Hey james, in my experience artists differ alot in their aftercare advice. some people will tell you to use certain creams others will tell you to dry heal, some will say don’t soak the tattoo others will say have a HOT bath or shower to seal the tattoo. I usually advise my clients to leave the cover on for at least 1-2 hours or until they can get home and give it a good clean. depending on the work they have had done depends on how long they can come get it touched up, if needs be. very thin line work or dot effect will heal quicker so can usually be touched up in 2 weeks whereas solid black or colour would be around 4. however it depends on the individual as always, people have different lifestyles and levels of health so will heal at a varied rate. the guidelines that your artist will provide you is a generalised idea. in the end you know your own body more than anyone else and you should be aware if your tattoo feels fully healed or not. i usually won’t touch up a piece if its still got a shine on where the skin is still new and definitely not if there is any scabbing still on the piece. i’d say be patient and you will know when the time is right 🙂