When you have your tattoo finished, you will often see that your tattoo artist wraps it up in a clear, plastic covering. While it might look like a Saran wrap, it in fact is a medical-grade adhesive bandage that covers your new tattoo. It is breathable and easy to move around so it isn’t restrictive at all. The brand that has seemingly become synonymous with this adhesive bandage is called Tegaderm.
But best all bandages must come off at some point so how long to leave Tegaderm on your tattoo? Eventually, the bandage has to come off so that you can start your tattoo aftercare that your tattoo artist has recommended. Each person you will ask will tell you a different timeline of when to take it off. While all of them are correct in their own way, let’s see why there are different times to take off Tegaderm from your tattoo!
Key Takeaways
- No matter what people say, the initial Tegaderm wrap should be taken off within the first 24 hours of getting the new tattoo.
- People confuse the time to leave Tegaderm on tattoo with Tegaderm aftercare because that is when you have the bandage on for extended periods.
- The tattoo might look completely different under the Tegaderm but that is to be expected because the tattoo has not fully healed yet.
- Tegaderm wasn’t specifically made for tattoos but there are other medical wraps like Saniderm made specifically for tattoos!
Time to Remove Initial Tegaderm
For conventional tattoo aftercare, you are instructed to remove the Tegaderm from your tattoo within the first 24 hours of having it on. This is the usual time that you should have the initial wrap. Now here is the catch: 24 hours is a pretty long time. That is where the discrepancies between people come for when you should remove the Tegaderm. Ultimately, you can leave the Tegaderm bandage on your new tattoo for up to 24 hours with no problem at all.
But some people will say take it off after the first 2 hours, others will say take it off after 8 hours. Some people will even suggest sleeping with the Tegaderm which I also recommend (with a little twist I will get into later). I even heard people say to keep the Tegaderm on for a whole 7 days! But, even with the people saying 3 to 4 days or a whole week of keeping it on, there is some truth to it.
However, that truth does not apply to the initial Tegaderm wrap on your tattoo. The initial wrap must be removed within the first 24 hours of getting the tattoo to wash the tattoo and start the aftercare. Anything beyond that is what is referred to as wrap healing or Tegaderm tattoo aftercare, where the second wrap onwards is kept on for longer periods!
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Tattoo Aftercare with Tegaderm
Because many people confuse about the time on when to remove the Tegaderm, I shall go over what aftercare with Tegaderm looks like. It is completely different from the usual aftercare that many artists suggest so bear in mind to do this only when your tattoo artist recommends it.
First day
For the first day after you get a new tattoo, you should remove it any time during the first 24 hours. You can even sleep with the initial wrap, but washing it first and rewrapping it is a much better option. So if you got your tattoo pretty late at night, keep the initial wrap on. If it is nearing the 12-hour mark for your tattoo and you haven’t slept yet, wash it and rewrap it before going to sleep.
When you are rewrapping your tattoo, make sure to cut the bandage at least an inch bigger than the edges of the tattoo. For the best possible application, read the instruction given in the box, or your tattoo artist will be more than happy to apply the second bandage for you.
First and second week
From the second wrap onwards, you will be keeping the wrap on for at least 3 days, 4 if you have no discomfort. After that little period is over, you should take off the Tegaderm, wash your tattoo with a fragrance-free Dial Gold soap, and then moisturize using a fragrance-free lotion. Keep the lotion on for about 30 minutes at most before rewrapping the tattoo with Tegaderm.
Second week onwards
You will be continuing to do this until the end of the second week. After that, you will continue with conventional tattoo aftercare as the purpose of the Tegaderm is over at that point. The main reason why people use the Tegaderm aftercare method is to keep the tattoo safe from any sort of infection. Most of the tattoos will be relatively safe from infection after the 2nd week so you won’t need the Tegaderm anymore. The scabs that will form on your new tattoo will also be ready to fall off so you can stop having the Tegaderm bandage on your tattoo.
Regular aftercare will actually be better at this point but you will still use fragrance-free lotion and antibacterial soap to wash the tattoo.
If everything goes smoothly, you can expect the tattoo to be completely healed by the end of the 4th week! That is around the time your tattoo will be completely healed and you can be worry-free about most products (but swimming is still not really an option still!).
How the Tegaderm Will Look Like During Aftercare
Most people are curious as to what the Tegaderm looks like during the aftercare. For the first day, you can expect a bit of an ink sack forming on the tattoo. This ink sack will look like a big bubble that you shouldn’t burst as it contains blood, tattoo ink, and plasma. For the next few wraps you can expect the tattoo to have blood and fluid under the Tegaderm. It won’t be as big as an ink sack but it will still be noticeable. If it has pooled too much, that is when you should open it, wash it, and rewrap it.
During the second week, you can expect the tattoo to have a bit of scarring on the edges or where the ink has been packed the most. The colors of the tattoo will look noticeably duller than usual but that is perfectly fine. It won’t be until the tattoo has fully healed that you can see the tattoo looking nice and vibrant. Red color will take the longest to heal and appear pink while black will look like a dull gray.
Towards the end of keeping the wrap, you can expect the tattoo to have a little redness on the edges and the scabbing and peeling will look to fall off.
7 Alternatives to Tegaderm
There are quite a few alternatives to Tegaderm. It is made specifically for wounds in hospitals so that doctors can monitor the patients’ wounds as they are healing. But there are derma wraps that have been specifically designed for tattoos too! So these are the alternatives to look out for if you don’t find Tegaderm at your local pharmacies.
- Saniderm (the closest thing to Tegaderm)
- Tatu-derm
- Derm Shield
- SecondSkin
- Nexcare
- Ink Guard
- Hypafix
FAQs
What happens if you leave Tegaderm on for too long?
If left on for too long, the tattoo will be submerged in blood and ink which can hinder the healing process of the new tattoo.
Does Tegaderm pull ink from the tattoo?
First the first few days you can expect the Tegaderm to pull some ink from the tattoo but this is the excess ink packed into the skin and not the actual ink that has settled in the tattoo.
What if the Tegaderm comes off too early?
If the Tegaderm comes off too early, you can always wash your tattoo, moisturize it, and reapply the wrap. But if it only comes off partially, you can use medical tape to secure it in place so it doesn’t get removed completely.
How to remove Tegaderm from your tattoo?
Pulling on the edges of the bandage is good enough. But you could also weaken the adhesive of the bandage with coconut oil or water on the edges to make it easier to remove the Tegaderm.
Can I shower with Tegaderm on my tattoo?
Tegaderm bandages are waterproof so they are completely safe to shower with. However, you should not shower for too long as it will weaken the adhesive if kept under water for too long.
Final Thoughts
Hopefully, after reading this you have a clearer understanding of why there are so many different time people will say to have the Tegaderm on your tattoo. It is primarily because people confuse anything beyond the first 24 hours with Tegaderm aftercare but you should know that Tegaderm aftercare starts once the initial wrap is taken off and replaced with a new one. The tattoo might look obscured under the bandage but you won’t have to worry about that since all tattoos will look different until fully healed. Whatever may be the case, remember that your tattoo artist knows best and you should listen to them when it comes to tattoo aftercare. Be sure to ask them about it before leaving the shop with your brand-new tattoo!
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