Tattoo Aftercare in Las Vegas: Keep Your Ink Healing Right

What's Covered on This Page

• Why Las Vegas Climate Makes Tattoo Aftercare Harder
• The First 24 Hours After Your Tattoo Session
• How to Take Care of Your Tattoo for the First Two Weeks
• How Do I Know If My Tattoo Is Healing Properly?
• Things You Should Avoid in Las Vegas While Your Tattoo Heals
• Why is tattoo aftercare different in Las Vegas than other cities?
• How long should I keep the wrap on after getting tattooed?
• Can I go to the pool or hot tub after getting a tattoo in Las Vegas?
• What does normal tattoo peeling look like, and when should I worry?
• How often should I moisturize a new tattoo in the desert?
• What should I avoid during the first two weeks of tattoo healing?

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Why Las Vegas Climate Makes Tattoo Aftercare Harder

The desert wants to mess with your new ink. That's just the truth. Las Vegas is in one of the driest climates of the country. The humidity is often 15 percent or lower, especially in a place like Summerlin. Your skin naturally has a hard time retaining water in this kind of weather, even when it isn't injured. Add a fresh tattoo to the equation, an injured wound that needs moisture to repair, and you have a recipe for disaster.

We see this all the time. People get tattooed on a Friday, then spend Saturday hanging out in a pool or walking the Strip. By Monday, their skin looks cracked and is peeling prematurely. This is not normal peeling. The desert is literally sucking the moisture out of healing tissue. Dry environments can slow down wound healing and increase the chance of thick scabs, which is the last thing you want on your tattoo. Remember, tattoos are wounds. The math here is simple.

Here's why tattoo aftercare in Las Vegas is more complicated than in most other places:

• The arid desert pulls moisture out of skin rapidly, outstripping your ability to replace the lost water
• Air-conditioning can dry out your skin at almost the same rate as outside heat
• UV levels remain high almost all year long, even on overcast days
• The swimming pool lifestyle tempts people to get fresh tattoos wet too soon

This isn't a problem that's limited to the summer months, either. In fact, many Las Vegas residents forget that you can get dehydrated in the dry Las Vegas winter. You just don't remember to use sunscreen in the winter, because you don't think about UV rays hitting your skin during the cold months. But they still do.

We've been tattooing for over 17 years, and we've seen how bad a desert tattoo can look when aftercare is completely ignored. Lines fade, colors patch up, and some scarring is even unavoidable. In 9 out of 10 cases, it's because a person assumes that their tattoo will heal the same way their Portland friend's tattoo healed. It won't. Different climate, different aftercare rules.

But here's the good news. Once you understand what you're working with, keeping your tattoo looking good in this desert air isn't very hard at all.

The First 24 Hours After Your Tattoo Session

The first day is very important in tattoo aftercare, and most people don't realize that. From the moment you step out our door, your tattoo aftercare routine has started. We wrap your fresh tattoo before you leave the shop, and that wrapping stays on for a while. How long it stays on depends on the type of wrap you use. A standard wrap is good for about two to three hours. If we put second skin on you, that can go for a full 24 hours. The artist will always tell you before you walk out the door how long to keep it on before it has to go.

It's totally normal to see some bleeding during this time. Your skin may ooze out some clear fluid as well, which is plasma. There may also be a few bits of excess ink, or maybe blood, in the mixture. It looks scary if you've never seen it, we get calls about this literally every week, the fluid might pool up under your wrap, and don't panic, don't pull your bandage back to check on your tattoo every 10 minutes.

If it's time to take off the bandage you need to:

1. Wash your hands with fragrance-free soap. Every time.
2. Peel slowly under lukewarm running water.
3. Gently wash your tattoo with your fingertips (no washcloths or loofahs).
4. Pat dry with a paper towel, NOT your bath towel off the rack.
5. Apply a thin layer of unscented moisturizer once your skin feels dry to the touch.

Thin means thin. A little goes a long way, and smothering your tattoo in product is probably one of the most common mistakes we see from first timers who are worried about doing the wrong thing because your skin needs to breathe. Also, I should also say that Vegas is dry, like bone dry, and that dry air pulls moisture out of healing skin quickly, especially if you're out near the Strip or in Summerlin where the wind starts blowing. You'll have to moisturize a little more than you would living in a humid city, but again, DON'T overdo it.

Finally, skip the gym, skip the pool, and skip the hot tub at your hotel, and submerging your new tattoo increases the risk of infection, but just wear some loose clothes over your tattoo that first night and try to sleep on clean sheets. It's simple, but will absolutely make a difference.

How to Take Care of Your Tattoo for the First Two Weeks

The thing is, you don't need a complicated aftercare routine, just a consistent one. We'll walk through every step with you before you leave our shop, but that half of what we said by the time you're home is going to be a blur once the rush of getting a new tattoo wears off, and so this is your aftercare game plan for the first 14 days.

Days One Through Three

Your artist will cover your tattoo with a bandage or wrap, and you should leave it on for the time they tell you to. Some people recommend 2 hours and some artists want clients to keep them on overnight, but either way, don't pull it off to take a peek early, and once you do remove it, you should gently wash your new tattoo with lukewarm water and a fragrance-free soap, and pat dry with a clean paper towel, not your bath towel, they can hold bacteria like you wouldn't believe. Once dry, you should apply a very thin layer of unscented moisturizer, which is thin, because a little goes a long way, and you'll smother the skin if you just goop a bunch of product on it, we get calls about this almost every week from someone who put way too much on and wonders why their tattoo looks cloudy.

Days Four Through Fourteen

This is where most people run into problems, again in Las Vegas especially, as the desert air is bone dry, especially if you're near Summerlin where the wind starts blowing. Yes, your tattoo wants to peel. Yes, your skin wants to flake. That's what tattoos do, and it's expected. What's not expected is for you to go and peel it yourself!

Stick to a routine:

1. Wash your tattoo two to three times per day with clean hands and soap without any scent.
2. Dry gently. Never, ever rub it with a towel. Just pat the area dry.
3. Apply a thin layer of moisturizer immediately after washing your tattoo.
4. Make sure to wear loose clothing over your new ink whenever possible.
5. Avoid pools, hot tubs, and bodies of water, like Lake Mead. Any body of water that isn't your shower is off limits for at least two weeks.

We do mean your hotel pool. We have countless visitors who expect to enjoy the pool the next day post-tattoo. We can't emphasize this enough, but that's a no-go for a brand new piece. Nine times out of ten, poor healing comes down to ignoring these instructions during your tattoo's early days. It's rarely the fault of the ink or of the artist. More often than not, clients skip the simple steps that come first.

If you are worried that your tattoo isn't healing properly, call us and we will walk you through the process with you! Washing and moisturizing your new ink is essential to it healing properly. Two weeks of simple maintenance prevents you from wasting those many hours in the artist's chair to fix it later!

Need help with tattoo aftercare?

(702) 817-6217

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How Do I Know If My Tattoo Is Healing Properly?

Every new client we talk to gets this: New tattoos take on a rough appearance for a while and you don't have to worry about that. Healing tattoos have a set appearance. Here is what to look for in the days right after getting inked in Vegas:

• Slight peeling and flaking. Your tattoo may be shedding like a bad sunburn at first, with the ink still staying under your skin.
• Mild itching. Annoying, yes. Dangerous, no. Your skin is rebuilding itself.
• Shiny, transparent layer. After flaking is done, your skin will look shiny, sometimes referred to as "onion skin". This is temporary and will eventually fade.
• Possible dull or hazy color. In most cases, this happens right after you get your tattoo and will brighten up as your tattoo heals. Give your skin a few weeks to settle.

You should be aware that we see many clients worrying over their peeling skin at this stage. It happens weekly, so keep in mind that is normal. It can look a little frightening, but it's all just a part of healing.

Now, here is how your tattoo should not look. Red lines that are spreading from the area. Pus that is green or yellow in color. Increasing swelling past the third day. A bumpy rash that is spreading beyond the tattooed area. If your tattoo is still feeling hot to the touch several days later, don't wait on it. A lot of tattoo infections happen in the first two weeks. Keep this in mind.

If you're feeling something is off, then trust your instinct. A lot of folks from around the Arts District or downtown will attribute redness to our dry, desert air. And the intense heat in Las Vegas will definitely make that feel more irritated for you. But the signs of infection are different than the signs of dryness. Not sure if what you're seeing is a problem? Send us a photo. We've seen thousands of healing tattoos and we can usually give you a straight answer if you should be worried or you should stay on the right track in about 30 seconds.

Professional tattoo artists who follow industry health and safety standards for body art are trained to recognize the difference between normal healing and early signs of infection — so don't hesitate to reach out to your artist directly if something looks off.

Things You Should Avoid in Las Vegas While Your Tattoo Heals

Nobody tells you about this but, basically, Las Vegas turns tattoo healing into a full-contact sport. We see this all the time. You get a gorgeous, new tattoo on a Friday, then hop in your neighbor's pool at the off-Strip hotel you're staying at all Saturday long. You hit us up on DM on Monday asking why that tattoo looks dull and irritated.

Chlorine and bacteria is everywhere in your pool. They both will wreck your fresh tattoo if you sit around. The same applies to hot tubs. Or to Lake Mead. Any body of water that isn't your shower is off limits for at least two weeks.

The other one is the desert sun. You are already well-aware how intense Las Vegas heat is. But UV rays can damage a fresh tattoo if the rays hit that tattoo straight-on. Color fading. Blistering and scarring. Even a 5-minute walk down Fremont Street in that new cover-up without protection enough to set things back. Keep it covered. Or keep in the shade. No sunscreen either yet, that comes much later on when the tattoo is fully healed.

Here's a few of the other things you should not do:

• Picking, peeling, or picking at peeling skin. Let it fall off on its own.
• Putting plastic wrap over it, the next night after you've gotten it done.
• Putting on thick lotions or petroleum products which clogs your skin pores.
• Working out hard enough to move around that piece of tattoo or to make that tattoo sweat out.
• Going to bed in that fresh tattoo skin without some sort of clean barrier.

This one is something people seem confused by sometimes. But, the dry desert climate here in places like Summerlin and the rest of the Valley will pull that moisture out of your skin faster. Meaning, that your new tattoo dries up quicker than it would for a tattoo in a humid area. Your moisturizing routine needs to be more often than the one for your friend who did theirs in Florida.

Nine times out of ten, the tattoos we see with healing problems come down to one of these mistakes. Not bad ink. Not a bad artist. Just a rough couple of weeks where someone forgot their skin is basically an open wound. Treat it that way and you'll be fine.

Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about tattoo aftercare services in NV

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