The tattoo aftercare kit good for my whole arm
This Billy Jealousy Marked IV Life tattoo aftercare kit helps me heal up quick.
I have a number of tattoos. I got the first when I was very young, and I think aftercare was some 'romantic' notion of Jack Daniels and some diaper care creme. I then stopped getting more tattoos because I realized that art required I find a real artist. Took me a long time.
I will spare you photos of my tattoos, and me the shitty things that the nasty .001% of our readers will say.
It took a long time to find an artist whose work I love and has a personality where we enjoy chatting for hours while he draws on me with an uncomfortable pencil. The work is fantastic, I love it, and I wanted the art to look as good as it can for as long as it can! Part of undertaking this project 'so late in life' is because the tattoos will now have a lot less time to deteriorate...
Aftercare is a big deal in healing your tattoo up well and making sure it looks good for a long time. My artist recommended some very common, but very heavy salves and lotions. After a day I broke into some pimples and pores were clogging. I was worried I'd damage the new tattoo.
A friend knows just how few 'beauty care' products I keep around: zero. She saw my arm and immediately took pity and brought over this kit of stuff. I had never heard of 'Billy Jealousy" before, but I am told they are a wonderful line of Man-Focused beauty aids. I really like this kit, I've been using it for almost a year and I am just running out of the first item.
The Marked IV Life kit has a wash, a salve and a lotion.
I am the biggest fan of the salve, which only gets used for 3-4 days after a new tattoo gets drilled into your skin. I had been using Aquaphor for this, as it was recommended and creates a good barrier between an open/near open wound and the outside world. The Aquaphor is too thick for me, however, and even a super-thin layer had pimples developing. The Salve is very light and feels a lot like bee's wax because there is a lot of bee's wax in it.
The salve helps keep the skin from drying out. Other tattoo familiar friends and family often marvel at how quickly fresh work seems to heal on me as well. I credit frequent washing and applications of this salve for the first few days. Once the skin starts to crack and peel, however, I move to the lotion.
I use the lotion for a few days after the salve, but not as my permanent daily moisturizer. It is very light, clean and goes on and in smooth. I find it to be gentle and nice to use in the early healing days, but it wears out too quickly and I want to use a regular 48hr Nivea creme on my arm once the skin has totally peeled and healed.
The wash is nice, gentle and good to use for your critical first wash of a tattoo. After that, I'll use it for a day or two, if I remember, but my regular Dr. Bronner's Peppermint doesn't upset my skin once the skin seals back up.
I am sure other stuff works great, but this is great on my skin. If the Aquaphor/Eucerin combo is far too heavy for you, give Billy Jealousy a try.
Don't be a dope: follow your own artist's aftercare instructions.