Banger Tattoo Care

Some peeling is normal. Every tattoo peels. The question is not whether yours is peeling but whether the way it is peeling falls within the range that produces a well-healed result or outside it. Thin translucent flaking that releases on its own is the biology working correctly. Thick adherent scabbing that pulls when it lifts is not — and the most common cause is not the tattoo itself. It is what was used to clean it.

Night one after a new tattoo is the hardest. Here is exactly how to protect your ink while you sleep — positions, covers, morning wash protocol, and what to do when things go wrong.

Vaseline has been part of tattoo aftercare longer than almost any other product recommendation. The problem is that it is 100 percent petrolatum — nothing else. Petrolatum creates an impermeable seal that traps wound fluids, blocks oxygen to the beneficial bacteria protecting the wound, and produces a thicker more disruptive peeling phase than any breathable alternative. Here is the biology behind why, and what the updated protocol looks like.

Aquaphor has been the default tattoo and microblading aftercare recommendation for decades. The science says it should not be. Here is exactly what petroleum does to healing tattooed skin, why the PMU industry is especially overexposed to this problem, and what the biology actually calls for.

Most tattoo aftercare advice is stuck in 2005. Use antibacterial soap. Apply Vaseline. Keep it wrapped. The science has moved. Here is what is actually happening to your tattoo week by week — and why the soap recommendations most artists still give are based on a claim the FDA officially debunked in 2016.

No—you should not swim with a new tattoo for at least 2-4 weeks. Swimming pools, oceans, lakes, and hot tubs expose healing tattoos to bacteria, chemicals, and prolonged soaking that cause infections, fading, and scarring. Here's exactly when it's safe to swim and how to protect your ink.