Hey friends! Any tattoo lovers here? I had wanted a tattoo for my whole life but didn’t make the leap  until a couple years ago and now I have two, and of course want more haha. I guess that’s how it goes!! I’ve had some people question my desire for tattoos because it’s not “holistic” and don’t do that to you skin, but I say, to each their own 🙂

My very first tattoo was an awesome experience (on my ankle) and wasn’t painful like I thought it would be, but my body had some sneaky plans. For after care I did the typical recommendations and everything seemed to be ok, until two days after when my ankle and lower leg blew up and was so swollen I could barely walk. I didn’t get any relief until I started taking Traumeel all day! My body even repelled most of the ink so once it healed I had to get the whole tattoo almost re-done. Then I tried some of my tricks this time to help with healing, and it healed quicker with minimal swelling. Then when I got my second tattoo with 2 sittings and a touch-up, I got my holistic tattoo care down to a fine art! Now, a disclaimer, I am not a tattoo artist so I don’t know if anything I do will affect the actual tattoo (mine turned out awesome though :p) but I am a Holistic Nutritionist and I know a thing or two about the body, so here are my tips for holistic tattoo care:

• Traumeel, oh how I love thee! Traumeel is a homeopathic remedy used to relieve pain and help with inflammation. Perfect for tattoo healing! I take some right before I start a session to get the healing started! I continue taking it about 3 times daily for about a week.

• Coconut Oil. What isn’t coconut oil good for is a better question! After washing my tattoo with an unscented, natural soap, instead of a plain, unscented moisturizer I opted for coconut oil, which is anti-bacterial and highly moisturizing and helped my tattoo heal nicely.

• Liver Loving Foods! Why does your liver need support you may ask? Well, tattoo ink is injected into your dermis, which is full of blood vessels and nerves. Some of these ink particles journey to the lymph system, and studies have shown they can make it to the liver as well. So to protect our liver it’s good to amp up these food at this time: beets, broccoli, celery juice, kale, cauliflower, dandelion root tea, milk thistle tea, spinach, swiss chard, brussel sprouts, turmeric, etc.

• Water. Drink your water!! It’s good to stay hydrated so your body can heal and detox properly.

Those are my 4 simple tips for a healthy and holistic healing of your tattoo! Take good care of your body art and a shout out to my fave tattoo artist Jorge Corvelo from Side Show Tattoos in Georgetown 😀