When you become the proud owner of a new tattoo, it’s natural to feel a mix of excitement and pre-tattoo nerves. Whether you’ve spent hours picking flash designs, collaborating with an artist on a meaningful tattoo, or sitting through multiple sessions for a larger piece, the post-tattoo process is crucial.
Aftercare is key to ensuring your tattoo heals properly and avoids infection or damaging the artwork. Many first-timer tattoo enthusiasts are curious about what to do before getting a tattoo, but it’s equally important to know how to care for it afterward, especially when it comes to sleep.
Managing Sleep with a New Tattoo
As someone who has gone under the needle multiple times, I can tell you that experiencing some pain and discomfort is normal. The aftercare tips your artist provides are vital, but there’s more to consider. One thing often forgotten is how sleep impacts the healing process.
Bedtime poses unique factors to consider, such as avoiding pressure on the tattoo and ensuring a clean environment to prevent infection. Following a guide on precautions to take can make a big difference. Give your body the chance to recover so your tattoo can heal properly.
We’ve discussed the importance of aftercare before, but now let’s take a closer look at how to manage your sleep to help your new tattoo. Aftercare isn’t just about what happens during the day. Sleep is a significant part of the healing journey, as your body does most of its recovery while you rest. Ensuring you get it right can prevent complications and make the experience much more pleasant.
Can You Sleep on a New Tattoo?
Caring for a new tattoo is like managing an open wound; taking the right precautions is essential to avoid infection and ensure proper healing. If your tattoo is located on your back, it’s advisable to sleep on your front, allowing the tattoo to breathe and preventing any pressure that might distort the design.
Most tattoo artists recommend sleeping with the wrap initially used to cover your tattoo to protect it, though some suggest re-wrapping it periodically or applying a healing ointment to keep the area clean and promote healing. Adapting your sleep habits, like avoiding sleeping directly on the tattoo, is crucial during the first few days to ensure that you don’t irritate the area. By carefully keeping the tattoo clean and following these guidelines, you can sleep comfortably without the worry of harming your new artwork.
The First Night
Surviving the first night with a new tattoo can be challenging, especially as it often hurts and is likely to leak blood, plasma, and excess ink. To manage this, ensure your tattoo is properly wrapped in cling film to prevent any mess on your bedding.
If the cling film has come loose due to leakage, carefully take it off, then gently wash the tattoo using an antibacterial cleanser to minimize the risk of infection and reapply a fresh layer of cling film. For those with a healing layer like second skin or saniderm, make sure it stays put as it helps in quicker recovery. This care routine, suggested by your artist, helps keep your new artwork protected while it settles during the crucial first night.
Clean Your Tattoo Before Going to Bed
As you get ready for bedtime after getting your new ink, it’s crucial to clean the area thoroughly to keep your tattoo clean, avoiding infection and ensuring proper healing. Despite the heated debate about the best techniques for tattoo aftercare, one point remains certain: meticulous cleaning is vital.
Before you head to bed, wash the tattoo using an antibacterial or gentle cleansing soap with lukewarm water. This step helps remove any bacteria that can create a breeding ground for infections and prevents moisture, which can block the necessary airflow your tattoo needs. Always dry the area completely after washing. From my personal experience, ensuring your tattoo is dry and free from excess moisture before sleeping aids in faster healing and prevents complications.
Keep the Adhesive Wrap On Overnight
When you get a new tattoo, your artist might send you home with an adhesive wrap to cover it. Keeping this wrap on overnight is crucial to protect the ink from exposure and prevent any residue or ointment from staining your bed sheets. This not only helps in relieving any worry about dirty sheets but also ensures a better night’s sleep, which is the ultimate goal after getting inked.
Sticking to this advice will safeguard your tattoo and aid in healing, ensuring that the design stays pristine as it heals.
Sleep in a Clean Bed
After getting a tattoo, your first week should focus on healing, and a crucial part of that is where you sleep. It’s best not to crash on a friend’s couch, go camping, or use any other location that might be less than perfectly clean. Your skin is vulnerable, and exposure to dirt, dust, pet hair, and bacteria can cause irritation or inflammation.
To safeguard your new tattoo, wash and change all your bedding—that includes pillowcases, sheets, and other fabric that could accumulate allergens. Creating a clean environment is not just about aesthetics; it equals a happy body and a happy tattoo.
By ensuring your bed is clean, you minimize the risk of disrupting the tattoo’s healing process, especially when you rub against your bedding throughout the night.
Wear Loose-Fitting Clothing
When you get a new tattoo, managing the healing process effectively is crucial. Initially, it’s essential to provide your tattoo with the specific conditions it requires to heal itself. This includes giving it enough room to breathe, which aids in the creation of a natural skin barrier protecting against external elements.
Wearing tight or form-fitting clothing can be a detriment during this delicate time as it may cause pressure and friction on the tattoo, leading to increased inflammation, irritation, and swelling. To avoid rubbing your tattoo while sleeping, make sure you’re using the right precautions during the healing process.
To avoid these issues, opting for looser, non-restrictive clothes is advisable, especially as your preferred sleepwear. These should be clothes that do not apply excess pressure on your new tattoo, ensuring a smoother healing process and minimizing the chance of the tattoo ink transferring or the design sticking to the fabric.
Additionally, choose garments you won’t mind getting stained with ink and plasma, as a bit of leakage is normal during the early healing stages.
Avoid Sleeping with Your Pets
To ensure your new tattoo heals effectively, it’s critical to consider the environment around you, particularly when it involves your pets. Although it might be comforting to cuddle with your animal companions, they often carry dirt and bacteria on their coats from playing outside.
Their fur, saliva, and dander are natural irritants that could accidentally scratch the tattoo, causing pain, damage, and increasing the potential for infection. During the healing process, keeping a safe distance from your pets is wise to avoid these risks.
Sleeping Positions
When you get a new tattoo, figuring out how to sleep without disturbing the healing process can be tricky. For the first week or so, you might need to give up your preferred sleep position. If your tattoo is on your back, butt, knee ditch, or calf, try sleeping on your stomach. This position prevents excess pressure on the tattooed area, reducing the risk of inflammation and irritation.
For those with tattoos on the hip, arms, or the side of your leg, side-sleeping is advisable until the tattoo has fully healed. Make sure to sleep on the opposite side of the new tattoo to avoid creating unwanted pressure and to ensure there is enough airflow around the tattoo, which is a key element in the healing process.
Front-of-the-body tattoos, like those on the chest or stomach, can make sleeping especially challenging due to the tender areas and bones beneath. After enduring what can often be a physically punishing experience, you will want to spend your recovery nights sleeping on your back. This position helps avoid pressure and supports better healing.
Remember, being intentional about your sleeping positions post-tattoo can significantly enhance your comfort and improve the outcome of your tattoo.
The First Week
During the first week after getting your new tattoo, ensuring it heals properly requires making your sleep environment comfortable. If the tattoo is on your arm and you’re typically a side sleeper, try sleeping on the opposite arm to keep pressure off the fresh ink. For those with a back tattoo, sleeping on your front is advisable. These adjustments help relieve pain and prevent damaging the tattoo, crucial in these initial stages of healing.
Sleeping with a Peeling Tattoo
Managing the healing stage of a new tattoo can be quite difficult. Sleeping in a way that protects the tattoo as it begins to scab and peel is crucial. Sleeping in loose layers that allow the tattoo to breathe and stay protected is essential. These layers help prevent rubbing and knocking the sensitive area, which can cause the ink to fall off prematurely, leading to a patchy appearance.
Rolling over in your sleep can apply unwanted pressure on the tattoo, disrupting the healing process. For those interested in how to prevent tattoo scarring, ensuring a smooth recovery and allowing the top layer of skin to heal naturally is vital.
Optimal Sleeping Positions for Fresh Ink
When you’ve just gotten a new tattoo, figuring out how to sleep without causing discomfort or damaging the new piece is crucial. If you are a side sleeper and your new arm tattoo is still fresh, it’s wise to sleep on the opposite arm to keep pressure off the inked area. Similarly, if your tattoo is on your back, try to lie on your front.
This strategy not only helps to relieve pain but also protects the tattoo from unnecessary pressure that can blur or disrupt the healing lines. These adjustments in your sleeping position will help you avoid any complications and ensure your tattoo heals perfectly, keeping the vibrancy and detail intact. Taking care of your tattoo before bedtime is just as important to prevent scarring.
When Can You Sleep on Your New Tattoo?
After your tattoo oozes and bleeds for the first few days, it’s important to avoid sleeping on it to ensure it gets enough air circulation. You should wait about 4 to 7 days, allowing a new layer of skin to form. After this period, you can begin to sleep on your tattoo safely.
By following these tips, you can ensure your new tattoo heals properly and remains vibrant for years.
