judge final colour or saturation too early.

The Finished Tattoo

Once the skin has completely settled, the tattoo should look much closer to its finished state. Large or heavily saturated areas can take longer than smaller tattoos.

Protect it from strong sunlight once healed. If anything looks lighter or uneven, don’t panic. Let it settle fully before deciding whether it needs touching up.

Second Skin

What About Adhesive Dressings?

Second-skin style adhesive dressings can be used for tattoo healing, and some people really like them. They are not my usual method.

With the size of many Openmind pieces, covering the tattoo effectively can become cumbersome, especially around joints and body movement.

I generally prefer initial cling film for the journey home, followed by a clean, relatively dry, open-healing approach. That is a preference based on how I work, not a claim that second skin is inherently wrong. If we use it for your tattoo, I’ll give you specific instructions at the appointment.

Showers, Baths & Swimming

Shower?

Absolutely. Keep it sensible and avoid prolonged blasting of hot water directly onto the tattoo.

Bath?

Avoid soaking it while healing.

Swimming pool, hot tub or sea?

Wait until it has fully healed. Prolonged soaking adds unnecessary irritation and bacteria exposure.

Use Common Sense

Movement, friction, sweat and shared gym equipment can make a large tattoo harder to heal.

You do not need to become completely inactive, but give it a chance to settle. A large thigh piece and hard leg day are not ideal companions. The first few days are a good time to take things slightly easier.

What Healing Can Look Like

Early redness, tenderness, mild swelling, warmth, plasma, flaking, peeling and itching can all happen while a tattoo heals.

Large and heavily worked tattoos can look fairly dramatic in the first few days. The important thing is that things should gradually be moving in the right direction.

Keep an Eye on It

If you are unsure about how the tattoo is healing, message me at any point. I’m always happy to talk through worries and help you work out what you are looking at.

Get medical advice if redness, swelling, heat or pain is getting worse rather than settling, especially if redness is spreading or you develop unusual yellow or green discharge, an unpleasant smell, fever or feel generally unwell.

If you are concerned about infection or illness, contact your GP or NHS 111 rather than waiting for me to diagnose it.

Let It Heal First

Give the tattoo time to fully settle before deciding whether it needs another pass.

Openmind work carried out at Mystic Workshop is covered by the Workshop Promise, including free touch-ups within three months where appropriate. Touch-ups are assessed once the tattoo has fully healed.

Read the Workshop Promise

Need Something Else?

Resources

Head back to the Resources hub for preparation, guides, FAQs and more.

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The Process

See how a custom or large-scale Openmind project develops from first idea to finished tattoo.

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