Kurgana

Yes, I used derm to heal a full shin piece done in one sitting. Long story short: applied it too soon, went on an 6+ hour motorcycle ride the next day and everything oozed into my shoe. Gnarly. But, still healed fine, just kinda gross. Area around the ankle took a long time to heal fully and settle, but no issues. If I had to do it again I would wait a bit longer than usual to use any derm for a big tattoo on the lower leg.
I think you'll be fine. If it were me, I'd do it.

Thanks folks. I went for the whole five days in the end, took it off today. Tattoo is looking nice, nearly healed but I'm out of derm so I'm going to cream it the last few days. I'm definitely a convert though, and will be buying more for future art!

As long as it isn't leaking or pealing away, keep it on unless you are just tired of it.
It holds the oozed ink, which looks kinda' crazy from the outside, but the tattoo remains intact and heals in a more sterile environment than it would if exposed to air.

That's looking good, @Kurgana!
I know this -derm stuff is not for everyone, and is not part of the traditional tattoo experience, of which the healing process is a big part, but the annoying stuff to deal with in the first few days of a new tattoo is eliminated (no messy sheets, a lot more comfort). I'm sold on it since it works for me, and doesn't irritate my skin or otherwise pose a problem. Having gone without as many times as I've used it, I feel like I can confidently say I'm going to use it from here on out.
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That's looking good, @Kurgana!
I know this -derm stuff is not for everyone, and is not part of the traditional tattoo experience, of which the healing process is a big part, but the annoying stuff to deal with in the first few days of a new tattoo is eliminated (no messy sheets, a lot more comfort). I'm sold on it since it works for me, and doesn't irritate my skin or otherwise pose a problem. Having gone without as many times as I've used it, I feel like I can confidently say I'm going to use it from here on out.

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.

I haven't found being in the shower to help a whole lot, though that's what I usually wind up doing. They way this stuff comes off, like when it is used in a medical setting, is to grasp each side of it and pull your hands apart, like stretching it across the skin (not upwards), very similar to how you remove those Command hook adhesive strips from 3M. You're breaking the surface tension. If you try to pull it or peel it, it doesn't often work so great, and will pull on the skin uncomfortably, depending on where you have it. If it is on your arm, though, and you're alone, you can't exactly grasp each side of the film to pull it so it lifts off, so I generally have to improvise unless I get my husband or kids to help out.
After that, though, it would be good to have a good clean water source to bathe it.

I try to leave it on a good solid 4 days straight, so removal on the 5th day if possible. It is very hard to make it that last day, but I like to if I can, since then it peels all at once, very easily (for me) when I wash and apply lotion, and the whole thing is good to go right away. Otherwise, it is no big deal at all to remove it a bit early. The peeling might take a little longer.
I mention this only because I tend to want to "help along" the peeling when I shouldn't, and if it happens big all at once then I spend less time fussing over it and don't have to force myself not to mess with it. Everyone's skin is different, though, so this is just how it goes for me. Can't wait to see how it looks healed!

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.

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!

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!

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 :).