Tegaderm/Saniderm/Tatuderm healing process

[BRccKLYN]

2 minutes ago, a_beukeveld said:

Great post and great tattoos. My healing process is almost identicle to yours, altho I use saniderm on the first day, just because I hate dealing with meat bandages and tape haha

Thanks alot! Just saw yours and sweet piece. That rash looks like it sucks. Had a pretty bad one also on my foo dog but havent on my newer ones so Im sure I applied the tegaderm wrong not allowing it enough space to move. Its all a learning experience.

[a_beukeveld]

I just removed my second pieces if saniderm from my 4 new tattos today. The second piece has been left on for 4 days including the day I removed the first piece and applied the second.

Fairly painful removal, and some flakes came off premature, and you can see the areas that are "wet".  No bleeding, just "wet" areas. (pictured. You can see it in the black on my eyeball guy) Very tender. Does this mean I took it off too early, that I removed the derm to violently, or that I left it on too long? Whatis the goal with derms? Are they supposedto just negate scabbing and beremoved before it flakes up, or is it supposed to heal 100%, no flaking?

Also, especially on my arm, there are areas where the adhesive didnt come off, and a sticky film was left on, clinging to my sleeve. I hardly had this problem on my leg, but allot on my arm. (pictured. The black areas are where the adhesive stuck to my tshirt)

Also on my arm are places where the skin apears sunburnt. Not sure whats up with that.

Edited September 15, 2016 by a_beukeveld

[Rob I]

I have typically kept mine on for 5 days and then take it off in the shower or sink. Slowly. Peeling backwards, not up and with generous amounts of water and cetaphil soap to loosen the seal. 

Looks like you may have had a bit of sensitivity to the adhesive, but the tattoos look great. I don't think you have anything to worry about. The last time I used tegaderm the removed film looked like a stained glass rendering of the tattoo and the tattoo healed great.  So don't worry too much about some flakes coming off. I think that's normal.  

I will take mine off in the shower tomorrow morning.  My fingers are crossed!!  My third time using this stuff, but very first leg tattoo  

 

[Rob I]

I should also note that I went through pretty full peels after the tegaderm was removed albeit very light and not scabby. I used lotion after removing the tegaderm to keep the area moist. And yes it was sensitive from what I remember. 

[oboogie]

I had a pretty major touch up on my arm on Tuesday, and this is what I was left with when I took off the saniderm. it hurt like a fucker taking it off, too.

[Dan]

15 minutes ago, oboogie said:

I had a pretty major touch up on my arm on Tuesday, and this is what I was left with when I took off the saniderm. it hurt like a fucker taking it off, too.

 

yes it does hurt a lot taking it off,

 

and that bruising / redness is normal,it will go away.

Edited September 15, 2016 by Dan

[a_beukeveld]

32 minutes ago, Rob I said:

I have typically kept mine on for 5 days and then take it off in the shower or sink. Slowly. Peeling backwards, not up and with generous amounts of water and cetaphil soap to loosen the seal. 

Looks like you may have had a bit of sensitivity to the adhesive, but the tattoos look great. I don't think you have anything to worry about. The last time I used tegaderm the removed film looked like a stained glass rendering of the tattoo and the tattoo healed great.  So don't worry too much about some flakes coming off. I think that's normal.  

I will take mine off in the shower tomorrow morning.  My fingers are crossed!!  My third time using this stuff, but very first leg tattoo  

 

Ive had bad reaction to adhesive before, once on my shoulders with normal tape, and on my thigh with tegaderm near my crotch. The common theme seems to be areas where the skin moves around allot, like the neck and shoulders, and upper thigh. That would explain why my shin has almost no problems. The skin doesnt move much.

I will attempt to get the adhesive off tonight as its irritating. I might put some aquafor or Utterly Smooth on them tonight to keep them from drying up.

I think the biggest issue was I put the second piece on too late, after the tattoo finished weeping, and the adhesive stuck to the tattoo. Next time Ill do it ealier, and leave the second piece on 5 days instead of 4, just to make sure its all sealed up, and make sure I take it off slowly. I was in a rush this morning. Also, when I put the piece on my arm, I didnt apply it well and left allot of air bubbles ontop of my arm ditch (where the rope ends are on the tattoo) so I popped them with a needle and pushed the air out, and patched over them. This left wrinkles which filled with fluid and hardened, which was very uncomfortable. I know not to do that now.

Once they stop being so sensitive Ill feel much better about them. Thanks for the quick responses!

[oboogie]

21 minutes ago, Dan said:

yes it does hurt a lot taking it off,

 

and that bruising / redness is normal,it will go away.

Oh, I know, Dan. I've used it before. It doesn't always leave such bruised marks though. :-/ Weird.

[Rob I]

@a_beukeveld  I'm sure it will all be fine. The tattoos look great in the pics. 

This is just my experience but I do not change the tegaderm out once I put it on. Some people do, but I haven't. I get bandaged as per the usual method after getting tattooed and leave that on overnight (no matter at what point of the day I get tattooed. I always leave bandage on overnight). Then shower that next morning and remove bandage and clean the tattoo. Then, since I have no confidence in my skills, I walk back to tattoo shop and have the tattooer give one last wipe down with green soap and have them put the tegaderm on. Then I leave it for 5 24 hr days.  If fluid builds up I leave it. Once it actually leaked out but then sealed right back up. I have not tried changing out the tegaderm to a new piece. Sucks enough removing it once. 

The derm always has stuck to my tattoo by day 5. It just won't stick to a fresh seeping one. I just pull it slowly with gentle soap and tons of water. And I try to remove in the direction of the hair, not opposite. 

Edited September 15, 2016 by Rob I

[oboogie]

23 minutes ago, Rob I said:

@a_beukeveld  I'm sure it will all be fine. The tattoos look great in the pics. 

This is just my experience but I do not change the tegaderm out once I put it on. Some people do, but I haven't. I get bandaged as per the usual method after getting tattooed and leave that on overnight (no matter at what point of the day I get tattooed. I always leave bandage on overnight). Then shower that next morning and remove bandage and clean the tattoo. Then, since I have no confidence in my skills, I walk back to tattoo shop and have the tattooer give one last wipe down with green soap and have them put the tegaderm on. Then I leave it for 5 24 hr days.  If fluid builds up I leave it. Once it actually leaked out but then sealed right back up. I have not tried changing out the tegaderm to a new piece. Sucks enough removing it once. 

The derm always has stuck to my tattoo by day 5. It just won't stick to a fresh seeping one. I just pull it slowly with gentle soap and tons of water. And I try to remove in the direction of the hair, not opposite. 

My shop was closed on Wednesday, and I was tattooed on Tuesday, so my artist gave me the saniderm to put on. I wasn't particularly successful, even though I followed his directions closely. Reminder to self: Don't get tattooed on a Tuesday. I need him to apply it because I am not good at it.

Edited September 15, 2016 by oboogie

[Rob I]

Ha ha ha. @oboogie

i can't imagine i would do a good job with it. So much easier to have a tattooer do it. Doesn't even need to be the same tattooer, just one that says "sure, I'll do it". 

 

[Bigboy67]

Healed many many tattoos now over the last few years with tegaderm. 

The only time I've had the red irritation issue on the edge of the tegaderm was when it was applied too stretched in the first place, or at a weird angle on a spot that moves a lot. 

(This is yet another unfinished piece, more coming shortly to finish in a last session for background, etc.)

Edited September 22, 2016 by Bigboy67

[a_beukeveld]

Got 4 tattoos recently. Posting here for info for other people healing with derm and for myself in the future.

Once the tattoos were completed, instead of using Saniderm over night like I normally do, I just used the meat bandages the tattoos gave me. I realized having to take off saniderm after 24 hours and then putting on the final sheet for 5 days really irritated the tattoo.

The next morning I took off the meat bandages, washed them real good with unscented soap, let them air dry for 5 or 10 minutes and applied the saniderm. 

To test out how long is best, I left 2 on for 5 days, and the other 2 on for 6 days, counting the day I first put the saniderm on. I always had a problem where the derm would rip off flakes prematurely and either bleed or make them scab, but this didnt happen much at all. The only one that had some rough spots was the giesha on my forearm, which I left on for 5 days. Not sure why. Might have to do with the fact it weeped allot and hardened up. Every part that was having trouble with after the initial derm removal I just put a tiny patch of derm on to keep it from scabbing and they healed up just fine. The Fudo cat on my knee healed PERFECTLY, which I left on for 6 days. Zero bleeding or scabbing. It also had zero fluid buildup, which might have helped.

From now on Im going to do the meat bandage over night, saniderm for six days after that, and small patches on parts that didnt heal well.

 

Edited October 15, 2016 by a_beukeveld

[pookguy]

Quick question regarding Tegaderm/Saniderm.  I ordered some from Amazon but I won't be getting them till Monday.  I was tattoo'd on WED but ran out and only could cover my arm partially.  Will it be ok to apply the tegaderm a few days later after using just ointment.

[Dan]

8 hours ago, pookguy said:

Quick question regarding Tegaderm/Saniderm.  I ordered some from Amazon but I won't be getting them till Monday.  I was tattoo'd on WED but ran out and only could cover my arm partially.  Will it be ok to apply the tegaderm a few days later after using just ointment.

it should be fine,I actually don't apply saniderm until  about  the first 24 to 48 hours after the tattoo was applied,most all the plasma/liquid has oozed out by then,I leave it on for 4 or 5 days after that.

 

in that first 24 to 48 hours don't forget to scrub it in warm with the palm of your hand water a few times a day with an anti-microbial soap too.

also before you scrub with your palm be sure and wash with that same soap, like this \/

after each wash I use clean new paper towels to pat dry the tattoo before using cocoa butter(which is what I use) but whatever you like to use.

and before you apply the saniderm,make sure your skin is clean,dry,and ointment free.

 

Edited December 3, 2016 by Dan

[Gingerninja]

I took my Tegaderm off today and for the first time didn't have any rash or irritation. *winning*

[jvince1230]

I love the Saniderm healing process! No worries of anything sticking to it. No washing and reapplying of ointments. No mess! Best healing process I have fouND. Plus you can show off your new piece without worries of getting contact with germs.

[Dan]

1 hour ago, jvince1230 said:

I love the Saniderm healing process! No worries of anything sticking to it. No washing and reapplying of ointments. No mess! Best healing process I have fouND. Plus you can show off your new piece without worries of getting contact with germs.

I love that stuff too,best ever healing,(as long as it's on a good spot on your body),I thought it would be cool if they made an opaque version to be worn in the sun,I spoke with them and suggested that.anyway,it's the coolest shit ever,I do a lot of traveling and getting tattooed,and it is for sure the best on a plane coming home.set it and forget it ! LOL

 

PS,the places on your body I was referring to is places like hands and neck that doesn't work so well.

Edited December 15, 2016 by Dan

[kassandrac]

Just got a new piece yesterday on my left shin, and dang was that painful! It's been about 24 hours since it was wrapped up! Just applied the derm and man does it feel good! Has anyone else noticed that it helps with the after tattoo pain? I love it! 

[Acedia]

I've used tegaderm on all my tattoos and absolutely love it. I did get adhesive stickiness twice out of like 15 applications. It's annoying but wash it with warm water and ph neutral soap 3 times/day and the glue is gone after 2 days. It's not a fun feeling having your clothes stick and i haven't been able to figure out what causes it yet. I always leave the derm on for 6 days so maybe it's some weird sweat/adhesive combo.

Verstuurd vanaf mijn ONEPLUS A3003 met Tapatalk

[nikareally]

Hi all! Just spent the evening reading through every single page in this post. All 21 of them  

Anyway. I just got my very first tattoo on Friday night, and I have a few questions. My artist wrapped it with Saniderm immediately following clean-up, and from what I've been reading on this forum, that isn't the norm/recommendation. Along with this, he also instructed me to keep the original Saniderm wrap on for 3 days (though he said I could also take it off a little earlier if it was bothering me), and to drain it by "pushing" the fluid out to the edges of the wrap whenever I get plasma buildup, and I haven't seen a mention of leaving the original wrap on or draining it. 

So it's now Sunday night, and when I tried to drain the plasma on Saturday night, I couldn't push it to the edges because the adhesion was so strong. So I wiped down the wrap with rubbing alcohol, sterilized a needle and "popped" the bubble, and let it drain this way. Then, not having any extra Saniderm, I just put a sterile gauze pad over the hole, secured with medical tape, and have left it like this since then. 

Does this sound okay to have done, and has anyone been instructed to keep their original wrap on for this long? I'm all paranoid now.

Edited January 23, 2017 by nikareally
clarification

[Acedia]

I'm by no means an expert so don't take my opinion as gospel. I've always used tegaderm but never applied it straight after the tattoo, always around 4 hours after. I do think it doesn't sound like a good idea to drain the derm or poke holes in it. You're basically creating an area not closed off enough to keep bad stuff out and not open enough to let it breathe and get cleaned regularly. Imo either keep the derm closed and leave it for 3 days minimum or once the derm is compromised, remove it, wash tattoo gently with ph neutral soap, airdy and reaply new derm. Hope this was helpful, best of luck.

[oboogie]

Yeah, if you poked a hole in it, you need to remove it.

[nikareally]

Thanks all! I ended up buying Tegaderm at Walgreens after this post. I took the Saniderm off in the shower and cleaned it and applied a fresh sheet of Tegaderm. For what it's worth, my tattoo looks and feels great! No redness or swelling, no warmth or smell. It's got a tight shiny look to it, and felt a little dry, so I'm hoping the Tegaderm will help trap some moisture in there. I'm thinking I'll leave the new sheet on for 2-3 days. Will update!

[Jkeith]

Thoughts on applying tegaderm the day after getting a new tattoo that has almost no plasma leaking? 

Edit: just went for it. My wife applied it. I wish I had bought the roll, but didn't wait. Ended up using (4) 4x4 and (3) 2x2. There are some overlaps. Not exactly the smoothest, seems its kinda of wrinkly. Could just be it's because it's a mobile spot.   

Also, within 30 minutes I could see moisture building up in the creases. Normal?

 

 

Edited February 5, 2017 by Jkeith