Many individuals make the mistake
of disregarding the fact that a tattoo is an injury to the skin and
think that they will not have to take any precautionary measures with
the healing process because the tattoo will heal on its own. They
forget that over the entire area of the tattoo, the skin has been
broken and a foreign substance was inserted beneath the skin. This is a
prime opportunity for bacteria and other harmful agents to enter the
body and cause an infection in the tattoo that can damage the health of
the individual and can be difficult to cure.

Taking
proper care of the tattoo beginning immediately after getting it is the
best way to avoid problems from occurring down the road. There are
specific instructions that have been written by medical professionals
regarding the care of tattoos for the weeks immediately following the
application of the tattoo and following these instructions to the
letter can reduce your chance of contracting an infection
significantly. The instructions are not difficult to follow and will
only take a few minutes of your time each day.

Many
of the products recommended by tattoo professionals for the aftercare
of the tattoo are based on their personal experiences with the
products. No tattoo artist worth their salt is completely free of
tattoos and many of them have used the products to assist in the
healing of their own tattoos in addition to receiving feedback from
their repeat customers about how well the products have worked for
them. For this reason, the products that are recommended by the tattoo
professionals for caring for the tattoo can vary from place to place,
even within the same city.

It is
important to ensure that you are not allergic to the products used to
care for the tattoo prior to obtaining the tattoo. In many cases, once
the person has made the decision that they are going to get a tattoo,
they will call the business where the tattoo will be obtained and
inquire about which products they will need to use to care for the
tattoo after the application. In many cases, the products recommended
are the similar to the items used on babies to cure diaper rash and are
just as safe to use.

After the tattoo
has been applied to the skin by the tattoo artist, the new body art
will be covered with a thin layer of protective ointment and a bandage
that must be left on for several hours. The tattoo artist will give the
customer a printed sheet of paper detailing the process for caring for
the tattoo over the next several weeks, which will including
instructions for washing the tattoo, applying protective ointment, and
how to keep your tattoo from fading.

A new tattoo will typically take as many as three weeks to heal
completely and during this time, the tattoo will need to be cared for
each day. Taking care of the tattoo will only take about a minute each
time and caring for the tattoo properly will ensure that the tattoo
remains bright and defined.

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