things to know before your appointment

• In the days and weeks leading up to any tattoo, it’s really helpful to prep your skin by exfoliating 1-2 times a week, and moisturising everyday. This is especially relevant during the cooler months, but definitely at least during the few days before your tattoo appointment 🧴

• On the day of your booking, make sure you are well rested, have eaten a good breakfast and that the area to be tattooed is not sunburnt.

• Be sure to bring your government issued Photo ID in order to complete our studio consent form. This is mandatory under NSW Tattoo licensing laws.

• I will need easy access to the body area that we’re tattooing, so loose fitting clothes that aren’t going to get in the way are ideal. For torso tattoos, a big baggy tee shirt or a zip-up hoodie are great. For tattoos going on limbs, it’s always best to wear shorts or a tee shirt. For example, even if you’re getting an ankle tattoo, pants that have been hitched up to your calves can warp the skin surface and interfere with stencil placement, so it’s best to have loose fitting garments on please… There’s much less ink/blood/rinsing mess with handpoking, but it’s still a good idea to wear something that you don’t mind getting dirty, just in case.

• It’s important to try and be as still as possible during the tattoo. There’s a lot more give with handpoking than with machine tattoos, but it’s still good to try and not move too much. For example, using your phone is usually fine, but talking with your hands or moving a whole limb without warning is a bit too much movement 🤗

• Sometimes you need to sit or lay in weird positions to get tattooed. If you have any mobility/flexibility issues, please let me know so I can do my best to accommodate. If you’re having a hard time and need to readjust your body during the tattoo, or even just get up and have a stretch, please just let me know - this isn’t an issue.

• If you are sensitive to sound or would just prefer to block out background noise so that you can relax and get in the zone, please feel free to bring your earphones/Loops etc.

• Bring snacks to keep your blood sugar up, and please don’t be shy about asking for a bathroom or snack break when and if you need to.

things to know for after your appointment

• Handpoked tattoos scab much less than machine tattoos, so they require less attention during the healing process. Some of the following might feel counterintuitive if you’ve only had machine tattoos previously 😊

• At the end of the session I will probably cover your new tattoo with an adhesive dressing called Second Skin. If you’re allergic to latex or adhesives (or would just prefer it) we can skip the Second Skin and use cling wrap instead.

• Second Skin usually stays in place for up to 3 days, and the majority of the healing happens underneath without you having to do anything. It is totally normal to see a bit of black goopy juice collect beneath the dressing. This is simply what your body would usually turn into a scab - plasma and excess ink.

• After 1-3 days you can remove the Second Skin by gently peeling it off in the shower. Slowly stretch it parallel to your skin, rather than pulling it directly away from your body (kinda like removing a 3M hook from a wall). You will see the adhesive let go of the skin as you stretch the dressing. I know this may sound confusing in writing so I will explain it properly to you in person.

• Please note: it’s common that Second Skin can come away prematurely at a small area of the sealed edge, letting air in and any potential goopy tattoo healing juice out. This is particularly common during the hot and sweaty months. If this happens, there’s no need to stress, but please remove the entire dressing ASAP and clean the tattoo with a gentle soap under running water, pat it dry with a clean piece of paper towel, then carry on as if it had been covered in cling wrap.

• Cling wrap only needs to stay on for a few hours. As soon as you remove it, jump straight in the shower and rinse any goop off the area off with some gentle soap. Pat the area dry with a clean piece of paper towel and leave it alone. DO NOT rewrap your tattoo again, please. It doesn’t need it.

• No matter which dressing method we used, for the next two weeks it’s important to avoid prolonged sun exposure, and please do not submerge your tattoo in baths, pools or other bodies of water. Showering is still totally fine.

• Please avoid the temptation to pick or scratch at your healing tattoo, even though it might get itchy. One week after your tattoo was done, you can apply a thin layer of balm to the area once a day, but it does not need as much aftercare product as a machine tattoo. I like using pure shea butter or good quality vitamin E cream (the one in the white tube with the orange lid is great).

• Yes, you read that right - I’m asking you to not put aftercare balm on it for at least a week. Totally opposite to most advice on machine tattoos, haha 🧡 this is also referred to as ‘dry healing’.

• Once the majority of dry/flakey scabs have fallen away naturally and your skin seals back over, your tattoo is healed enough to carry on life as normal, but if you have any questions at all do not hesitate to reach out via email.

one more thing…

It’s important to understand that handpoking is vastly different to machine work, and this is visually the most evident in the way the linework looks while the tattoo is fresh. Handpoked tattoos can look textured or kinda ‘fluffy’ in ways that machine tattoos don’t. Machine tattoos look their best the day they are done, while handpoked tattoos only get better with age.

My personal preference is to not overwork or oversaturate the skin by trying to make the tattoo look super black and solid when you leave - I prefer to leave the tattoo looking textured and allow the linework to fill itself in over the next couple of months while the tattoo settles into your skin. If any part of your markings need a little touch up after they have healed, I will gladly do that for you free of charge 🌞