How do you care for a lip tattoo?

As always, ask your artist first! He should know what he's doing and if he doesn't, find another one!

That said, I would suggest drinking plenty of water to keep your lips in their healthiest condition possible internally. Avoid really salty or spicy foods for a few hours or for the first day as they might irritate your lips to the point of long-lasting pain. Avoid beer and wine and other yeasty liquors (this goes for lip, mouth and cheek peircings too!) because the yeast could cause a bacterial infection in the tattoo. Yuck!

Invest in a really nice, pure, natural lip balm. It may run you anywhere from $8 to $12 dollars for a tube or pot of the stuff but you'll be hooked for life once you feel the difference in quality and content. Don't get one that's pigmented or glittery or scented or flavored. All these weird chemicals will find their way into your tattoo and they'll screw it up. You'll be able to find this lip balm at a specialty store like Bath and Body works but you'll probably have an easier time finding a truly pure product at a hippy head shop that sells hemp products or a high-end cosmetics store.

And finally--practice looking like a badass. Smiling too wide might seriously hurt. Bad.