philip milic

WwwwAaaaSsssssUuuuPppers. Tattoo artist in okland ca. I own and work for old crow tattoo. Glade to have taking this LST trip. Thanks for everything you all put into tattooing. 16 years later and im still falling in lover deeper with my craft. What a blessing to be able to have this in my life. Don't stop can't stop won't stop.

i would recommend always washing with an antibacterial soap. no more than 2 times a day. once in morning once at night or after heavy activity. put lotion on after tattoo is dry. when applying lotion put it on just as if you had dry skin. you want the lotion fully absorbed not a coat. i recommend lubriderm, or cetiphil. both come fragrant free and hypoallergenic. as well they are not that greasy. good luck.

i feel both of your comments are valid and agree that climate does make a difference in healing methods as well as folks not listening to instructions properly and going to the beach the next day or over saturating the tattoo in ointment. i also feel there are a lot more inexperienced tattooers than there are those not listening properly to healing instructions.

ive been tattooing for a bit now and in my earlier times of tattooing i used every excuse in the book on why the tattoo healed poorly.

and i guess what im trying to convey is that threw time and practice tattoos will heal poorly less and less and there will be fewer reasons on why the tattoo healed wrong as well as shorter healing time and less care needed to heal.

im not in any way saying that my tattoos heal perfect every time or that i dont get a costumer that does some absurd thing to there tattoo after a session but i also take responsibility for when ive over worked a tattoo (this is why touch ups are free) and that im human and have a bad day every once in a while. but in general they heal great and smooth. and its from the time ive put into this trade. its far in-between that i have to tell some one they have done something wrong in healing the tattoo.

right now the tattoo industry is flooded with 2 week apprenticeships and 100 dollar tattoo kits over the internet and a lot of shitty tattoos and a lot of excuses.

a more experienced tattoo artist will have less reasons for a tattoo healing poorly than a lesser experienced tattoo artist. the reason the tattoo heals better and better is the fact the artist is getting better. no magic ointment or special healing instructions are the cause of this. just understanding of your tools, technique and time. yes healing instruction are a good thing and so is lotion but the fact is the artist doing the job right. this is why i still feel that 95 % of a poorly healing tattoo is the artists responsibility and experience and 5 % of a confused, ignorant or unthoughtful client. i do also understand that there are cities and towns with more unthoughtful clients than others but still, "im just sayin".

I hope in no way that i offended any one with my posts and am very grateful for the responses.

hmm,, simple,, as long as your not over working the tattoo should heal on its own with out any use of lotion or ointment. may take a full week but not much more other than that.

at my shop we all agree that you should cover your tattoo for a minimum of twelve hours(basically over night) as soon as you wake up take a nice warm shower (stings like fuck but its not destroying you)..... leave it dry for a day.

2nd morning and after use a fragrant free ,if needed for sensitive skin hypoallergenic lotion. use once to twice a day until healed.(rubbing lotion on like you just had dry skin not a thick coat),,,,

the human body does a great job of healing on its own and putting greasy sticky ointments on a fresh tattoo can cause the tattoo to stay open as well attract more dirt than healing elements such as oxygen. as well if the greasy tattoo should dry up it can cause a lot of cracking from a soggy scab :( hence dont soak your tattoo.

the reason we think covering a tattoo for at least 12 hours right after its done is because the skin is creating plasma for the first 12 hours which if the skin does get over worked in a certain area it will tend to scab less do to less plasma build up while drying. also it will be less likely to attract staff or any other bacteria you can pick up from the outside world like the club, your pets, public transportation or sharing what you may have with the outside world. after twelve hours under a bandage the tattoo will have sealed its self and should be done weeping.

of course there are those with extra sensitive skin but all in all i was taught that if a tattoo heals poorly its 95 % if not more the tattoo artists fault. no room for excuses.

weather your a yoga instructor, a construction worker or a person who sits behind a desk all day your tattoo should heal for the most part perfect on the first go.

if your heavy handed to the point were you may be over working the skin a lot you really should give this method a try it cant hurt your tattoos are healing shitty anyways :) happy healing :) dont forget sex and laughter are good for the immune system which will make your tattoo heal quicker.