Tattoos and Body Piercing
Tattoos:
- Be sure of what you want. If you have any doubts, wait
- Make the decision on your own
- Talk to the artist to make sure they are knowledgeable, professional and experienced
- Check out the studio’s cleanliness and tattooing procedures
- New needles
- Sterilization of equipment
- Use of medical gloves
- Clear instructions for care of the tattoo
- Remember, it’s permanent:
- Will you like the design 5, 10, 20 years from now?
- What about a new job? Change in careers? Social situations?
Self-Care:
- Allow 2 – 3 weeks for healing
- Don’t pick the skin at the site of the tattoo. This increases chance of scarring and infection
- Moisturize the tattoo
- Stay out of the sun. Sun fades a tattoo over time
Body Piercing:
- Rings are better for ears and many body piercing
- Check out the studio’s cleanliness and body piercing procedures
- Piercing done in a separate room
- Use of medical gloves
- Sterile, disposable needles
- Never use piercing gun
- Studio has an autoclave and ultrasonic cleaner
- Beware of jewelry that’s too thin or thick for the area to be pierced. Jewelry that’s too thin can tear out and jewelry that’s too thick can cause scarring
- Jewelry should be made of stainless steel, 14 or 18 karat gold titanium or niobium only
- Beware of jewelry that has scratches, nicks or irregular surfaces
Self-Care:
- Clean your hands before touching your piercing
- Soak the piercing in water saline solution for 5 minutes once to twice daily
- Rotate the piercing during cleaning
- Clean with mild antimicrobial soap
- Dry the piercing with paper towels
Mayo Clinic Topic Overview
Web MD Topic Overview