Kokopelli Tattoo Design

Now that you got a great looking new Kokopelli tattoo you want to take good care of it!  It is very important that you follow these guidelines to ensure that you don’t get any infections or problems with your new Kokopelli tattoo.  A great looking Kokopelli tattoo can turn into a tragedy if the proper tattoo aftercare is not followed.  

Leave That Bandage Alone!

Your tattoo artist covered up your new Kokopelli tattoo for a very good reason.  This is done to keep air-born bacteria from invading your wound. Yes, as great as your new tattoo is, it is still a wound. Open flesh is a breeding ground for bacteria and infection. Leave the bandage on for a minimum of two hours. The excitement of getting a new tattoo will make you want to remove the bandage so you can show your friends, but your friends will just have to wait until later.

The only exception to this rule is if your tattoo artist covered your Kokopelli tattoo with saran wrap or some kind of plastic. This is extremely bad for a tattoo and should be removed immediately. You are better off not having anything covering your new tattoo than to be suffocating it with plastic wrap.

Wash and Treat

After you remove the bandage, you should wash your tattoo. Use lukewarm water and a mild, liquid antibacterial or antimicrobial soap (Satin and Provon are my highest recommendations. Dial tends to be too harsh – generic brand antibacterial soaps are actually better) to gently wash away any ointment, blood and/or plasma and to completely clean the area. Do not use a washcloth or anything abrasive. Your hand is your best tool in this case. (If your tattoo feels slimy and slippery, you have probably been oozing plasma. Try to gently remove as much of this as possible – when the plasma dries on the skin surface, it creates scabs.)

Next, pat, but don’t rub, the area firmly with a CLEAN towel or paper towel to get it completely dry. Follow with a very light application of your choice of ointment. A&D vitamin enriched ointment would be my first choice, but if you don’t have any, Bacitracin or a similar antibacterial ointment is acceptable.

**Do not use Neosporin. This is a wonderful product for cuts and scrapes, but not for tattoos. Some can have an allergic reaction to the Neosporin, which causes little red bumps. When the bumps go away, so does the ink, and you end up with a polka-dotted tattoo.**

Specialty Products and Lotions

If you prefer, you can also use a specialty product such as Tattoo Goo or H2Ocean. It is not necessary, as many over the counter products work just fine, but it is your choice. Use the products as directed and continue for 3-5 days.

After that, continue to keep the tattoo clean.  Use lotion when needed instead of ointment, to keep the skin soft. Whatever lotion you use, it should be dye and fragrance free. Many tattoo artists recommend Lubriderm.

Bathing, Showering, Hot Tubs, and Swimming

Yes, you can shower with a new tattoo. It is OK to get your tattoo wet – just don’t soak it. Submerging your tattoo in a bath or hot tub can cause serious damage, so you will want to avoid those for 2-3 weeks, but showering is perfectly fine as long as you don’t saturate your tattoo. If you get soap or shampoo on your tattoo, just remove it quickly with water. Swimming – whether it be a pool, fresh water or salt water – should be avoided for at least 2 weeks.

Scabbing and Peeling

After a few days, you will notice some peeling and possibly a little scabbing. Excessive scabbing could indicate a poorly done tattoo, but a little is sometimes normal and there is no need to panic. Apply warm moist compresses to the scabs for about 5 minutes 2-3 times a day to soften them and they will eventually come off on their own. (Do not apply ointment or lotion to a softened scab – wait for it to dry) You will also start to itch, just like a sunburn when it begins to heal. The advice here is, don’t pick, and don’t scratch! If the skin itches, slap it. If it is peeling, put lotion on it. And if it is scabbing, just leave it alone. Your tattoo is almost healed, and now is not the time to ruin it!

Protection from the sun

After your tattoo is healed, from now on, you will always want to protect it from the sun’s ultraviolet rays. These can fade and damage a brilliant tattoo very fast. Before spending a lot of time in excessive heat, protect your tattoo with a minimum 30SPF sunblock. This will keep your tattoo vibrant for many years, and it will continue to be a source of great pride.

If you are interested in getting a Kokopelli tattoo, make sure to select a tattoo artist who makes safety and hygiene a top priority, so you don’t risk infection.

Tattoos are created by using an electric powered tattoo gun that has a needle going up and down very fast. The ink is injected under the skin every time the needle punctures your skin.  The tube system, needle, electric motor, and the foot pedal are the major components of a tattoo machine. The needle should be sterile in order to prevent infection of the skin.

To control the work of the tube and the needle a foot pedal is used by the tattoo artist. So, if the pedal is pressed the needle moves up and down and punctures the skin. This is somewhat similar to the way a sewing machine with a foot pedal operates.

Sanitary conditions are essential! Using the same needle on two people must be strictly avoided. This can cause the spread of infections and diseases such as HIV. For this reason you are advised to go to a tattoo artist only if you are sure that the equipment is sterile and materials are disposable and won’t be reused.

Make sure the tattoo artist opens up the material in front of you and double check it before it is used on you.  It is all is sold to them in sterile packaging and it is stated on the packaging that it is for single use only. The materials that should be used only once are: needles, gloves, ink and ink cups.  Also, the hands of the tattoo artists should be washed before touching you or the equipment.

Next, the skin area where the tattoo will be applied must be disinfected. After that, the skin is shaved and then disinfected a second time.

The pain of getting a tattoo depends upon your tolerance and the location of the tattoo.   A tattoo on a sensitive part of the body can be quite painful. Also, the pain depends upon the experience of the artist. If he is more experienced this can mean that you might not feel as much.

After the tattoo is applied, the area should be disinfected again in order to avoid an infection in the punctures. Also you should be given instructions from the artist on how to care for the tattoo. The instructions will likely be printed out so you can take it home and follow the instructions without forgetting.

Find the perfect Kokopelli tattoo designs at Chopper Tattoo, TattooMeNow, and Tattoo My Brain.

A strange lonely figure stares out of the past
where engraved by an artist in stone
Held firm by the sand in which he is cast,
these last thousand years quite alone.
Could he be listening, trying to hear
moccasins scuffing the butte?
Bringing the people once again near
to hear Kokopelli’s sweet flute?

His image inscribed on a thousand rock faces
from east to the great western sea;
From Sonora’s hot sun to the north glaciers bases,
proclaiming this loved tutelary.
Though powers possessed and methods employed
are often in open dispute;
One thing is agreed, the people did love
to hear Kokopelli’s sweet flute.

This stick figure man, with a hump on his back
seemed always to cast a good feeling;
His magic perhaps, taken out of his pack
would comfort the sick and do healing.
Whatever his talents, they surely were grand,
a fact no one cares to refute,
As people would come from afar in the land,
to hear Kokopelli’s sweet flute.

Source: http://www.indigenouspeople.net/kokopelli.htm