Re-wrapping tattoos

[Ben87]

After having a big session on my back, legs, arse ect I can't even imagine not keeping it wrapped the first few days, just thinking of clothes rubbing against it makes my skin crawl. As long as you change the wrapping and wash it regularly you shouldn't have a problem. Ive never had a single bit of ink falling out doing it this way.

[Old Rose Tattoo]

I know that everyone has been told different ways of taking care of your tattoos. The way I do it and how i recommend differs from the artist I apprenticed under. The artist I apprenticed under tells his clients to take the wrap off and wash it with warm water only and not put anything on it at all for the first 3 days and let it dry out. then he tells them to just loticn or tattoo goo it. Some peole that works great for, me personally not so much.

The way that works best for me and the way I recommend is this. The big question is if re-wrapping a tattoo is good or bad for it. Let me state first that I have tested this on myself first then on my old lady and sister in law and then recommended it to clients. I read this and saw a video of an artist stating this in his video. So here is the way I recommend my clients take care of their new tattoo.

After 2 hours take off the wrap and wash the tattoo with warm water and antibacterial soap (liquid dial is the best) pat dry with a paper towel. After the tattoo is dry put a thin layer of aquaphor on it. Now for the first 3 nights after getting the tattoo (first night starting the night you get it) wash it with warm water and anti bacterial soap pat it dry and put a thin layer of aquaphor and re-wrap it with seran wrap. In the morning wash it with warm water and anti bacterial soap and pat dry. Only re-wrap the tattoo for the first 3 nights while you sleep and thats it. The first two weeks wash it 2-3 times a day with anti bac soap. aquaphor the tattoo after every washing for the first 3 days. after the third day switch to lotion. The lotion should be colorless and fragrence free. You will put the lotion on 5-7 times a day for the remainder of the two weeks.

This process I have noticed speeds up the heeling process. Usually on the thrid day the tattoo will be peeling a lot. and it makes the tattoos colors brighter. This is what I have witnessed on myself and my clients. Its not for everyone, but It works for some.

Any artist will tell you that you have to find what works for you to heel your tattoos properly. What works for one person wont work for another. That is why there are so many different ways. There is no ONE right way to take care of your tattoo. I know some of you may disagree with my method, but it works for me and the people I have told to do it that way. But please before putting it down or sayin stuff about how its bad for a tattoo and what not give it a try and then you can say how it worked for you. Thank you!

[tatB]

I thought that it might be helpful to update my experiences with rewrapping tattoos. I've had mixed luck with healing my tattoos and need some touchups (I suspect my problem was likely that I babied my tattoos too much), but rewrapping plus a dry heal seems to give me great results. The first picture I attached here is of my elbow, healed about three and a half months after rewrapping, and I think it held the pigment really well. There was some light scabbing there that lasted a couple of weeks, but it kept the black and the greys healed, in Hooper's estimation, "beautifully". I'm also including a couple of pictures of my arm as it looks now, at three days after being tattooed, and four days, just to show the rate at which it's healing. Again, no scabbing, just that light flaky peeling.

Thanks again for sharing this. I had so much trouble with the aquaphor and dry healing methods I previously tried. Both resulted in thick scabs, cracking, and color loss regardless of who the artist was. I used the re-wrap method to heal my last session with O'Donnell and it healed beautifully. And my most recent work from Byrne is in the process of the the thinnest/lightest peal I've experienced. The only thing better than an awesome new tattoo is a perfectly healed awesome tattoo.

ps. if i make it up to the montreal convention i think i owe you a few beers for helping me figure out an aftercare routine that works for me.

[Graeme]

Thanks again for sharing this. I had so much trouble with the aquaphor and dry healing methods I previously tried. Both resulted in thick scabs, cracking, and color loss regardless of who the artist was. I used the re-wrap method to heal my last session with O'Donnell and it healed beautifully. And my most recent work from Byrne is in the process of the the thinnest/lightest peal I've experienced. The only thing better than an awesome new tattoo is a perfectly healed awesome tattoo.

ps. if i make it up to the montreal convention i think i owe you a few beers for helping me figure out an aftercare routine that works for me.

No problem, just happy that I could help!

[SacramentoDan]

I usually keep the wrap on until I get home/two hours after the tattoo is finished. Then frequent showers with dial and light A&D ointment. Whoever said "bacteria death trap" hit the nail on the head. Let your tattoo breath.

that's what I do & it seems to work pretty good.except I take off the wrap in about an hour.

[Killercook76]

used to rewrap for 24 hours.. I feel 12 hours does the job just as well..

[cltattooing]

So this tattoo is on day 4 in the picture. I was advised to leave the wrap on for the whole night, this time being the first I've been told to do so.

I must say I'm pretty amazed. No scabs at all, and no ink even in the peels!!

[Brady]

No re-wrapping for me - despite the tattoo artist advising to do it for best results, and knowing people who have done it and healed great. I burned myself once (as in flames) and the "burn victim treatment" did not work. I don't know the biological reasons for this.

I've browsed and lurked for a while and though I reckon lots of folk know, I've not seen it mentioned -

My lifestyle is largely intense weight training so when it comes to healing, at the forefront of my mind is nutrition. Don't worry, I'm not one of those tedious protein-shakers. In my mind my skin is the same as the rest of my body. If I hurt it, I give it what it needs to mend itself. Anyway - here's a couple of foods to munch on that'll help you heal...

Salmon - the fats are really good, also the protein for healing skin (and everything else).

Carrots - lots of vitamin A.

Chillis - Good for skin (vit E)

Olives, olive oil - fats. When I say fat, of course I mean the healthy ones!

WATER - I go through almost 5 litres a day and have done for around 15 years. Essential for life, essential for skin health. You don't need this much, but remember cells need water to do their ting.

I know enough about nutrition to know that people just don't want to hear "healthy eating nonsense", so if you want to find out all about the vitamins etc go look it up. These aren't fancy foods, I tried giving some examples of everyday foods that folk may not appreciate for the magical foods they are. Always nice to know you've long been doing something great for yourself!

Remember also that protein is very important for your immune system - been years since I've researched all this, but I think it's around the first 20g of protein you get in your tummy goes straight to work on your immune system.

Don't dweeb out on the diet plans, just reach for the stuff that isn't in smiley face format or crusted in salt and flavourings.

You'll still want your creams, ointments or whatever - my post here is to help address the wound from the INSIDE.

Have a lovely day all!

John

[MsCandyPants]

After my arm drying out so rapidly and flaking I might discuss doing this with my next piece. Brady, thanks for reminding me about nutrition as I was taking hair, skin and nail supplements for the first 4 days without issues and I've run out. The tattoo seemed to go super dry since. But indeed I've noticed a healthy diet assists with any healing in general

[deadsp0t]

Now I have never re-wrapped a tattoo or left the original post-tattoo wrapping on' date=' but after pursuing through the forums for the last year I have noticed that some people do it. I personally believe that saran wrap on tattoo = bacteria death trap. Hell I treat tattoos like road-rash, and never in a million years would I saran wrap my road rash, except maybe to save the interior of my car on the way to the hospital.

Any thoughts?[/quote']

I always pull mine off within the hour and never put any back on, an hour and a half was the longest I left it on and that was my ditch tattoo and that was only because my artist said too.

Not only do I agree with the bacteria point but wounds need air to heal, and I always wash the lotion off at least 3x a day and air dry for a bit before reapplying any more.

All mine have healed good within a months time also.

[sighthound]

I've tried all types of methods and I've found that what works best for me is largely determined within the first 24-48 hours of the new tattoo. By that I mean if I can prevent my tattoos from scabbing then I know they'll heal beautifully. I've used both the dry heal method and the aquaphor re-wrap that @Old Rose Tattoo described above. They both produced excellent results.

And I don't think there is one method that fits all situations. For example, in cases where I know I've got the time off work and can baby my tattoo, I've used the dry heal method - washing it 2-3x a day and keeping those weeping fluids from forming scabs. In cases where I didn't have time to baby it I've put a thin layer of aquaphor on and wrapped it in breathable gauze. That usually keeps the weeping fluids from forming scabs, too. Then once it dries out and starts peeling like a sunburn I know I'm golden, just gotta make sure it doesn't get scratched, sunburnt, etc. And by scabbing I mean big plate like scabs. The small, really thin scabs always heal fine as long as they don't get prematurely ripped off.

I also think how the artist applies it plays a big role in how well it heals. My foot swelled up like a tick ready to pop after getting tattooed. It scabbed quite a bit - not thick scabs but large areas of it. Still healed fine, just took much longer and I had to be more careful with the scabs. Second foot, the artist zipped through it much faster. The two tattoos are the same size and same amount of detail but he was able to adjust his application and work the skin less (the feet being very sensitive). Which resulted in my foot not swelling at all, very minimal scabbing, and it started peeling in 3-4 days.

Just my experiences, and what I've found works for my skin.

[joakim urma]

Doing my first re-wrapping healing now since I'm travelling and only had one pair of jeans (unwashed and a couple months old) going to keep wrapping untill tomorrow and then resume with my normal healing procedure: washing 4-5 times a day, thin layer of bephanten and then normal unperfumed and clean handlotion for day 5-10.

I'm a little freaked out by all the moisture and shit coming from my body at this stage but I hope it's allright.

edit: tattoo is about 24 hours old now and from tomorrow morning I can use a pair of washed pants that I borrow from my brother, so no more wrap.

[cltattooing]

Doing my first re-wrapping healing now since I'm travelling and only had one pair of jeans (unwashed and a couple months old) going to keep wrapping untill tomorrow and then resume with my normal healing procedure: washing 4-5 times a day, thin layer of bephanten and then normal unperfumed and clean handlotion for day 5-10.

I'm a little freaked out by all the moisture and shit coming from my body at this stage but I hope it's allright.

edit: tattoo is about 24 hours old now and from tomorrow morning I can use a pair of washed pants that I borrow from my brother, so no more wrap.

The "weeping" moisture in your tattoo is very good for it!

Blood Plasma Functions | LIVESTRONG.COM

[tatB]

Doing my first re-wrapping healing now since I'm travelling and only had one pair of jeans (unwashed and a couple months old) going to keep wrapping untill tomorrow and then resume with my normal healing procedure: washing 4-5 times a day, thin layer of bephanten and then normal unperfumed and clean handlotion for day 5-10.

I'm a little freaked out by all the moisture and shit coming from my body at this stage but I hope it's allright.

edit: tattoo is about 24 hours old now and from tomorrow morning I can use a pair of washed pants that I borrow from my brother, so no more wrap.

I usually weep moisture/plasma for the first 24-48 hours.

[joakim urma]

The "weeping" moisture in your tattoo is very good for it!

Blood Plasma Functions | LIVESTRONG.COM

I don't know, I am a little bit put of by this whole re-wrapping thing now. Got some blow outs on my knee now and being the perfectionst I am I think it really sucks. I did "normal" healing on my other knee and it healed up just fine. Luckily, this time it's mostly on the outline so maybe I can just make the line a bit thicker and it will look less bad.

[cltattooing]

I don't know, I am a little bit put of by this whole re-wrapping thing now. Got some blow outs on my knee now and being the perfectionst I am I think it really sucks. I did "normal" healing on my other knee and it healed up just fine. Luckily, this time it's mostly on the outline so maybe I can just make the line a bit thicker and it will look less bad.

Well luckily blowouts don't have anything to do with how you take care of the tattoo, so I wouldn't worry about that. My only concerns around re-wrapping are trapping in bacteria before your body has a chance to form a barrier. From my own experience, if I leave the original wrap on 24+ hours, it cuts my heal down by half. All of that juicy plasma has more time to nourish the wound. Just gotta make sure that you wash all of it off, because any that's left on will form a big ol' scab. If the blowouts bother you, see what your artist thinks will be the best idea. It's a really great piece, though! If I saw it in person, I can assure you that blowouts aren't what I'd be looking at :p

[joakim urma]

I am going to try the 24-hour original wrap next time then. I'm glad you liked the piece! Can't wait to see it healed :)

[RoryQ]

I read an earlier post of mine in this thread, where I mentioned using bepanthen for a few days early in the healing process... How times change, I wouldn't touch the stuff these days.

[joakim urma]

I read an earlier post of mine in this thread, where I mentioned using bepanthen for a few days early in the healing process... How times change, I wouldn't touch the stuff these days.

How come? I've always used bepanthen for the first 5-6 days and except for the slight blow outs on my two newest ones I've never had any problems from it.

[RoryQ]

@mmkaoji

I always used to use it too, but a couple of times when I was abroad with no access to it I started being fairly minimalist and just washing gently and maybe down the line some unscented moisturiser. I noticed that the tattoos weren't healing any worse, and when I broke out the bepanthen again recently I felt like even with a thin layer it is just too thick- I don't trust it.

That's mainly why I've dropped it, but when I was getting tattooed my Mo Coppoletta a couple of weeks back we talked aftercare and he said he didn't recommend it either.

With all that said, it's obviously one of the big and trusted aftercare options people use, and I doubt it's actively screwing people's tattoos up, so each to their own.

I'm healing the last bit of black and grey on my sleeve right now, and I pretty much just ignored it bar washing it. I really think the less interference, fiddling etc the better... for me, anyway.

[joakim urma]

Hmmm that's interesting. I just always used the same method and now I hear people are doing it in so many ways. Going to talk to some tattooers that I know and see if they are as varied in their recommendations.

I thought the point of using moisturizers was to keep the scabs as thin and soft as possible so they don't fall of prematurely? But maybe if you keep the original wrap on for the first 24 hours and then wash of all the goo you won't get those thick scabs. This is a science to itself..

[Graeme]

I thought the point of using moisturizers was to keep the scabs as thin and soft as possible so they don't fall of prematurely? But maybe if you keep the original wrap on for the first 24 hours and then wash of all the goo you won't get those thick scabs. This is a science to itself..

Moisturising scabs has caused me the most problems in my healing. It's the main reason why I do as little as possible to my tattoos other than keeping them clean. My wife says that this is a guy thing because I don't really take good care of my skin unless I have a fresh tattoo on it so I overmoisturise because I don't have a sense of the right amount of lotion to use. So now I've gone to the opposite extreme and I do nothing to them other than washing and keeping them wrapped for the first couple of days, and I've had much better luck with healing.

And yeah, for me keeping the wrap on overnight and rewrapping the next day after washing has prevented the thick scabs from forming. I had some still in my ditch on the last session on my sleeve, but that's the ditch and I don't think there's any way of healing that spot nicely.

[joakim urma]

I get what you mean with the ditch of the arm, I had blow outs for the first time ever (25+ tattoos) and I was like "wtf is this, mate?!"

Hmm.. dry healing. Might have to try that. Keep the original wrap for 24 hours, re-wrap 4-5 times a day for the first 2 days after taking of the first and then all dry, but make sure to keep it clean?

I am going to the back of my knee with Dane Mancini about 5 weeks from now. Got to make sure it heals nice, can't really travel back to Italy for touch ups

[JoelRhys Dudley]

Never used to re-wrap but now i unwrap, clean, re-wrap the night of a new tattoo. repeat first thing the following morning, where the wrap for most of the day unless its a particularly long day then unwrap clean and cream and usually leave it and just apply nappy-rash cream til its nice n smooth, occasionally i'll wrap it for a second night if its still too oozy because i have white bed sheets....haha.

[NotExpected85]

I left the saran wrap on for 2hrs and then havent wrapped since. i will wrap it tonight but thats it.