very helpful article, I'm getting my left sleeve done next month, and being someone that works out 5/6 days a week, I was a bit worried about how it would affect my training.

Do not put a thick layer of ointment on and plastic wrap it!!! That is the worst thing you can do especially for a sleeve tattoo! Your artist will hate you when he sees you made your tattoo pussy and pissed off because plastic wrap leaches poison into your tattoo. Lookup the dangers of plastic wrapping your body. Those BPA waterbottles are the only thing that do not leach bad chemicals into your water, so why would you want to plastic wrap your body? Don't listen to this article. Talk to your artist. Mine said that the best way to keep your color from fading and the blackest blacks is to leave it alone and let it get dry. You don't want to keep it moist because that can lead to infection and especially when u plastic wrap it the chemicals can make your tattoo turn into one big pussy mess. I have my half sleeve done and it's looking the best out of any of my tattoos and less irritated since no plastic wrap has been involved this time around. Wash your ink as needed with paper towel and Pat dry. Skip lotion for 24hours then when you start using a non-fragrance lotion make sure it's got not exfoliants and weird stuff in it. P.s. plastic wrap anywhere makes you sweat more, harsh chemicals can cause cancer, Don't use it!

thank u Alexis , I am a female &I got my tattoo on my hips so how long should I wait to go to the gym ? my artist said a month but that's getting me depressed I have been sleeping for 3 days scared to mess it up

I have a workout with my team right after my tattoo appointment. is it bad to run right after getting a tattoo on your spine?

This thread seems to have some age to it but since researching this subject I'd figure I'd correct something here... DO NOT. I repeat... ABSOLUTELY DO NOT USE ANTIBACTERIAL OINTMENT... ointments such as neosporin, and other related brands often use not only petroleum based gels. But the main purpose of these anti bacterial ointments are to suck the infection out of the wound... a tattoo is an open wound, so you do the math or well biology here. If you put this ointment on your 'wound' or tattoo, the only thing that ointment has to pull out is what's beneath, that's right, you guessed it. Your fresh ink is going to be pulled out... honestly, after 48 hours switch to a non scented brand of lotion with alot of vitamin E in it... like st ives. Or gold bond. Richie bulldog also makes something called hustle butter specifically designed for tattoos. Other than that this blog was fantastic...

This thread seems to have some age to it but since researching this subject I'd figure I'd correct something here... DO NOT. I repeat... ABSOLUTELY DO NOT USE ANTIBACTERIAL OINTMENT... ointments such as neosporin, and other related brands often use not only petroleum based gels. But the main purpose of these anti bacterial ointments are to suck the infection out of the wound... a tattoo is an open wound, so you do the math or well biology here. If you put this ointment on your 'wound' or tattoo, the only thing that ointment has to pull out is what's beneath, that's right, you guessed it. Your fresh ink is going to be pulled out... honestly, after 48 hours switch to a non scented brand of lotion with alot of vitamin E in it... like st ives. Or gold bond. Richie bulldog also makes something called hustle butter specifically designed for tattoos. Other than that this blog was fantastic...