Follow your artist’s wrap instructions
Bandage timing depends on the dressing used. Keep it on only as long as your artist directs, and do not re-bandage unless they tell you to.
Protect the work
Tattoo & piercing aftercare
Good healing starts with clean hands, gentle care, and patience. Follow the instructions your Tinta Rebelde artist or piercer gave you for your specific procedure.
Fresh ink
Tattoo care
Wash gently
Wash your hands first. Use lukewarm water and a mild, fragrance-free cleanser. Do not scrub. Pat dry with a clean disposable paper towel.
Moisturize lightly
Apply a very thin layer of the fragrance-free product recommended by your artist. The tattoo should not look greasy or feel smothered.
Let it heal
Light flaking, itching, tenderness, and a small amount of clear fluid can be normal. Never scratch, peel, or pick at flakes and scabs.
While healing, avoid
Swimming, baths, hot tubs, saunas, direct sun, tanning, tight or dirty clothing, heavy rubbing, shaving over the tattoo, picking, and scratching. Showering is fine—do not soak the tattoo.
After it has fully healed, protect the tattoo with broad-spectrum, water-resistant SPF 30 or higher and moisturize when the skin feels dry.
New piercing
Piercing care
Clean hands first
Wash your hands thoroughly before touching or cleaning the piercing. Otherwise, leave it alone.
Use sterile saline
Spray with packaged sterile wound-wash saline. Look for 0.9% sodium chloride and water only. Do not make homemade salt mixtures.
Rinse and dry carefully
Let clean shower water rinse the area, then dry gently with clean disposable gauze or paper products. Avoid reusable cloth towels.
Leave jewelry in place
Do not twist, spin, rotate, or remove the jewelry while healing. A piercing can look healed outside while remaining fragile inside.
While healing, avoid
Alcohol, hydrogen peroxide, harsh or antibacterial soaps, ointments, over-cleaning, makeup or lotions around the opening, swimming and soaking, unnecessary pressure, and sleeping directly on the piercing.
Some swelling, tenderness, bruising, itching, and pale crust can be normal early on. Healing time varies by placement and person—contact the shop before changing jewelry.
Know the warning signs
When to get help
Call the shop
If you are unsure about the bandage, cleaning, jewelry fit, irritation, swelling, or whether healing looks normal, call us at (213) 626-0051.
Seek medical care
Get medical help for spreading or severe redness, worsening pain or swelling, red streaks, fever or chills, foul odor, pus-like drainage, trouble breathing, or other signs of a serious reaction. Do not remove piercing jewelry if infection is suspected unless a healthcare professional directs you.
This page provides general educational guidance and does not replace instructions from your artist, piercer, or healthcare professional.
Questions about healing?