Forum Discussion: Did Bad Advice Ruin Tattoo?
Sunday February 1, 2009
needtoknowyo writes: "I recently got a tattoo and received some terrible information that keeping it moist was a good idea; I now know that was bad info. For a few days after I got my tattoo I had plastic wrap on it at night to keep the goo on while I slept. I have noticed that parts of the tattoo are not really colored like they should be, and are rather red and almost looks slightly raised (two days after the job) however it is drying up so its kinda hard to judge. I need to know what I should do to avoid negative scaring, infection etc... Also should I apply goo to it at all? After it is fully healed is it ok to get it touched up if necessary?"
Comments
I’m not a professional, but I do have many tattoos. You were told wrong as you already know. You know what your skin looks like when you’ve been in the water too long? Well, that is probably why your tattoo looks discolored, or maybe washed out. It is the wrap you keep on it at night. Get rid of it now. I have more luck using A&D ointment, or a similiar product sold at most tattoo shops. Put it on thinly and switch to lotion after a few days. I am prone to switching back and forth between the ointment and the lotion. The ointment last longer and feels better overnight.
I tell my customers;Keep tattoo clean,wash daily with non-perfume soap and cool water,pat dry with clean/soft non-dyed cloth(terrycloth/white).DO NOT PUT NEW TATTOO UNDER WATER(POOL/SHOWERHEAD/BATHTUB).Apply a very thin coat of bacitracin ointment(if scab is gooey you have too much on it;lightly pat some off with a white paper towel)KEEP TATTOO OUT OF THE SUN UNTIL FULLY HEALED!Do not pick,do not scratch.Don’t cover;it needs to breath
Plastic wrap immediatley upon completion and through the first 21 hours or overnight. Wash 2-3 times daily with non perfume soft soap (Dial) and then a non perfume lotion (lubriderm) 4-6 times a day. Over time your reds, yellows, oranges will be the first to fade as opposed to black, greens, blues etc, but only two days ? I say do the best you can to take care of it til it heals NO PICKING, SCRATCHING, ETC and then when fully healed in a few weeks, goback and if your artist is trustworthy they will touch it up no charge.
Yes dear, you were definately told wrong. Saran Wrap or any kind of plastic wrap is for food not tattoos. The plastic barrier holds heat and moisture and above all breeds bacteria. Saran Wrap should never be used to bandage a tattoo at any point. you paid good money for your tattoo and you deserve a sterile dressing. Saran Wrap is for food. You are not a piece of meat and your artist is misinformed. You should visit http://www.safe-tattoos.com/Skinscribe.php Here you can find aftercare for your tattoo and basic info about plastic wrap.This is the Alliance of Professional Tattooists website and it will be very helpful to you and your artist, so he/she will be aware for the next client. Be Proactive and take care of your new tattoo.
Very well said sunshine,I’ve been tattooing 32 years(NEVER HAD TO REDO A TATTOO YET)and I can never understand why someone would tell a customer to cover a new tattoo with something I wouldn’t even cover a piece of meat with!!!
wet healing IS the best for tattoos as it prevents a lot of drying, scabbing, itching,and the inevitable picking due to irresistible dry itchy flaky skin….
my artist wraps in cling film which is kept on overnight, washed in the morning, dabbed dry with paper towel and re-covered with the cling film…this is done for three days, washing and re-wrapping 3 times a day with 15 mins of leaving it open after each washing…after 3 days we then apply his special ointment he makes after each washing to keep it further moist…this really reduces dryness and scabbing, as well as protecting the colours and keeping the new tat feeling as comfortable as possible during the healing period…no soaps, lotions, perfumes, sea water, bath/shower water on the area for 10 days and then you are good to go…i have had no probs with the wrap method, as long as i wash 3 times daily and dry gently and properly and leave it to breathe for the 15 mins each time…the colours stay as bright as they should be and irritation and itchiness/flaking is kept to a minimum…yet i suppose we are all different and you have to find what works for you…
Raven…
His special ointment? You have got to be kidding me! Is that like the secret sauce at McDonalds?Or is it like a VooDoo thing going on?
When I got my first tattoo, I was also told to keep it in glad wrap for the first four days, but when I woke up after my afternoon nap that day, the whole thing was smudged and gooey… So I called my cousin, who has a lot of tattoos and he said that he has never heard of covering a new tattoo. He said I must keep it open and DRY (no washing it, except for the first 24 hours) and to apply Nipple cream, a jelly-like substance that breastfeeding mothers use, or Zambuk, a salve we in South Africa use for everything from acne to insect bites, as often as possible. When my tattoo started to scab, I just left it alone and kept on putting salve on and today I have a beautiful tatoo with no fading etc.
Iīve been tattooing since 93, during time everyone made changes in the way we recomend aftercare, by today I keep it as simple as possible, Water, neutral ph soap, vaseline in small layers, and then when the wound as such is closed, hidratating cream, of course is always better use neutral products, no smells, no colors, etc… Iīve stoped recomendig bacitracine, due too alergies and because itīs an antibiotic, and itīs job is to remove foreing materials in order to cure, besides that the tattoo always fade a little…
my tat guys ’special’ ointment is basically one you can buy over the counter at health shops and pharmacies here in south africa…it has lavender, jojoba, bergamot and other soothing healing herbs…theres really no ’secret sauce’ or voodoo involved…its called Botanical Balm or African Bush Balm and is good for south african weather conditions, as ive tried the usual imported tattoo goo and its far too greasy in our hot climate…sometimes the tat guys will mix this balm with wintergreen which thins it down and produces an amazing cool thin cream to keep tats moist and comfortable…we even use it on old tats to preserve and protect the colour….other artists also suggest nipple cream, and i suppose its just what agrees with your particular skin….the point is, wet healing works better for most folk i know, whether you keep it wrapped or covered with a thin layer of whatever cream suits you…one of my friends swears by aqueous cream and uses nothing else…
Raven…
Im not an artist but I read alot about sterile procedures and the necessity of a sterile enviroment. Plastic wrap is NOT sterile!!!!!
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Moist wound healing IS the best way to heal ANY skin wound. It will heal faster, scar less, etc. Won’t go into the cellular details about white blood cell transport across wound beds but you get the picture. YOU MUST KEEP IT CLEAN. Cleaning at least three times daily, putting bacitracin or equivilent on it, and re-wrapping will heal it up in about four days. YOU MUST USE NEW WRAP EACH TIME. YOU MUST CLEAN IT WITH GENTLE SOAP AND WATER (RUB ON WITH FINGERS AND RINSE OFF) Then just lotion for a couple of weeks.
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Tattoo goo.
Simple, cheap and effective. Like 5 bucks american for a container that’ll last you months, it’s also recommended for continued daily use after healing since it supposedly helps retain your pigments. The artist I went to about a week ago gave me a trial sample and it works great. Controls the itching after the scabbing process starts and has a bunch of the same ingredients in the South African ointment mentioned above.
http://www.tattoogoo.com for more info.