✩ before your appointment ✩

-moisturize! use lotion on the area you plan to get tattooed the week leading up to your appointment. this will help prepare your skin and make it easier to tattoo

-hydrate! drink plenty of water the day before your appointment and the day of. this will also prepare your skin. bring a water bottle along with you as well

-avoid drinking alcohol the night before the appointment. this greatly affects the outcome of the tattoo as well as how you are feeling during the session.

-eat a full meal before coming to your appointment and bring snacks with you. being hungry makes receiving a tattoo more uncomfortable for both of us

-wear comfortable, dark colored, loose fitting clothing that will make it easy to access the area you want tattooed.

-check with me before bringing a guest along. different studios have different policies

-do not arrive more than 10 minutes early to your appointment. if you are going to be more than 20 minutes late, please let me know otherwise we may need to forfeit your deposit.

you can always email me with any additional questions squigglymaxine at gmail.com

✩ aftercare ✩

-avoid strenuous physical activity the first day or two

-leave second skin bandage on for 1-2 days. you can keep it on in the shower

-remove bandage slowly under lukewarm, running water

-wash with gentle, fragrance free soap (i use dr bronners) and pat dry with clean towel

-apply thin layer of fragrance free moisturizer (i like using coconut oil or jojoba oil)

-continue to moisturize tattoo ~2 times per day or as needed to keep your tattoo from being too moist, or too dry. the longer you keep up with moisturizing, the better!

-do NOT scratch an itchy, healing tattoo; this can cause permanent damage

-avoid swimming or soaking for the first two weeks or more

-avoid direct sun exposure for the first two weeks or more; apply 30+ SPF sunscreen on tattoo forever