There are many ways to heal a tattoo. I want to really emphasize this point, because there is more than one right way to heal a new tattoo properly. We’d like to take a few minutes to prepare you for what to expect before, during and after the tattoo process happens.

Before we ink your tattoo, we want to make sure that the skin being tattooed is ready. This means that you have used sunblock to protect the area to be tattooed. And be sure that you have protected not just the exact area of the actual tattoo to be done, but that you have protected a minimum of 3-4 inches outside the area, as well.

Please be aware that if you come to our Fort Lauderdale tattoo salon with a sunburn, we will request that you make another appointment when your skin has healed properly. We want your tattoo experience to be a good one, and we want to be sure we tattoo only healthy skin right from the start.

Preparing for Your Tattoo Appointment
The night before your tattoo be sure to get a very good night’s sleep. Sleep is not only critical for the healing of the tattoo, it is essential to the pain threshold of the work we do, as well. So get your rest!

In the morning of your tattoo appointment, make sure you consume ample fluids and food. Don’t skip this step, because you want to maintain a healthy blood sugar and keep your body in optimal shape for the process.

Don’t worry! As artists we will need to take breaks throughout your tattoo process, and we know you will appreciate a break too. Breaks serve as a way for us to refocus on your tattoo with fresh eyes, so that we can be sure to do only our best work for you. You can expect us to take a break every hour throughout the process.

By the way, there are plenty of locations around the tattoo studio for really good food and drink, so don’t worry about having to bring anything. If you are on a restricted diet, or you have a specific meal you wish to bring, we do have a refrigerator and toaster oven at the studio that you are welcome to use.

Alcohol and Tattooing Do Not Mix
On the topic of alcohol consumption and tattooing, the answer is simple. DO NOT DRINK BEFORE HAVING A TATTOO DONE. You see, alcohol is a blood thinner, and our experienced tattoo artists will end up wiping your fresh tattoo more than normal if you drink alcohol before your appointment. If you drink before your tattoo appointment, you will bleed much more frequently, and that will make tattooing a beautiful tattoo much more difficult.

Picture the artist tattooing you and you are bleeding excessively. Even though we may be wiping as diligently as possible to clear the blood so only tattoo pigment and rich colors are what we are introducing to the dermis, we run a HUGE risk of actually tattooing the blood back into the skin along with the color. This really depletes the richness of the color and gives a dull and dirty look to the vibrant colors. You’ll end up with a tattoo that looks a little lackluster.

We highly recommend that you stop drinking alcohol at least 2 days before you are tattooed to be sure there is no residual alcohol in your system.

The Healing Process
After your tattoo is completed, we will walk you step by step through the process you will need to follow to insure your tattoo will heal properly for you. We will not allow you to leave our studio until you have all the instructions necessary for healthy healing.

Here are a few things to remember. New tattoos are like finger magnets. Everybody, including family and friends, seem to want to touch a new tattoo. We strongly advise you to keep everyone away from your new work. The easiest way to get a new tattoo infected is to allow anyone and everyone to touch it. To steer clear of any chance of infection, be sure your hands are clean before touching the skin, and keep everyone else away from your new tattoo.

Take Care to Prevent Tattoo Infection
All of the artists in our Fort Lauderdale tattoo studio strongly believe that preventative measures when it comes to tattoo healing are worth their weight in gold. An ounce of prevention is worth it, please trust us.

Common sense comes into play, as well, with clean clothes and clean sheets on the bed when you go to sleep. Keeping your tattoo covered so that pets don’t get a chance to smell, lick, touch with a nose or a paw is also very important. Keeping bacteria and pathogens from getting into the freshly tattooed skin is of utmost importance.

For the next two weeks, we insist that you do not expose your new tattoo to any sunlight. Be sure you do not use any sunblock until your skin is completely healed. Sunblock on a fresh tattoo can really wreak havoc on the newly forming tissue, so it is definitely a bad idea. Wait until the healing is over before introducing any SPF.

A Healthy Diet is Good for Healing
Tattoos can take easily from 5 days to 10 days to heal. Of course, this is dependent on the health and dietary habits of the person getting tattooed. If you live on fast food, you can expect a longer healing process than if you choose a healthy diet.
Dark green vegetables and a healthy diet seem to be the best approach for the internal needs of healing a tattoo. If you wish to start a healthy diet a week before your tattoo, this will be a very good approach to a wonderfully healed tattoo.

Stevie has personally recommended that his clients start a supplement of Chlorella or Spirulina blue/green algae a week before the tattoo process. He recommends that you stay on that regimen for 2 weeks after the tattoo process to get insanely powerful results.

Remember, nutrition is the building block for your body that starts the healing process. The healthier you eat, the shorter your healing time should be.

Follow Our Instructions Carefully
Last but not least, the instructions that we will give you at the studio during your consult and your tattoo will be discussed in depth so that you have a thorough understanding of what to expect. We want you to give you the necessary information face to face so that you fully understand the entire process. And we want to be sure you ask any questions so that you have no surprises before, during or after your tattoo.

The information our tattoo artists will share with you has healed thousands of tattoos, so please depend on us to give you all of the help you need to be sure your tattoo heals properly. Most importantly of all, please be sure to ask us any time you have questions about your tattoo.