Moisture

If your skin is dry or dehydrated, it is often more difficult to tattoo.

Dry or excess dead skin can clog our needles, and make the process more difficult and lengthy. It may also impact how “clean” the lines look, or how easily ink goes in.

My number one recommendation is to moisturise the area you want tattooed in the weeks prior.

If you notice you have excess dead skin (this is most often noticeable on the lower legs) you can exfoliate it the week before - however make sure you do this with at least 3 day in between exfoliating and your booking.

Don’t exfoliate the night before - if you accidentally go too rough you may cause scratches or irritation that cannot be tattooed over.

Being hydrated will also hydrate your skin - hydration is different to being moisturised. So ensure you have lots of water the days before and of your appointment

My personal routine is:

2 weeks before I get tattooed: I moisturise every day, morning and night

4 days before I get tattooed: I exfoliate the area gently

On the day I get tattooed: I shower beforehand and do not put any moisturiser on

Sun Damage

In Australia we have some pretty harsh UV conditions, so although we can’t reverse the years of childhood spent refusing sunscreen, we can try to make up for it now.

If you have a spot you’re saving for a tattoo, please sunscreen it! Or even better, please always use sunscreen.

Sometimes sun damage can cause the skin to harden and gives it an almost leathery texture - this means your artist may have to work out a different approach that can take longer than usual. It may also make it harder to get ink into the skin.

If you have an area you want tattooed that already had it’s fair share of UV, using a heavier moisturiser the weeks prior to your tattoo can make a big difference, but the biggest tip here is to prevent the sun damage in the first place!

The other important thing to mention here is we cannot tattoo sunburnt skin. So you’ll need to ensure you aren’t getting sunburnt in the week before your appointment.

During the healing process it’s so important your tattoo isn’t in direct sunlight, and sunscreen once healed will protect the longevity of your tattoo.