Your Tattoo Aftercare

CAN’T I JUST USE POLYSPORIN FOR TATTOO AFTERCARE?

The days of using Polysporin are long gone. People have become too sensitive by applying steroids and unnatural medications, which over time ended up having more negative impacts than positive ones. You need to give your body art adequate care to ensure it not only heals properly, but looks as vibrant and beautiful as the day you received it. The care could include various types of treatment or, in some cases, just allowing your tattoo to “breathe.” The healing process is different for everyone, but it takes around two weeks on average. Your tattoo aftercare regime should include:

avoiding direct sunlight whenever possible, and
using products to moisturize your skin and ensure the tattoos remain vibrant for a long time to come.

Long-term clients might recall being sent to a nearby drug store to purchase Tattoo Goo! While this definitely does help to heal fresh tattoos fast, we didn’t like the consistency (or, to be frank, the price). Combine that with our passion for handmade lotions and everything natural, and our very own line of natural products was born and named.

OUR PROPRIETARY AFTERCARE BRAND

Soapy Penguin is a select range of all-natural, hand-crafted tattoo aftercare products and skincare solutions. As our house brand, the product line was developed by Asia after many months of research and experimentation.

Ingredients

The Soapy Penguin tattoo balm contains coconut oil, beeswax, vitamin E oil, cocoa butter, grapeseed oil and avocado oil. All of the ingredients are locally sourced, natural and extensively tested on us, our family and clients! We recommend combining the balm with our natural handmade soap, as we find this combination approach works best.

Vegan-Friendly?

Please note our tattoo aftercare is not vegan-friendly (given that it contains beeswax, which, while sustainably sourced, our vegan friends understandably avoid). We continue to work on developing a vegan-friendly solution, and are happy to say that we have the formula and are testing it before making it readily available.

Extensively Tested

In the past couple of years since we started offering our tattoo aftercare balm, we’re happy to say it has been used by over 1000 individuals. We stand by our products 100% and can honestly say that in a side by side comparison, people using our Soapy Penguin products healed faster, scabbed less, and protected their tattoos more effectively from infections.

Methods of Aftercare

For your tattoo to heal properly, please follow these guidelines:

Remove bandage in 4 hours.
With clean hands, gently wash tattoo with warm water and mild soap (such as our natural soap, Ivory or Dove).
Allow to air dry or pat dry with a clean paper towel.
Wash tattoo 3-4 times a day for the first 3 days; remember that it is an open wound, so do your best to keep it as clean as possible.
When scabbing begins to form, which generally occurs within 2 days, begin applying a thin layer of our Soapy Penguin tattoo aftercare product 2 or 3 times daily.
Do not pick or scratch at your tattoo! This could result in color loss, scarring or infection.
Avoid getting direct sunlight on your new tattoo.
Avoid swimming and soaking for a few weeks (this also means no baths – showers only).
If you notice any signs of infection such as redness, pain, or pus, please contact your doctor.

Get Your Tattoo Aftercare Balm Today

Stop by either of our two Painted People Tattoo Company locations, or check out our products page or Etsy shop for online orders and more products. If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to contact your artist or any of our studios – we are here to help.

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Estimates/Booking

Use the form below to describe your vision for the tattoo or to request a consultation / booking. If looking for an estimate, please be descriptive. For bookings, review our pricing & payment page; we typically start with a free consultation for larger work; Note that custom drawings or to have a confirmed appointment, a deposit will be requested; Last, but not least, remember to check your junk / spam email folder in case you don’t hear from us within 3 days.

Hugh

ABOUT HUGH

We’re thrilled to welcome Hugh, who is a seasoned professional tattoo artist of over 10 years, to our North York tattoo studio starting in December.

Hugh’s artwork speaks for itself. As someone that does stunning traditional tattoos, we quickly bonded with him based on his passion of art and general outlook on life. We’re confident his personality is a great mesh for our studio and all of our clients.

Reach out to Hugh via justhughsteele@gmail.com or stop by our Toronto tattoo studio any Tuesday to Saturday to say hi.

Rebecca

ABOUT REBECCA

Rebecca is a natural artist quickly honing in her skills as an apprentice in our Toronto studio. From a very young age, Rebecca has enjoyed all forms of art ranging from film and animation to painting and illustrations.

Similar to her mentor, Ashley, Rebecca describes herself as an introverted individual who’s confidence and expression comes out in her work, and, in her ever changing hair color.Rebecca has an interesting outlook on getting tattoos, seeing them parable to decorating one’s home. Rebecca, who relates to being shy and feeling awkward, feels a sense of empowerment from decorating your own space. She wants to help others in their own quests for empowerment while flexing her artistic abilities.

The tattoo styles she’s most interested in are blackwork, pointillism, and Japanese traditional flowers. Rebecca loves to continuously grow and learn new art styles, and is always seeking available canvases to practice her craft. Reach out to her via her Instagram or stop by our Toronto studio any Tuesday, Friday or Saturday to say hi.

Gel

ABOUT GEL

Gelene (or Gel), as many natural born artists tend to do, has been creating art since a child. Her work ranged from drawings to illustrations and led her to acquire an Advanced Diploma in Media Arts from Sheridan College in Oakville. Originally from Manila, Philippines, she moved around with her family during most of her youth, also having lived in Jakarta, Indonesia before moving and building roots in Toronto, Canada.

As a tattoo artist, she enjoys different types of styles though her favourite is abstract especially when it’s a fusion of different cultures. She loves doing custom work most especially when the client is open to a collaborative rapport. She’s here not just to put ink onto your skin but to help you express yourself in various ways that are unique to your worldviews, personalities, and experiences. She feels privileged in being able to be part of an anthropological alchemy that has started since the dawn of time; if we look at the grander scheme of the process, the alchemy really comes into play when clients come to us with very personal matters that they want to express through their tattoo(s).

Gel is a scuba diver and hiker who loves checking out arts & culture as she travels. Locally, she hits the gym, does hot yoga, and practices Krav Maga martial arts.

Gel is available for bookings in our North York studio mainly Saturdays and Sundays. Feel free to reach her via email or check out her profile below

Brooke

ABOUT BROOKE

Brooke is a “new” artist in every sense of the word – she redefines what a tattoo artist might look like. Not to say that there is such a thing as a certain “tattoo artist look” since we’re all unique, and proudly carry our own style and character; however, Brooke redefines many things.

Our young artist got involved in art at the tender age of 3 when she started doodling. This may be so for many of us, but what separates Brooke from others is when, at the at of 16, she took doodling to the next level and started working part time at a tattoo studio in order to study from other artists.

She was trained at doing piercings by the age of 18, but after realizing that her true passion was in drawing and expressing herself via permanent art, Brooke changed paths to become a tattoo artist. Now, Brooke has been under our wing for a number of years, first as an apprentice being trained by her figuratively adopted mother Asia, and we’re proud to see her grow into a very capable tattoo artist today!

Brooke can be unassuming. The 5”1, quiet, attractive and very focused artist frequently agonizes over producing the most amazing work – a trait that is often attached to perfectionists. With over a thousand of tattoos under her belt and extensive training on safety and cleanliness handling, it’s very easy to forget that Brooke is still early in her career. Brooke has long moved away from script and simpler tattoos towards inventing her own tattoo style. Specializing in floral and general minimalist tattoos, we’re super proud to see where Brooke’s already impressive artist career takes her next.

NEO TRADITIONAL TATTOOS

Brooke is interested in pursuing neo-traditional tattoos (neo means new in Latin). The dictionary would define it as “A re-adoption or revival of traditional styles, values, practices, etc.”, while we see it as taking the traditional old-style tattoo art that has been around for over a hundred years (think American and sailors) and fusing it with new concepts.

Neo-traditional tattoos are still traditional in essence, but what separates them from old-school traditional tattoos is moving away from thick, broad lines, and instead, delve more into realism. Additionally, they may take the traditional subject of a skull head, for example, draw it in a similar traditional fashion, but then add flowers, colors and smoother lines to the tattoo, making it a neo-traditional tattoo as it blends multiple styles together.

It’s no surprise that Brooke is most drawn to this tattoo style because she embodies new tradition, and we couldn’t be more excited to see her grow further in her artist’s journey. Check out some of her work below and stop by our tattoo studio to meet her. We proudly feature some of her work on our tattoo shop walls in Toronto where she apprenticed originally before helping us establish the Burlington studio where she now tattoos from exclusively.

10% Off Booking

Use the form below to describe your vision for the tattoo, or to request a consultation / booking.

Asia

ABOUT ASIA

Asia, pronounced like Asha rather than like the continent, is the head artist and proud co-Owner of Toronto’s Painted People Tattoos Salon.

Asia has been tattooing for over 15 years. Her rich resume, apart from owning a tattoo studio, includes roles such as painter, volunteer, designer, music dabbler, and more. Finding her calling at the age of 16, she studied tattooing, first independently, and then as an apprentice to a number of celebrated artists before becoming one herself.

Tattooing is a passion for Asia. She loves creating livable, permanent art through that passion. When she’s not creating, Asia enjoys carrying for her pets, spending time with her family, watching movies, playing old video games, sucking at soccer (or football if we’re being all European) and unloading cat sounds with her husband Nick for general amusement of herself and others.

WATERCOLOR TATTOOS

As the name indicates, watercolor tattoos essentially represent using the human canvas and drawing on them with tattoo ink making them look like watercolors.

Watercolor tattoos require the same expertise and initial process that other tattoo techniques require (you may or may not do a stencil and mix shades of color), but where they really separate themselves from other tattoo techniques is the final outcome. A fresh watercolor tattoo can often appear as splashes of watercolor paint on your body.

Created with a lot more gradual coloring (unlike, for example, traditional tattooing where solid colors are merged together), the subtle gradients help create the characteristics and design of a classic watercolor painting. The other differentiating factor is outlining. Watercolor tattoos pride themselves on often not having a solid outline which is then colored in. The free flowing colors are meant to represent a painting – which they most definitely do.

Asia, while doing every style from black and grey, traditional, tribal, realism, neo-traditional, new school, etc, has really specialized in watercolor tattooing recently. Outside of loving the look and feel of them and genuinely enjoying creating unique watercolor designs, she is quickly becoming known Canada wide for her passion of watercolor tattoos.

One of the common misconceptions around watercolor tattoos is that they fade very quickly. Putting it simply, all tattoos fade overtime. In the hands of a professional tattoo artist (such as Asia), watercolor tattoos are safe from fading for years. How many years heavily depends on various factors such as maintenance of the tattoo / skin care along with placement of tattoo as not placing it on an area where there may be constant rubbing will make it last longer. Watercolor tattoos can fade just slightly quicker due to use of lighter colors, so if one of our tattoos does start to fade you can come back after a few years for a quick touch-up to get it looking vibrant again.

For tips on how to maintain your watercolor or any other tattoos, check out our healing instructions page here