Leave your Tegaderm for 24 hours-to-3 days.
You will be the best judge as to when it needs to come off. If you have plastic wrap instead of tegaderm, leave on for 4 hours. If the bandage begins to peel off early, or gets extra gooey, or leaky, don't fret! Just take it off earlier and wash it immediately and follow the instructions below.
The tegaderm is waterproof
Go ahead and shower as usual - however, please don’t tempt fate with a bath or soaking. Also, it's good practice to avoid excess water to the bandage while showing because it may weaken the adhesive. Never rebandage your tattoo.
It's normal for your saniderm to fill with plasma, ink and blood.
It typically creates a dark brown liquid that sits on your tattoo under the plastic that looks like a soy sauce packet. Now I'm craving sushi.
If you experience severe redness or blisters around the tegaderm, you may be having a slight reaction to the adhesive on the bandage.
You can always remove the saniderm if you feel like you’re having a reaction - You know your body best. But, if something feels wrong, please reach out to your artist directly with a photo of the area you’re concerned about, or swing by the shop.
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After the 1-3 day period,or if you have plastic wrap, 4hrs,, or if your bandage has to be removed,
wash your hands and remove the original bandage slowly. Pull it off towards your skin, don't pull it away. It's going to hurt. It's easier if you take it off in the shower. After you take off the bandage, thoroughly clean the tattoo with antibacterial unscented soap. Gently wash the new tattoo with Antibacterial Unscented hand soap (Orange Liquid Dial is recommended) and warm water.
You will want to do this 2 times a day for 5 days after getting the tattoo. Stick to unscented until the tattoo is healed to avoid a nasty stinging sensation on your fresh tattoo. Carefully dry the tattoo with clean paper towels using a soft dabbing motion, or let it air dry. Don’t use a dirty shower towel. (If your tattoo feels slimy and slippery, you have probably been oozing plasma. Try to gently remove as much of this as possible - when the plasma dries on the skin surface, it creates thick scabs.)
After you have taken your tegaderm off and properly washed your new art scab,
use a gentle unscented lotion (DRAGONS DROOL Lubriderm, Hustle Butter, Tattoo Goo, Aveeno ) Massage a thin layer, remember i said thin layer, into your tattoo thoroughly, apply 2-4 times a day. This helps keep the itchy, peely healing process under control, do this for 3 weeks.
Do not use vaseline or aloe vera on your new tattoo. Vaseline blocks out oxygen penetration from your skin, causing blurriness whereas aloe vera detoxifies the body by flushing foreign matter, including ink, from the skin, resulting in some fading.
Do not use Neosporin. This is a wonderful product for cuts and scrapes, but not for tattoos. Some can have an allergic reaction to Neosporin, which causes little red bumps. When the bumps go away, so does the ink, and you end up with a polka-dotted tattoo. ** Avoid body oils on tattoos during the healing process.**
Don't freak out if your tattoo is red and/or irritated for a few days after your appointment, this is totally normal.
Don't re-bandage your tattoo for any reason, we want it to breathe in the fresh air after the bandage is off.
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Don't overdo lotion, it can clog your pores and ultimately mess up your tattoo – try to keep the applications thin and down to 2-4 times a day.
Don't pick!
Don't pick!
It's normal for the tattoo to be itchy, but resist the scratching! If you pick or scratch a healing tattoo, you can pull out pigments and create scar tissue. Did I mention not to pick it?
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Don't get into any hot tubs, swimming pools, baths or anything else
Avoid saunas, sun bathing, and tanning beds, hot tubs, the beach, for three weeks as well.
Remember, severe redness that spreads outward or in streaks, extreme swelling, and yellow or green puss, foul smells can all be signs of an infection. If you believe there is an infection, go see your doctor. However, stopping by the shop to have a trained artist look at your tattoo, may save you a trip.