Whether you’re tattooing, piercing, performing PMU, or offering laser tattoo removal, every step matters. The choices you make throughout the process can impact your final healed results—from skin prep to your clients’ aftercare routine. Every product, technique, and detail plays a role. 

To that end, we’ve come up with a 3-step system to ensure your best healed results every single time: START, SET, and SUSTAIN.

1. START focuses on preparing the skin before a procedure begins.
2. SET supports the skin during the procedure itself.
3. SUSTAIN helps protect, restore, and maintain the skin afterward.

Each stage plays a critical role in creating better healed results (while also creating a better experience for you and your clients. Let’s break down how the system works.

Why a Complete System Matters

Tattooing, piercing, PMU, and laser removal already require you to think about a zillion things at once. Your products shouldn’t be one more thing to overthink.

The START, SET, and SUSTAIN system simplifies your workflow by giving every product a clear purpose at every stage of the process. Instead of sorting through endless options and second-guessing what you need, you can quickly find the right products for each step and focus on creating your best work. 

Basically, from prepping the skin to supporting recovery after the appointment, the START, SET, and SUSTAIN system gives you a simple framework:

System Phase	Core Purpose	When It Happens
START	Preps the skin and workspace	Before the procedure
SET	Supports the skin during tattooing	During the procedure
SUSTAIN	Protects and supports healing	After the client leaves

Breaking Down the 3-Step System

Now, let’s break down each stage of the START, SET, and SUSTAIN system. You’ll learn the purpose behind each step, why it matters, and which products can help you build a more consistent workflow.

START — Prep the Skin for Success

Before the tattoo begins, the goal is simple: create the best possible foundation.

Clean skin, a solid stencil, and a comfortable client all help your session run way more smoothly. Additionally, taking the time to prep properly can make a much more comfortable procedure for your client (and happy clients often become repeat clients.)

Here’s what START prep work entails:

Comfort management: A relaxed client is easier to work with during longer sessions. Numbing productsOpens a new window, including creams and sprays, can help improve your clients’ comfort, which ultimately sets the stage for a much more pleasant experience for both of you.

Surface cleaning: Proper skin prepOpens a new window, including cleansers and antiseptics, removes surface debris and oils. This is critical for creating a clean canvas before your work begins.

Design placement: A reliable stencil application helps keep your design where you need it, even through long sessions with wiping and adjustments. Supplies like Stencil LockOpens a new window are critical during this stage, so you can count on lasting stencils that won’t smudge or trip you up later in the process.

SET — Support the Procedure as It Happens

Once the procedure begins, the skin is constantly responding. Friction, wiping, pigment or ink buildup, and repeated passes can all affect how the skin behaves throughout a tattoo, PMU procedure, piercing service, or laser tattoo removal session.

The right SET products help you maintain control from start to finish. By supporting smooth application, cleaner workflows, and proper skin care throughout the procedure, these essentials help you work efficiently while keeping your clients’ skin in the best possible condition.

Here’s what goes into the SET stage of your procedure:

Smooth application: Tattoo glidesOpens a new window help reduce friction, improve skin feel, and keep the surface workable throughout longer sessions.

Workspace hygiene: Products like PetrifyOpens a new window help solidify used rinse water for easier disposal, while proper workstation management keeps your setup efficient and sanitary.

Skin refreshment: Cleansing tonersOpens a new window help PMU artists remove excess pigment, oils, and debris so they can better assess their work throughout the procedure.

SUSTAIN — Support Long-Term Healing

You know it more than anyone, because you’re an artist: it isn’t over after your client leaves the studio. Aftercare plays a major role in protecting your work and ensuring it heals as vibrantly as possible.

And a LOT goes into an aftercare regimen. So here’s everything you need to know about the SUSTAIN portion of the system (it’s arguably the most important!)

Barrier protection: It’s one of our most popular aftercare products for a reason. Recovery Derm ShieldOpens a new window shields fresh tattoos from friction and outside contaminants during the early healing stage, all while providing ultra-breathable, flexible, waterproof protection. 

Gentle cleansing: Aftercare SoapOpens a new window helps clients gently cleanse their new tattoo, piercing, or PMU procedure while maintaining the skin’s natural balance—without unnecessary dryness or irritation.

Cooling relief: Soothe GelOpens a new window can help reduce discomfort during common healing stages like redness, tightness, and itching.

Lightweight hydration: Tattoo LotionOpens a new window moisturizes and nourishes the skin during tattoo or PMU Recovery. 

Daily moisture: Continued hydration with a skin conditioners like Smelly GellyOpens a new window helps maintain healthy skin and keeps healed tattoos looking their best.

Targeted recovery: Many of the products listed above are also ideal for laser removal aftercareOpens a new window, when treated skin needs gentle cleansing, hydration, and soothing support. SUSTAIN includes the essentials needed to help care for skin after removal procedures.

Build a Better Healing Experience

Now it’s time to put the system to the test. The three S’s won’t let you down: we pride ourselves in raising the bar for prep, during-procedure, and aftercare, and we’re consistently artists’ go-to choice for their best healed results. 

So, as a refresher:

1. START prepares the foundation.
2. SET supports the session.
3. SUSTAIN protects the finished work.

By thinking about tattoo care as a complete system, you’re better equipped to do your best work, and have happier clients in the long-run.