Tegaderm/Saniderm/Tatuderm healing process

[HettyKet]

Mmm, that's interesting. I don't take cool showers but do do rather a lot of cooling with a ziplock bag of iced water. Am really pleased with the healing I'm getting with the tegaderm in any case.

[Bigboy67]

I added ice application, ibuprofen, and Benadryl to my after care program. Take it day before, of, and after tattoo to help with inflammation.

Been reading up on the anti inflammatory effects of marijuana as well which is real interesting. Allegedly they make thc pills now too, so no smoking. Of course, it's still federally illegal to use , so I don't condone or promote it's usage

Cool showers seem to make sense to help reduce swelling. The -derm products are awesome though so you can just apply Ice directly. I would just keep showers short and the tattoo out of the heat and just use ice during the rest of the day

[graybones]

Any fellow iron-deficient anemics here? I hesitate to take ibuprofen before a tattoo due to its anticoagulant properties. I've heard that bleeding a lot can lead to the tattoo healing poorly. Is that true, and if so, is there an alternate anti-inflammatory OTC medicine? I usually just use ice packs but I find them inconvenient.

[Bigboy67]

@graybones just supplement your iron and use Tylenol instead of ibuprofen, it's an NSAID that doesn't have anticoagulant properties

[graybones]

@graybones just supplement your iron and use Tylenol instead of ibuprofen, it's an NSAID that doesn't have anticoagulant properties

Ah okay thanks. I usually up my iron supplements for a few days before but I'm never sure if that's enough to counteract the ibuprofen. Good to know Tylenol will work the same.

[Bigboy67]

For what it's worth, I met up with Cecil Porter to shoot the shit about our upcoming appointments and he mentioned that the Tegaderm heal method is something he has started using as well and that it's making the rounds as a preferred method for a lot of heavy hitters

[Bigboy67]

Tegaderm-ing an in progress piece I recently got. 10 hours of lines, mapping out, some base color, etc. probably another 10-15 hours to go on it. First pic is fresh, second covered in Tegaderm with small amount of weeping. Obviously will post a few healed pics, but we will be going back in on February 2 to finish it as well.

[rolso]

I just heard about this product today and have looking around for information when I ran across this thread. I've read every post and it has been very informative, so thanks to all who have shared their input and experiences. :)

One thing I have not yet seen is if anyone has tried using these products on a whole sleeve? I'm not sure it would work as well since it seems there needs to be a perimeter on all sides to stick to. Perhaps the tape wrapped around like a barber pole? (overlapping of course)

I suppose my concern there might be getting it too tight.

Maybe just loads of the 4x4's would work but would that decrease the breath-ability?

[suburbanxcore]

I just heard about this product today and have looking around for information when I ran across this thread. I've read every post and it has been very informative, so thanks to all who have shared their input and experiences. :)

One thing I have not yet seen is if anyone has tried using these products on a whole sleeve?

I was wondering this too. How does this work for a larger piece? Maybe I'm misunderstanding.

[Bigboy67]

@rolso and @suburbanxcore it's super easy, don't stretch the material though. You just lay it on softly, no stretch, lightly apply pressure to make sure it's stuck to all of the skin, then you're done.

That half of an owl I posted a pic of is like 7" x 12"... It works fine on larger pieces. I personally prefer the 4x4 sheets now because it's so much easier to work with. You'll find the stuff kind of feels like a very think rubber skin. If you hold it wrong it will fold over on itself... you've wasted a piece, ha.

Tegaderm is perfect for all tattoos, small pieces to slap on one sheet or larger ones that require multiple sheets. The material will still breathe out just fine if you overlap, and I haven't had overlapping affect the waterproofing either. Even when you use a ton of sheets, it still peels off in one big sheet, not like you gotta sit there and peel a hundred smaller pieces.

For a sleeve I would start at the top, making sure you go above the piece by a full couple of inches and do a top row, then move down (overlapping the last row by an inch) and do the same until you've covered the whole piece. Do yourself a favor and leave a full 2" (though id say 3" after experimenting). Try to apply it with the least amount of bunching up of the material, try to make it look smooth across your skin but again DO NOT stretch this out across your skin, you will be super uncomfortable and it may heal a bit off.

Once you've covered it you are done!

[Bigboy67]

The only thing if be concerned about if I had a whole sleeve blasted out at once is making sure you're cool with limited mobility in the arm. The Tegaderm is really flexible, but doing an entire arm would restrict some movement, so if you have an active job it might screw with work.

The flip side of that though is it's only on for three days so you could time your tattoo a little better (if possible) so it accounts for you being out on commission a few days.

But if it's really that big of a hindrance, you probably also shouldn't be getting that much work at once, maybe try smaller sessions and piece the sleeve in two sessions versus just one?

[suburbanxcore]

@Bigboy67, I guess I should've been more clear with what I don't understand. So, let's say you have the owl that's 7x12. If you're using 4x4 sheets, even if you're overlapping them, how do you keep the sticky edges of the Tegaderm from getting on the fresh tattoo? Does that make sense? I feel like I'm not really articulating my question well. Haha.

[Bigboy67]

@suburbanxcore ah I gotcha. Well this is going to be the mind blower for you then haha, because the ENTIRE sheet sticks to the tattoo and surrounding skin. That's why it works the way it does, blocking out all moisture and bacteria, while still being breathable OUT.

So the short answer is it sticks everywhere, that's what you want, no worries about at I king it to the tattooed skin. Slap it on, wait three days, peel off in shower and be amazed, the end.

[suburbanxcore]

@Bigboy67 Ohh. I was picturing it more like a traditional bandage with a stickier edge around the sides. So that doesn't matter? Interesting.

[Dan]

@Bigboy67 Ohh. I was picturing it more like a traditional bandage with a stickier edge around the sides. So that doesn't matter? Interesting.

this is Saniderm on my knee pretty cool shit !

[Bigboy67]

@suburbanxcore ya , there's nothing traditional about this method, which is why I think it scares lots of folks.

You're thinking of the "semi wet" style healing, where there's cling wrap used to cover the tattoo ding the entire heal

This stuff is totally different, the entire thing is basically one huge sterile adhesive sheet that locks in the healing enzymes your body produces under stress

[rolso]

The only thing if be concerned about if I had a whole sleeve blasted out at once is making sure you're cool with limited mobility in the arm. The Tegaderm is really flexible, but doing an entire arm would restrict some movement, so if you have an active job it might screw with work.

The flip side of that though is it's only on for three days so you could time your tattoo a little better (if possible) so it accounts for you being out on commission a few days.

But if it's really that big of a hindrance, you probably also shouldn't be getting that much work at once, maybe try smaller sessions and piece the sleeve in two sessions versus just one?

I've already had two sessions on the sleeve. Probably two more to go.

Generally speaking though, every part of my arm gets touched every time so the edges would have to go pretty much all the way up onto my collar bone and down almost on to my hand.

[suburbanxcore]

@Dan I saw that earlier when I poked around. Pretty cool. I knew that most of the bandage was the waterproof/breathable stuff, but I assumed the edges were kinda a sticky part that couldn't stick to the fresh tattoo. I kinda misunderstood.

Thanks for your help guys. I may try it on my next smaller tattoo just to test it out. @Bigboy67

[Gregor]

@Bigboy67 everyone of your posts here I read in a infomercial/qvc voice. you are awesome

[Orangutango]

Thanks for all the information guys, definitely got me interested to try it out on the upcoming ribs. Was that applied with the knee bent @Dan ?

I've found a great site (independenceaustralia.com) for any of the other Australians on here looking to get some, works out at about $1.20 a sheet (10x12cms) delivered. It's under wound care if you get distracted by all the incontinence aids. ? eBay seemed pretty expensive for those not in the US/UK.

Anybody tried any of the other adhesive film brands, seems like there is a few.

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[HettyKet]

Can't speak for stinkybutt, but I used -derm on my elbow recently and did indeed apply it when my elbow was fully bent.

[Orangutango]

Was wondering how it would go with lots of stretching/compression of the area after you put it on. Sounds like it moves amazingly well with the skin if it can handle knees and elbows though.

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[Dan]

Thanks for all the information guys, definitely got me interested to try it out on the upcoming ribs. Was that applied with the knee bent @Dan ?

I've found a great site (independenceaustralia.com) for any of the other Australians on here looking to get some, works out at about $1.20 a sheet (10x12cms) delivered. It's under wound care if you get distracted by all the incontinence aids.  eBay seemed pretty expensive for those not in the US/UK.

Anybody tried any of the other adhesive film brands, seems like there is a few.

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yes it was,half way bent,like normal sitting position & that seems to work pretty good.

and that's having both knees done in summer of 2013

[Orangutango]

Thanks! I think I'll go with some of the longer narrow ones (25x10cms) to make up the bulk of the area and then patch it in. Can you cut them at all? Assuming the scalpel is sterile? I'm looking at roughly 60x30cms of coverage, but it is a snake so I might be able to get away with some trimming.

I promise to return with experience of my own in a few weeks!

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[Dan]

Thanks! I think I'll go with some of the longer narrow ones (25x10cms) to make up the bulk of the area and then patch it in. Can you cut them at all? Assuming the scalpel is sterile? I'm looking at roughly 60x30cms of coverage, but it is a snake so I might be able to get away with some trimming.

I promise to return with experience of my own in a few weeks!

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I like the Saniderm 2 meter x 10" rolls,and I just cut them with scissors,the edge of the film doesn't touch the tattoo since you leave an inch or two border around the tattoo.

Be sure and wash it real good with a antimicrobial soap & then make sure it's totally dry before applying the film.