Kurgana

This is from yesterday (11 days after getting the tattoo and one day after removing the derm). Apologies for the rubbish photo and for the crooked lines caused by the position... Once the lizard effect tones down I'll have someone else take some better ones for my gallery.

Sooo I have to say my first experience with Tegaderm has been excellent.

I ended up taking the the first one off on Friday last week in the end, 'cause I had a major water breach while showering (to be fair I know now that I should have patched it as soon as the derm started to roll up a little on my wrist). The tattoo was very wrinkly and tender and so very, very dry at this point that I decided to wrap it up again to avoid having to deal with it over the weekend.

This proved to be a super smart move since I've spent the last six days puking my guts out and sweating off a high fever on a 5-6 times per day repeat cycle so I really wouldn't have had the energy to baby the tattoo at all (on a side note, got a nice relaxing morning of bloodwork, being attached to a drip at the hospital, some meds & happily no one wanted to blame the tattoo, and am well on my way to getting over whatever I had now :)).

Yesterday I finally took off the derm since I was feeling better and getting bored with resting, and just had a few small pieces left to peel and the rest of it is looking nice and lizardy. Not tender at all any longer either, it really feels healed now and also there's no dry pulling feeling like I had with the other arm unless I was lotioning it like every couple of hours during/just after the peel (that was at about the 2,5 week mark or so). I've been applying lotion only once per day, and it will be two weeks old on monday, so not bad at all especially considering that it probably wasn't the best healing conditions ever due to the immune system overload since I was so ill.

I'll post a pic with the progress later.

Yeah, I figured out pulling outwards was the way to go when I took off the test strip (since it was on my other arm, I couldn't grip two corners at the time, but just pulling out/stretching at whatever single point seemed to work well, too). I just think the shower/warm water would help detach any hardened bits of film from the tattoo more gently.

I tend to have similar problems trying to keep my hands off the tattoo while peeling, and given that the forearm is basically in my face the whole time, I guess I'd rather wait if I can. The reason why I'd prefer to remove it at home (so either friday or sunday) is that the tap water where we'll be over the weekend is kind of nasty so I wouldn't want to take the -derm off in the shower & would need to wash the tattoo with bottled water instead. I guess I'll see how it is feeling tomorrow and decide what to do based on where I am on the get-this-thing-off-me scale before we leave. The itch is getting a lot worse though so I think it'll really be a stretch to make it until Sunday....

So I'm on day three with the Tegaderm and I could use some more advice/reassurance. Overall it's been going really well so far, basically wrap&forget :). In comparison with the other forearm, it seems to have eased the inflammation a lot: the first one was nice and swollen/warm to the touch and sore probably up to the fourth or fifth day, this one has been fine since I applied the Tegaderm.

The tattoo wept quite a bit following the photo I posted, but thanks to adding a couple of smaller strips along the upper and lower edges, no leaks. What has happened in the last day or so is that all those lovely juices dried up and basically hardened the film (I know it's not a scab since some of it is way off the borders of the tattoo and it's similarly hard there). Also starting to feel the lightest itch at times. So right now I'm trying to decide when to remove the Tegaderm... Since we'll be away for the weekend, I could do it tomorrow afternoon (day 5 since tattooed, day 4 since -dermed), or otherwise I should wait until Sunday afternoon (day 7/6). I think the itch means it's entering the peeling phase, so possibly it would be better to wait so that I don't pull off anything too early? However I am a bit concerned that it's drying up too much under the film, and the tattoo could benefit from some extra moisturing with lotion (my skin is very dry)?

Lizbee, I know! Since I just had the other forearm done not 2 months ago, I can really appreciate the difference as well. I have been up & active just like normal all morning, while I really didn't feel comfortable doing much for the first 3-4 days with the first one - this is my right arm too so I've been really pleased with the difference the -derm makes.

And thank you :) I love this guy's work so much, the photo (and inky juices/tegaderm pull) does no justice whatsoever to the tattoo, I can't wait for it to heal to get some nice pics of both forearms together!

All wrapped up now :). (Sorry for the poor photo, not the easiest thing to take a pic of your dominant arm and I could only manage to do it with the iPad)

Straight after the tattoo was done yesterday at around 1 pm, the artist applied a couple of Dermalize patches but that didn't work out so well. To be fair I suspect the samples may have been quite old 'cause the adherence was soooo poor that it basically fell off on its own while the tattoo wasn't even weeping yet. So after a wash I went for the cling wrap for last night. This morning I washed up & applied the Tegaderm. The main difference, apart from the adhesion problems (which must have been due to deterioration or some other issue), is thickness: Dermalize is way thicker, and while I actually found this to be a good thing in terms of protection/sensitivity of the new tattoo, Tegaderm seemed to be easier to apply especially along the wrist and elbow crease area due to this. Also the range of motion is obviously better and the thinner film feels more comfortable in general.

So far so good. If at all possible, I'm hoping to keep this on until Sunday afternoon since we're out of town for the weekend.

Thanks! Ready for the tattoo tomorrow, had no problems with the test strip of Tegaderm (including taking it off), so I expect I'll report my healing experience here soon :).

Thanks for your advice guys! Sorry I can't seem to figure out how the user mention function works....

Lizbee, I really don't know if Dermalize is any different from Tegaderm, but the principal should be the same. (And a quick off topic, if you haven't experienced golden retriever hair before, do yourself a favour: avoid it lol...)

Patrick Bateman, I think someone mentioned using a lotion or a soap containing glycerin strengthens the bond between the skin and the adhesive (to the point that it was intended as a warning to avoid damaging the skin on removal)? Maybe worth a try with a small leftover piece of the -derm?

The thing is that my artist is going by the instructions from the manufacturer, which I gather involve an immediate initial application for up to 3 days, so what I'm trying to figure out is whether it would be beneficial to convince him to apply it at around the four hour point while I'm still at the studio or is that likely to make no difference whatsoever? I'll definitely be leaving the studio with the -derm applied though, fully aware that I'll probably need to remove and reapply.

Another question, I just put on a small strip of Tegaderm to check for any adverse reaction to the adhesive, and the skin is visibly wrinkly underneath although I was careful not to stretch out the film while applying. Is this normal or am I doing something wrong?

Just thought to drop a question here for those of you who heal with whatever-derm.

I'm planning to use either Dermalize or Tegaderm or both to heal my next tattoo (appointment's on Monday). It will be the first time for me & the artist as well it seems. He seemed quite excited to have someone ask to use it since he's heard so many good things about it.

It will be my fifth tattoo (second by this artist) and so far I've done dry healing complete with picking off the scabs (first one, was a mess of course), LITHA (second, came out fine), washing + tattoo-specific lotion (third, healed super quickly), and saran wrapping/washing for 48 hrs followed by lotion (last one by the same artist, also healed just great).

Since I pretty much took the initiative to use -derm this time, and I know the guy does not have much first-hand experience with it, I've been looking at the different methods people use. Firstly, Dermalize (my artist has some samples through the place where he gets his ink/equipment from) seem to recommend applying the film immediately, keeping the first one on for up to three days, then changing it and keeping it on for up to 7 days total. I might end up using Tegaderm since I already bought some before talking about this with my artist.

Quite a few artists I've found online also apply the -derm immediately and most don't recommend changing it at all until the tattoo is healed (unless the -derm comes off).

Then there's this thread; from what I've gathered, most of you apply the -derm at 12 hours after getting tattooed or so.

When we discussed using the -derm with my tattooer, his take on it was pretty much what Dermalize recommends. The thing is that I really wanted him to apply the film at the studio since I'm a little paranoid of introducing germs under it if I have to do it at home (pets, kids, lazy cleaner does not a hygienic environment make...) and obviously that's a huge deal since the tattoo will stay covered for days without washing. I do also have the possibility to ask him to wrap me up with saran/cling film for about four hours and then apply the -derm at the studio (my friend is booked for her first tattoo after me so I'll stay in for moral support) to get past the initial plasma weep.

So, do you guys think it's worthwhile to apply the -derm at 3-5 hours, or should I just let him apply it immediately and deal with whatever happens after accordingly (leave it on till healed/do a change whenever necessary)?

Edit: it's an inner forearm piece, should not extend to the wrist or elbow crease

Thanks Joe! I can't figure out where the guy you linked to is based either but probably not close to me since I don't recall ever hearing of him. Also I'm not really drawn to his style, what I had in mind was something much more simple & linear - straight lines. I may be getting my terminology mixed up when I refer to what I want as "script"? If so, sorry!

What you wrote about a bunch of lyrics in a small space makes perfect sense to me; been there done that sadly (my back tattoo is framed by a perfect example of this).

With this in mind, I've been quite selective with the phrases I'm considering, and if it ends up looking too crowded I could actually go for one short phrase split between the two arms. I guess I'm kinda answering my own question here since now I'm thinking I'll just have him draw something on if we have the time during my next appointment to see if I like it or not, since I can't really do it myself given the placement, and go from there. Though I'm still not sure if I'd be better off "saving" the space for something else....

Hi all,

I have been lurking here for a while, and finally decided to join!

I have always loved tattoos, but have really lacked the financial means and/or access to skilled artists until recently. I have a couple of ok-ish small pieces (upper arm and chest) that are around 15 years old - small being they key word plus the style is not really "me", however they are special memories and as such I'd never even consider covering them.

Around three years ago, while abroad, I got my first relatively big tattoo (palm sized on the upper back). This was sadly done by someone whose technique was ok but artistic talent a little less so. I learned a lot from the experience, plus I'm not really staring at it all day (it also actually looks ok unless you are quite close), so I'm still happy I had it done as it has really pushed me to continue getting tattooed AND to find a great artist.

This brings me to my latest tattoo which is a black/dotwork piece on my inner forearm, done about a month ago by a local artist I found just before Christmas and immediately knew to be "the one" to execute an idea I had been thinking of since my previous tattoo.

I am booked with the same guy for the 15th to tattoo my other inner forearm with a different, but complementary, design.

Funds allowing, I'll probably add several more tattoos to these. At the moment, my specific plans include a large piece on each (outer) upper arm (one will have to fit around the old small one). These will probably not be done by the same artist though since I'm looking at a different kind of style from the forearm ones. I'm sure there will be more as I come up with other designs that are meaningful to me. However, I'm not planning to go for a seamless sleeve look since the styles I like are rather graphic and, IMO, need the negative space to frame the single tattoos for maximum impact. Also, at least at this stage I'm not really comfortable with having work done on my torso and on the fence even about the upper tighs, so space is a bit of an issue.

So, taking into account these factors, I have been toying with the idea of adding a short script to the outer edge of my forearms. Bold, graphic, straight lined font as opposed to handwritten/calligraphy. I have at times had the impression that script is frowned upon by the more serious tattoo artists, but I have always been deeply affected by lyrics/literature and certainly see the beauty in words as much as in any other kind of visual art.

What I am concerned with is whether I'll regret using up the space later on (although you can probably see from my post that I don't really "do" regret :)). At the same time, I can't really visualize any other tattoos on my forearms without loosing the framed-by-skin look I prefer, so maybe it is a good thing?

I'll post a link to my newest tattoo in a bit, plus a reference pic to show where I'd like to get the script. I'd really love to hear what you think 'cause I really don't have any visually inclined friends/family who are willing to nitpick tattoo placement with me lol...

- - - Updated - - -

Wow, sorry for that huge block of text...

Anyway, here's my forearm tattoo (link to artist's insta):

https://www.instagram.com/p/_7uBENEW0Z/?taken-by=elzingales

If it's unclear from the pic, it basically takes up all the inner forearm (pic cuts off at wrist/elbow crease). The wings wrap up some onto the sides of the arm.

This is a Googled image of the script placement (slightly shorter phrase and not this style of font):

http://www.tattoosdesign2016.info/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/outside-forearm-script-tattoo.jpg