How Ink Guardian Works

Ink Guardian tattoo aftercare is formulated with all natural ingredients that are rich in active ingredients specially selected to enhance the healing of your tattoo and the overall experience of getting one. The ingredients in our formulation will help with reducing the inflammation of your tattoo as it heals, assisting in the healthy repair of your skin, while protecting your tattoo from bacteria.

Wet vs dry method of healing

Dry method of healing is allowing the tattoo to heal without the addition of any topically applied products, this method requires that you maintain a clean and bacteria free environment and is likely to produce scabbing, flaking. This results in the skin becoming itchy or irritated as it is healing. With an itchy or irritated tattoo, it is more likely that you’ll interfere with it to alleviate the irritation resulting possible loss of ink saturation, development of scar tissue and exposure to bacteria. These  are all the risks you and your tattooist want to avoid during the healing stages.

Wet method of healing occurs when the tattoo is kept in an occlusive moist environment which has been proven not to produce scar tissue or scabbing. While this method does take longer, you do not lose any of your ink filled cells because there is no drying or flaking. Keeping a moisture barrier for the healing cells protects the tattoo from external bacteria and provides relief from itching and maintains the integrity of lines and detail by protecting from scabbing and loss of ink. By using Ink Guardian for your tattoo, you are using the wet method of healing.

What's in Ink Guardian Tattoo Aftercare

Manuka Honey UMF 15+ is a potent natural antibiotic that protects your tattoo from bacteria as the amino acids it in slough away dead skin cells and bacteria, reducing the swelling and inflammation of your tattoo. This process helps your tattoo heal faster and reduce scar tissue as the honey forms a natural barrier and is humectant drawing moisture into the tattoo enhancing skin elasticity and cell regeneration.

 

Natural Vitamin E is an effective fat-soluble antioxidant that is essential to maintaining healthy skin, when it is applied to your skin it is absorbed through both layers of the skin being able to carry other essential ingredients. During a tattoo the levels of vitamin E and antioxidants in your skin decrease as your skin response to the depositing of ink. The additional boost of natural vitamin E helps with inflammation and keeps your newly developed skin cells in your tattoo healthy and hydrated. Vitamin E protects your skin from free radicals that occur from sun damage.

 

Shea Butter is an off-white fatty substance collected from Shea Tree Nuts from West Africa as it moisturises the deeper layers of your skin. It helps by preventing moisture loss while also delivering antioxidant rich vitamins A and E to the dermis, with vitamin A boosting collagen production. Shea butter helps your tattoo recover faster as it has anti-inflammatory benefits from cinnamic acid that contributes to reducing redness, irritation and wound healing time.

 

Jojoba Oil is a nutrient rich emollient that matches the naturally occurring oils in our skin. It was traditionally used by Native Americans to aid in healing wounds as it moisturises our skin with vitamins A, D and E and reduces irritations by forming an oily layer on the top of the skin that traps water keeping the skin cells hydrated. The additional benefits of Jojoba oil is that helps speeds up the healing process of skin cells and is rich in iodine which fights the development of bacteria allowing your skin helping your tattoo heal faster.

 

Grapes were used by ancient Greeks for variety of health purposes. We use Grape Seed Extract as it is rich in Vitamin C & E and helps introduce oxidants that help speed up wound closure and tattoo healing time. It also helps as it improves the moisture barrier of your skin cells while also acting as in anti-inflammatory reducing the swelling around your tattoo.

 

Bee's Wax forms a protective barrier and helps your skin draws and retain moisture while reducing dryness as your tattoo is healing.

 

What to expect during the healing process:

Stage One (Days 1-6) - Oozing, swelling and redness that gets better gradually over each day. Scabbing begins to form over the area.

During this stage, the ingredients in Ink guardian activate to soothe the inflammation and swelling while maintaining a moist healing environment that’s bacteria free.

Stage Two (Days 7-14) - Itching and flaking begins, and this continues until all layers of dead skin and scabbing have fallen off.

At this stage the Ink that has been deposited into the epidermis will be shedded as your skin works to heal the tattooed area in the dermis. During this phase, the skin is still recovering, however the swelling and inflammation of the tissue should subside. During this stage, maintaining a moist environment for the tattoo will aid in the quality and appearance of the dermis once the skin has healed.

Stage Three (Days 15-30) - Tattoo looks fully healed but may look slightly cloudy for a few weeks. Deeper layers of skin are still repairing, so continue to look after your tattoo.

While the skin looks mostly recovered, at this stage its best to maintain a regular application of Ink Guardian so that the newly healed cells are healthy and hydrated.