A message at 11pm on day three
An artist finishes a half sleeve on Saturday. She goes through the studio's aftercare with the client, who is tired and a bit overwhelmed, and hands over a printed leaflet. On Tuesday night the client messages her personal Instagram asking what the leaflet said about a particular step, because the leaflet is somewhere in her car. The artist answers from her sofa. She gets several of these a week, from different clients, at all hours.
Another client never asked, and did something different from what the studio recommends. When he comes in for his touch-up, the artist wishes he had had the instructions to hand.
Instructions given at the worst moment to remember them
Aftercare is explained right after a session, when the client is least likely to take it in. After that, the only reminder is a leaflet.
- The leaflet is lost or not read.
- Instructions that matter on day three or week two are given on day one.
- Questions go to the artist's personal messages, at all hours.
- Different artists explain aftercare slightly differently.
- The studio has no record of what was given to each client.
Artists on call and clients unsure
Artists lose evenings to questions that the leaflet answered. Clients who are unsure may not follow the studio's instructions, which affects how the tattoo heals and how it looks in photos and at touch-up. Inconsistent advice between artists makes the studio look less professional than it is.
How we build scheduled aftercare messages
- Your studio writes its own aftercare instructions, per type of work if they differ. We do not write or change the content.
- When a session is marked complete, the client receives the instructions by email or text within the hour, with a link to a page they can save.
- Follow-up messages go at the points you choose, for example a reminder of the next step after a few days and a check-in later, each with the part of your instructions that applies then.
- Each message includes how to contact the studio with questions, pointing to a studio channel rather than the artist's personal account, and states your studio's own advice on when to seek help elsewhere.
- Replies go to a studio inbox that the front desk can triage, passing to the artist only what needs them.
- The follow-up can invite the client to book a touch-up if your studio offers one, and ask for a healed photo.
| When | Message | Content from |
|---|---|---|
| Within an hour of the session | Full aftercare instructions and saved page | Your studio |
| A few days later | The next step in your instructions | Your studio |
| A few weeks later | Check-in, healed photo, touch-up link | Your studio |
Evenings back for your artists
Clients have the instructions on their phone at the moment they need them. Most questions are answered by the message itself. Those that are not reach the studio inbox, where the front desk can answer from your written guidance or pass them on. Every client gets the same instructions, and the studio has a record that they were sent.
Healed photos start to arrive, because the later message asks for them at the right time. That is useful for artists' portfolios and social posts, and it shows the studio how work is settling without waiting for the client to come back. If your instructions change, you update them once and every future message uses the new version, instead of reprinting leaflets and hoping the old ones are thrown away.
Is aftercare landing on your artists' phones?
- Clients message artists' personal accounts with aftercare questions.
- Aftercare is given as a leaflet that gets lost.
- Different artists explain it differently.
- The studio has no record of what each client was given.
- Clients rarely send healed photos.