London Body Piercing & Tattooing

Look after your new ink

Aftercare

How your tattoo or piercing heals depends a lot on how you look after it. Follow these steps, and if anything worries you, WhatsApp us on 083 937 7801.

Tattoo aftercarePiercing aftercareReference videos

Tattoos

Tattoo aftercare

Your artist will cover your tattoo with either plastic wrap or second skin, a clear adhesive film. Follow the steps for the one you have.

Covered with plastic wrap

  1. Keep the plastic wrap on for about 2 hours.

  2. At home, take the wrap off and wash your tattoo with Dettol Original bar soap. Use your hand, in a circular motion.

  3. Pat it dry with a clean paper towel.

  4. Leave it to dry out for the first night.

  5. Day 2 to the end of week 1

    Wash and pat dry as above, then apply a thin layer of aqueous cream. Do this at least twice a day.

  6. Week 2

    Wash at least once a day, and apply a thin layer of aqueous cream when it itches.

Healing time: at least 2 weeks to heal, and at least a month to heal completely.

Covered with second skin

  1. Keep the second skin on for at least 3 days. You can shower with it on, but don’t soak it in a bath. If water gets under it, take it off straight away and carry on from step 2.

  2. To take it off:

    • run it under warm water to loosen the adhesive;
    • peel it back towards you, never away from you;
    • never rip it off like a plaster.

    Your tattoo will look a bit grey from the adhesive. That’s normal.

  3. Wash it well with warm water, your hand and Dettol Original bar soap, then rinse with warm water.

  4. Dry it with a clean towel or paper towel.

  5. Spread a thin layer of aqueous cream over it. Don’t use too much: you don’t want to drown your tattoo.

  6. Next 4 days

    Dry and cream it at least twice a day.

  7. Week 2

    Wash at least once a day, and apply a thin layer of aqueous cream when it itches.

Healing time: about 2 weeks. Second skin helps your tattoo heal faster.

For every tattoo

  • Don’t pick or scratch your tattoo, or pick at the scabs.
  • Keep it out of direct sunlight, the sea and swimming pools for at least 3 weeks.
  • Keep pets away from your fresh tattoo.

Piercings

Piercing aftercare

For every piercing

  • Clean with London aftercare solution only, unless your piercing’s section below says otherwise. If you run out, use saline solution.
  • Soak a clean cotton bud in the solution and clean around both the entry and exit points.
  • Clean twice a day, every day, for 1 month from the day you were pierced.
  • Always wash your hands before you clean or touch your jewellery.
  • Don’t twist or turn your jewellery, and don’t take it out.
  • Never use alcohol or surgical spirits on your piercing.

Healing times below are averages. Every piercing heals differently, and some take longer to heal completely.

Earlobes

Standard, lower and stacked lobes

  • Follow the steps for every piercing.

Average healing time: 6 to 8 weeks

Ear cartilage

Helix, mid helix, tragus, conch · daith, forward helix, snug, rook, industrial

  • Follow the steps for every piercing.
  • Daith, forward helix, snug, rook and industrial piercings take longer to heal, and are more likely to get irritated or form a bump (hypertrophic scarring).
  • A forward helix can be downsized after a month, because the skin there is usually thinner.

Average healing time: 6 to 12 months for helix, tragus and conch; 9 to 12 months for daith, forward helix, snug, rook and industrial

Nose and septum

A nose piercing goes through cartilage; a septum goes through soft tissue.

  • Clean the top and bottom of the piercing with London aftercare solution.

Average healing time: 4 to 6 months for a nostril; 6 to 8 weeks for a septum

Tongue and lip

  • Tongue: rinse with salt water, saline solution or alcohol-free mouthwash. Rinse after every meal and after smoking.
  • Lip: clean the same way, and you can also clean the outside with London aftercare solution or saline.
  • A tongue piercing needs 2 or 3 downsizes, the first about 2 to 3 weeks after you’re pierced.
  • Preferably don’t drink alcohol while it heals, and never use it to clean the piercing.
  • Until it has healed, avoid kissing and oral contact, sharing cups or cutlery, and very hot or spicy food and drinks. Cold water can help with swelling.

Average healing time: 4 to 6 weeks for a tongue; 6 to 8 weeks for a lip

Eyebrow and anti-eyebrow

  • These are surface piercings, held in by skin only.
  • If the bar is much too long, it can be downsized after 1 to 2 months.
  • If the piercing gets very red, or the skin around it gets thinner, contact your piercer. It may be rejecting.

Average healing time: 6 to 8 weeks

Bridge

  • A surface piercing.
  • The bar can be downsized once or twice, depending on how it heals.

Average healing time: 8 to 12 weeks

Nipple

  • A soft tissue piercing that takes a while to heal, because the area moves and changes shape often.
  • Don’t use a face cloth or loofah near it. It can catch on the jewellery and tear the piercing.

Average healing time: 6 to 12 months

Dermal anchors

  • A small implant under the skin, held in place as tissue grows around it.
  • Keep a plaster over it for 2 weeks while that tissue grows.
  • Flatten a soaked cotton bud to clean under the top. Put a fresh plaster on after cleaning.

Average healing time: 1 to 3 months

Surface bars

  • A bar that runs under a length of skin, with a gem or ball at each end.
  • Flatten a soaked cotton bud to clean under the tops.
  • Don’t pull or push the bar sideways. It damages the channel and can make the bar move.
  • Surface bars are often temporary, but with the right jewellery and good healing they can be permanent.
  • If the skin looks thinner or the jewellery seems to be pushing out, contact your piercer straight away. It may be rejecting, and the jewellery will need to come out.

Average healing time: 6 to 12 months

Watch how

Reference videos

Short clips from the studio showing two of the steps above.

Cleaning a new piercing

Soak a clean cotton bud with London aftercare solution, then gently clean around the front and the back of the piercing.

Piercing aftercare steps

Removing second skin from a tattoo

Peel the film slowly back over itself, close to the skin. Never rip it off like a plaster.

Second skin steps

When to contact us

Normal while healing

Some redness, swelling, tenderness and itching in the first days, and clear or whitish fluid that dries into a crust.

Contact us, and see a doctor

Redness or heat that spreads or gets worse, yellow or green pus, red streaks from the area, or a fever. Don’t take your jewellery out if you think a piercing is infected: the hole can close over the infection.

WhatsApp us on 083 937 7801 with a photo and we’ll help.