Tegaderm/Saniderm/Tatuderm healing process

[tatB]

I bought some Tegaderm a month or 2 ago. My first oppurtunity to try it will be this week. Still undecided if I will use it but if I do I'll share my experience here. Right now a have a little test patch applied to make sure I'm not part of that rare population that has a negative reaction to the adhesive.

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[KBeee]

Okie-Dokie y'all..especially @Bigboy67 @HettyKet and @Killercook76,

I just used the Tegaderm for the first time week before last. I was thrilled by the freedom it offered but TOTALLY traumatized by the removal.

I went a full 72 hours+, shower with hot water and soap, used the rolling motion, used the "pinch and pull", you name it. It took a solid 20-25 minutes. Is this normal. I mean, it was stressful and uncomfortable. It took 2 or 3 days for the area to not feel abraded and sore.

Is this usual? If I am just being a baby I can totally accept that…but I wasn't suppose to grip and rip, was I?

[Bigboy67]

@KBeee did you try using the Tegaderm on untattooed skin first? I wonder if you are one of those folks who is real sensitive to the adhesive?

It definitely shouldn't have been that hard to take off. It'll be slightly hard to take off, but it shouldn't be excruciating or take 25 minutes.

Have you been tattooed by this specific artist before? I'm wondering if he's a heavy hand and the irritation was more from the work and not the Tegaderm? (I'm just spitballing here, not saying that's the case or trying to insult your tattooer)

I had 10 hours of work, so I've used this now on really tiny all the way to giant spanning pieces, never has it been more than just slowly peeling it off. It's sore of course, but not anything like you're describing

[Killercook76]

Okie-Dokie y'all..especially @Bigboy67 @HettyKet and @Killercook76,

I just used the Tegaderm for the first time week before last. I was thrilled by the freedom it offered but TOTALLY traumatized by the removal.

I went a full 72 hours+, shower with hot water and soap, used the rolling motion, used the "pinch and pull", you name it. It took a solid 20-25 minutes. Is this normal. I mean, it was stressful and uncomfortable. It took 2 or 3 days for the area to not feel abraded and sore.

Is this usual? If I am just being a baby I can totally accept that…but I wasn't suppose to grip and rip, was I?

Depends where you got tattooed.. Some areas like the ribs the skin is super sensitive etc. It takes a bit of time to take it off but not 20 mins!! On my ribs it hurt the most taking it off. I think it's totally worth a little pain you will see in about two weeks the benefits of using it.

Being sore is totally natural with any aftercare . There are negatives with any aftercare but this by far the best. Let me know how it heals.

[Bigboy67]

While I agree with @Killercook76 that it SHOULD hurt when you take it off, I think it should feel way more like peeling a shirt off a real bad sunburn , versus peeling off a layer of skin with a filet knife.

In the end though, I'd still take 20 mins of brutality for the way my tattoos heal now

[Pleadco]

Have used it on the last few sessions with wonderful results. I typically have difficulty healing secondary to activity and my working conditions, but with the Tatuderm it's been a breeze. No scabbing, minimal peeling for a day or so after I remove it, and little to no itching whatsoever. Win win :)

Although I will miss tormenting my wife with bed-time fruity pebbles.

[KBeee]

Yo @Killercook76! It was around a 5 hour session with Horitomo on my forearm (which other than HellBoyish swelling) I don't find particularly sensitive to heal. (Not the ribs! Not the ribs!:eek:)

But aah, @Bigboy67, it did feel like I was peeling my skin off. I should have done a test first. I think that is really brilliant on your part.

I have pretty fast/easy heals (no scabbing, great color, etc). I wanted to try it on account of the set-it-and-forget-it FREEEEEDOM! (which was aaaaaawwsoome...I loved that part). I also notice there is less "fruity pebble" action (grooooosss, @Pleadco, and so accurate :D ) which is also cool. But I think maybe my skin doesn't love it. :(

Thanks, guys. For your time, response and troubleshooting.

[tatB]

@KBeee I'm planning on peeling off the tegaderm I have applied to my elbow/upper forearm area later today. I'll let you know how it goes for me.

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[HettyKet]

@KBeee I tend to peel it off reasonably fast but certainly not super fast, usually in the shower with not-too-hot water. Did you hold / stretch the skin while you were peeling the -derm off? A bit like with waxing - I can imagine it could be pretty damned painful if you didn't!

[KBeee]

Thanks, @HettyKet…I did. :( I feel like I tried everything to no avail. I know that you have a lot of experience with it at work. Have you heard anything about using a saline solution to aid in removal? I may need to accept that my skin is sensitive to it for whatever reasons but I just loved the freedom of it.

Yes please, @BrianH…how did it go?

[ridebikesdrinkbeer]

Hey there! My first post and it's in a thread I am keenly interested in at the moment because I too am presently using tegaderm for the first time.

I had the entire inside of my forearm done on Thursday night by Dan Smith and he was very recommending of Tigaderm. Here's my experience so far.

Thursday Night - 3.5hour-ish session, finished up sometime after 10pm.

Dan gave me two tegaderm sheets, dressed the tattoo fully with bandages and tape, and I went home.

Woke up Friday morning, Took off bandages, showered and cleaned tattoo.

Friday was leaving for a road trip up the central coast of california, and I wanted to make sure the tegaderm was really applied properly, so I went back to Captured and Dan was very courteous in cleaning and dressing the piece with Tegaderm. He told me it will fill with plasma and junk but not to be concerned.

Sure enough, it did. Friday night I had trouble keeping some of it inside the bandage and actually stained the sheets at the motel while sleeping (Sorry Day's Inn Morro Bay!) I did have some trouble with one corner peeling up, and had to stretch it back down and use some tape to keep it down. It still curled up a bit.

Through Saturday and Sunday the sheets simply stuck to me like glue, they are very breathable, and the plasma build up stopped pretty quickly. It all looks very dry (and brown) under the sheets. The tattoo really feels great now. I am probably babying my arm a little too much and being a bit cautious with it around my 4 and 1 year olds but I really am trusting this healing process and want it to work.

Dan recommended I take three days time with it, so that would be this morning...will be peeling it off and cleaning + lubing with Hustle Butter in an hour or so, if you guys are interested I'll update you on how it went. Photos below are of the piece fresh and what it looks like after 3 days of tegaderm this morning....

[ridebikesdrinkbeer]

Quick update: peeled off the tegaderm yesterday at about 8am, so just a couple of hours short of three full days. Tattoo looks great and I am in the slightly itchy/peely phase right now. Stopped by the shop and Dan said it all looked great and that everything, including the slight inflammation I still have is normal. Really excited about it as it looks really good. Just want this next week or so to wrap up so I can enjoy it!!

[Diehardonvhs]

I tried it once - I found it quite strange at first but it worked out very well! No bad reaction, everything healed great, it was more comfortable sleeping, especially since I was healing 3 different tattoos at once and there wasn't really a good position to sleep in! I wouldn't buy it or use it myself, simply because cling film works fine as well and I don't mind washing fresh tattoos, but if any other artists I go to want to use it I won't complain!

[9Years]

I used the 'derm to heal a tattoo on my forearm right before xmas. It was just the outline/shading and I plan to use it again to heal the color I'll be getting tomorrow. I really loved the 'fire-and-forget' approach it allowed! I travel a lot for work and it was nice to not have to pack saran-wrap and medical tape (I've had the best luck when I re-wrap for a few days).

The tattoo healed up really nicely with a very minimal 'sun-burn' style flake. As other have mentioned, although the heal was easy and light, it seemed like it took a few days longer than normal to heal completely.

Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences and advice.

[Bigboy67]

I love it because I can also hit a new piece with some decent ice time too. That combined with sleeve and lots of safe and sleep have led to me healing these last few tattoos amazingly.

Getting 8-10 more hours under the needle with Cecil tomorrow AM ... I of course will be doing the Tegaderm method and will post during then After pics. Last 9+ hours session healed beautifully. Can't wait to finish this owl

[Orangutango]

Got a half rack of ribs started today, about 4 hours total. Let it sit for 8 hours or so after finishing inside the dressing, washed it thoroughly and am now covered in the 'derm. Feels good already, the amount the thin layer dulls the sensitivity of the skin is impressive. Fingers crossed. Will post results in a few days.

Thanks to the tegaderm acolytes on this thread I am now sitting happily, instead of trying unsuccessfully to find a comfortable position!

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[Killercook76]

Hey there! My first post and it's in a thread I am keenly interested in at the moment because I too am presently using tegaderm for the first time.

I had the entire inside of my forearm done on Thursday night by Dan Smith and he was very recommending of Tigaderm. Here's my experience so far.

Thursday Night - 3.5hour-ish session, finished up sometime after 10pm.

Dan gave me two tegaderm sheets, dressed the tattoo fully with bandages and tape, and I went home.

Woke up Friday morning, Took off bandages, showered and cleaned tattoo.

Friday leleaving for a road trip up the central coast of california, and I wanted to make sure the tegaderm was really applied properly, so I went back to Captured and Dan was very courteous in cleaning and dressing the piece with Tegaderm. He told me it will fill with plasma and junk but not to be concerned.

Sure enough, it did. Friday night I had trouble keeping some of it inside the bandage and actually stained the sheets at the motel while sleeping (Sorry Day's Inn Morro Bay!) I did have some trouble with one corner peeling up, and had to stretch it back down and use some tape to keep it down. It still curled up a bit.

Through Saturday and Sunday the sheets simply stuck to me like glue, they are very breathable, and the plasma build up stopped pretty quickly. It all looks very dry (and brown) under the sheets. The tattoo really feels great now. I am probably babying my arm a little too much and being a bit cautious with it around my 4 and 1 year olds but I really am trusting this healing process and want it to work.

Dan recommended I take three days time with it, so that would be this morning...will be peeling it off and cleaning + lubing with Hustle Butter in an hour or so, if you guys are interested I'll update you on how it went. Photos below are of the piece fresh and what it looks like after 3 days of tegaderm this morning....

Looks like it worked well for you. One thing .. next time make sure you overlap your tattoo with the tegaderm by an inch or so. That is why on the bottom it leaked a bit.

[tatB]

I think I promised some people I would post a thorough review of my recent 1st experience with tegaderm healing, but I don't have much to say other than it works great. Easier and more comfortable than re-wrapping with plastic wrap every 8 hours and none of those annoying thick scabs that take forever to flake off. I plan to use it again on the new piece I'm scheduled to get this weekend.

[Bigboy67]

Here's my latest round of work... First is a fresh pic, and second is a pic after 12 hour post tattoo waiting period and another 48 hours under Tegaderm, looking gooey and juicy and disgusting, haha. Even getting some leakage as you can see from second pic even though I overlapped tattooed skin by a full two inches easily, so just gonna have my wife slap on another piece of Tegaderm on that corner

[scubaron]

1st session, 2 days under tegaderm. So far, so good. Great that I don't have to worry about staining sheets, clothing and the irritating rubbing of clothes on a fresh healing tattoo.

Plan to keep it on another day or 2 since I don't have much fluid.

[Orangutango]

Pulled the tegaderm off my ribs (pics in the latest tattoo lowdown thread) last night, this stuff is amazing. Barely felt it was there during the 72 hours it was on, had a little bit of fluid underneath but it all got reabsorbed, it came off easily in the shower, just hitting it with moisturizer now.

Can't imagine how annoying it would have been to heal the belt line without it. Not having to mess with it for the first three days is worth the $20.

Definitely on the bandwagon.

[scubaron]

4 days later, removed the tegaderm. 2nd session in 3 weeks. Definitely using tegaderm again. Ordered 4"x4", 50 pack on amazon for $32.

[Bigboy67]

Had to pull my Tegaderm off about 8 hours too early due to a scheduling conflict... Bad idea. Take it from me, let it stay on a little longer rather than too early. Still healed great though. Here's a first thing AM dry as a bone pic from today

That sucker hurt to peel. Also, though I don't have any big chunky scabs there is still a bit more of that thicker skin feel to some of this rounds work. I should point out though that this session was A LOT of color pack and that likely has led to a bit harder heal too

Worst part of this heal though had nothing to do with the early Tegaderm heal. I woke up this morning and snapped off my shirt like normal, not realizing parts of the owl face was glued to the shirt. Ouch! Made it bleed actually a bit, as you can see in this real up close pic

[smiling.politely]

Ordered some Tegaderm to try for my elbow... Will definitely reference this thread heavily in using it!

[HettyKet]

An extra application for 2 or 3 days is really is worth it, well, for me at least. There's no reason why you couldn't still re-apply if you wanted to @Bigboy67.