Blog | Tattoo Gdańsk
What to avoid before and after a tattoo session
Prepare your body and mind, then give yourself time
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Good preparation for a tattoo session doesn't require any special tricks. It essentially comes down to what we already know as the basics of a healthy lifestyle: quality sleep, nutritious food, staying hydrated and avoiding substances that negatively affect the body.
Before the session
Get a good night's sleep, eat a proper meal and drink water. Avoid alcohol and other psychoactive substances. Alcohol in particular is not a good idea before getting tattooed. Ethanol is toxic to the body and affects, among other things, the nervous system and blood clotting. The rule is simple: before your session, it's better to be rested, sober and feeling well.
After the session
Treat a fresh tattoo like a healing wound and limit anything that could cause irritation or increase the risk of infection. Take a break from training. Intense physical activity means sweat, friction and stretching of the skin. If possible, avoid crowded places. A fresh tattoo is more susceptible to infection, so during the first few days it is worth limiting situations where you come into contact with large numbers of people, dirty surfaces or shared equipment. Swimming pools, saunas and hot tubs are also best avoided while the tattoo is healing. Don't expose a fresh tattoo to the sun. During the healing process, it is best to protect it from direct UV exposure, which can degrade the pigment in the ink. As the pigment breaks down, potentially unstudied chemical compounds may be released, despite the use of modern REACH-compliant inks. Wash your tattoo and maintain good hygiene. Gently clean the skin, then you can apply a cream intended for caring for a healing tattoo. Always wash your hands thoroughly before touching the tattoo. It's a simple thing, but very important.
A little wine, a beer?
After the session, it is also worth giving your body some peace and time to recover. Alcohol and other psychoactive substances are not part of the healing process.
When is a tattoo fully healed?
Complete healing of the skin can take different amounts of time, but it is generally considered to take around 3–6 weeks. This is not a fixed timeframe. everyone's skin heals somewhat differently. Once the tattoo is completely healed, it is particularly important to protect it from the sun. SPF 50 on exposed areas of tattooed skin is one of the simplest ways to reduce the effects of UV radiation on both the tattoo and the skin. A tattoo stays with you for a long time.
If you want to explore the subject in depth
Robert Rutkowski, Irena A. Stanisławska — Alkoiluzja. Wyjście z alkoholowej sekty (eng. Alcoillusion: Breaking free from the alcohol cult, currently available only in Polish)
Alcohol is such an obvious part of social life for many people that we often don't stop to consider its actual effects on the body. Alkoiluzja looks at the role alcohol plays in our culture and how the belief develops that drinking is something natural, harmless or even necessary. It is also an interesting read in the context of tattooing, particularly if you are wondering why alcohol before and after tattoo session is not a good idea.
Tattoo. History, facts and myths
Geometry is the language of the universe
Blackwork/blackout tattoo — calmness
Tattoo sleeve. The journey is the goal
Geometric tattoo vs organic blackwork
Dotwork — rhythm written in dots
Tattoo design and artificial intelligence
Symmetry and asymmetry in tattooing
What to avoid before and after a tattoo session
Tattoo and pain that passes
Medical aspects of tattooing
Blog | About | Contact
Before the session
Get a good night's sleep, eat a proper meal and drink water. Avoid alcohol and other psychoactive substances. Alcohol in particular is not a good idea before getting tattooed. Ethanol is toxic to the body and affects, among other things, the nervous system and blood clotting. The rule is simple: before your session, it's better to be rested, sober and feeling well.
After the session
Treat a fresh tattoo like a healing wound and limit anything that could cause irritation or increase the risk of infection. Take a break from training. Intense physical activity means sweat, friction and stretching of the skin. If possible, avoid crowded places. A fresh tattoo is more susceptible to infection, so during the first few days it is worth limiting situations where you come into contact with large numbers of people, dirty surfaces or shared equipment. Swimming pools, saunas and hot tubs are also best avoided while the tattoo is healing. Don't expose a fresh tattoo to the sun. During the healing process, it is best to protect it from direct UV exposure, which can degrade the pigment in the ink. As the pigment breaks down, potentially unstudied chemical compounds may be released, despite the use of modern REACH-compliant inks. Wash your tattoo and maintain good hygiene. Gently clean the skin, then you can apply a cream intended for caring for a healing tattoo. Always wash your hands thoroughly before touching the tattoo. It's a simple thing, but very important.
A little wine, a beer?
After the session, it is also worth giving your body some peace and time to recover. Alcohol and other psychoactive substances are not part of the healing process.
When is a tattoo fully healed?
Complete healing of the skin can take different amounts of time, but it is generally considered to take around 3–6 weeks. This is not a fixed timeframe. everyone's skin heals somewhat differently. Once the tattoo is completely healed, it is particularly important to protect it from the sun. SPF 50 on exposed areas of tattooed skin is one of the simplest ways to reduce the effects of UV radiation on both the tattoo and the skin. A tattoo stays with you for a long time.
If you want to explore the subject in depth
Robert Rutkowski, Irena A. Stanisławska — Alkoiluzja. Wyjście z alkoholowej sekty (eng. Alcoillusion: Breaking free from the alcohol cult, currently available only in Polish)
Alcohol is such an obvious part of social life for many people that we often don't stop to consider its actual effects on the body. Alkoiluzja looks at the role alcohol plays in our culture and how the belief develops that drinking is something natural, harmless or even necessary. It is also an interesting read in the context of tattooing, particularly if you are wondering why alcohol before and after tattoo session is not a good idea.
Tattoo. History, facts and myths
Geometry is the language of the universe
Blackwork/blackout tattoo — calmness
Tattoo sleeve. The journey is the goal
Geometric tattoo vs organic blackwork
Dotwork — rhythm written in dots
Tattoo design and artificial intelligence
Symmetry and asymmetry in tattooing
What to avoid before and after a tattoo session
Tattoo and pain that passes
Medical aspects of tattooing
Blog | About | Contact
