Essential Oils for Tattoo Healing

My daughter decided to get a rather respectable size tattoo on her back. Because of the size and number of colors, it took more than one tattoo session to complete. For the record, I’m not crazy about tattoos, but she is of legal age and it’s her body, so what’s a mother to do but make sure the tattoo heals properly.

She came home from the tattoo parlor with a page of aftercare instructions. It was important to keep the area clean and moisturized. The sheet recommended several cleaning and moisturizing items that were chemically based. Of course, in our household, we find alternatives to chemical-based ointments, salves, and the like. This was a job for Organomom. In case you didn’t guess, Organo Mom is me…the Organic Mom. I always strive to find a way to do things organically.

Homemade Tattoo Ointment

Instead of chemicals, we used rose water to keep the area clean and bacteria-free. With the area clean and dry, I then applied the healing mixture. This is what it contained:

• Avocado oil
• Fractionated coconut oil
• Vitamin E oil
• Frankincense
• Lavender essential oil
• Myrrh essential oil
• Tea tree oil
• Geranium oil

I mixed it all in a small glass container and applied it with clean fingers to the tattoo. Initially, it was applied 4 times a day for the first two days. Afterward, I applied it 3 times a day and then eventually 2 times a day until it was no longer needed.

Second Go ‘Round

It worked so well with the first application of the tattoo (the tattoo never scabbed over), that we made a batch of the same mixture for the second session when the color was applied to the tattoo’s outline.

Out of the Mouth of the Artist

The tattoo artist was amazed at her healing. Not only that, she was able to complete the tattoo in the second session. The tattoo artist was amazed that my daughter did not bleed. Apparently, wiping blood from the skin as a tattoo is being applied is common. There was no blood to wipe away in the second session.

In addition to the lack of blood, my daughter wasn’t in pain. There were the occasional “I felt that” moments, but nothing bad enough to require a “pain break.”

Healing Oils

I know from personal experience about the healing qualities of lavender. Whether it’s a burn, cut, or scrape, a spray or two of my trusty lavender and water concoction does much to quell the pain and heal abrasions quickly. The same spray stops mosquito bites from itching (my grandson’s favorite).

Frankincense is also a healing powerhouse as is myrrh. I used them on my son’s incisions after surgery. As far as tea tree goes, it’s antifungal, antibacterial, and antiviral properties are well known. I’ve used it in the past to heal my case of onycholysis.

Avocado, coconut, and vitamin e oils all pack a host of rejuvenating and healing properties. More than likely, any single ingredient in my concoction would have done wonders in healing the tattoo. Putting them all together creates a skin-healing powerhouse.

The beauty of the concoction is there are no negative side effects. Additionally, the recipe is forgiving. No need to worry if you put too much or too little of any one ingredient. It will still do the job. I know because I never write down recipes, so the proportions used in the first batch differed from the second batch, but it still worked.