My approach is simple: keep it clean, don’t overthink it.
DAY ONE
Three to four hours after your session, wash it in the shower with antibacterial soap and hot water. Get all the excess blood, lymph, plasma, and ink off. Get it genuinely clean. Wrap it again for the first night so it’s not making wet contact with your sheets or clothes. That’s just playing it safe.
DAYS TWO THROUGH FIVE
Start using Aquaphor or any plain, simple ointment. A super light layer, only enough to rub in, no more. You’re not glazing a donut. Apply it just enough that the tattoo isn’t drying out. If it feels fine, leave it alone. If it feels dry and tight, give it a little help. Listen to your body.
AFTER DAY FIVE
Switch to a plain white lotion: Eucerin, CeraVe, anything unscented with no color and no aloe. Same rule applies to every soap and lotion you use during healing: no scent, no color, no aloe. Keep helping it when it asks for help. Otherwise, let it get air and keep it clean. That’s it.
GENERAL TIMELINE
Most tattoos heal in ten days to two weeks. Bigger work takes a little longer. You can shower normally, but don’t submerge it or take baths until it’s fully healed.
WHEN TO ACTUALLY WORRY
You don’t need to worry about a tattoo unless it gets infected, and signs of infection look the same as they do with anything: fever, redness and heat radiating from the area, warm to the touch. Soreness, flaking, and a bit of blood and plasma are all normal. If you keep it clean and keep it from drying out, that’s about all you need to do.