IMPORTANT: If you think your tattoo is infected, go see a doctor immediately! You can send me photos and ask my opinion, but sometimes photos don’t show the whole picture. I am by no means an expert on skin infections as I rarely see them. I can give you advice to the best of my ability, but if you choose to forgo care, that is your responsibility. I cannot be held liable for anything that happens to your tattoo.
I typically like to use a second skin on my clients, my favourite one being Saniderm. Second skin is a really wonderful healing tool; however, if you are not familiar with this healing process, it can seem super weird and counter intuitive to what you are used to or may expect. Being a former scientist, I want to explain the reasons why it works so well before I go into how to take care of your tattoo. Scroll down if this doesn’t interest you.
Your tattoo is a traumatic skin wound. It may look pretty, but we are breaking through your skin to deposit ink below the first few layers. This means that while you are healing, your tattoo is susceptible to infection. Second skin basically acts as a makeshift scab, but it’s even better than a scab your body would create. It creates and maintains a moist environment for your skin to heal, and acts as a barrier to bacteria while still allowing the vapour barrier to pass through it. Research has shown that moist wound healing is three to five times faster than the healing of a wound that has been allowed to dry out.
When your body creates a natural scab, this requires energy, and additional energy is required to break down that scab. Second skin allows your body to focus its energy on healing your wound, rather then working to protect it. You skin holds very particular cells (Keratinocytes) that play critical rolls in wound healing. These cells require a moist environment to do their work, and in traditional wound healing, will burrow underneath your scab until they reach a moist environment. Within a moist wound healing environment, they are able to more easily move freely across the wound surface, in addition to other enzymes, allowing for a speedier heal. Collagen is the basis for the new tissue your body will be building to heal your tattoo; moist wound healing increases its production and allows your body to more rapidly form new tissue. It also reduces pain which will reduce your body’s own stress response, and in turn reduce fatigue and inflammation.
How to care for your tattoo with second skin
Once I put the Saniderm on your tattoo, leave it on for at least 3 days. Saniderm is water proof, so you can shower with it on, but please try and leave it out of the water as much as possible. Do not take incredibly long or hot showers that produce a lot of steam or you may find your Saniderm will start to come off on its own.
Depending on how saturated your tattoo is (does it have a lot of black areas in it?) you may form a large bubble of fluid underneath your Saniderm. This is normal — it’s just your plasma collecting. Do not pop this bubble or you risk allowing bacteria to enter underneath your Saniderm. Keep an eye on it. Sometimes the plasma will loosen the adhesive and find its own pathway out the side of your Saniderm and leak. If this happens, remove the Saniderm early. If it is the tiniest of pathways, then keep an eye on it and make sure water does not enter into the saniderm through that pathway. If it does, remove it.
You do not want to do anything that will make you sweat under your Saniderm. This may result in contact dermatitis as your skin reacts with the adhesive and your sweat pools under the Saniderm with nowhere to escape. This will also likely result in your skin pushing off the Saniderm on its own. So this means no vigorous workouts and no saunas or hot tubs or anything steamy for at least 7 days.
If you work a job where you cannot avoid sweating, then I recommend you remove your Saniderm early. If you are able to leave it on for a minimum of 24 hours then I am satisfied. If you remove it early, please care for your tattoo in the traditional way as your body will now form a scab (see the section below).
When you are ready to remove your Saniderm, jump into a hot shower and wait until the end of the shower to remove it. Wash your hands before removing it. Let warm water run on it to help loosen it. Open up an edge of the Saniderm and allow water to run directly into it as you pull it off. This will make it a lot easier to remove. Wash your tattoo really well, making sure to remove any adhesive stuck behind.
Have clean paper towel ready to pat your tattoo dry after your shower. Then immediately put on a thin layer of tattoo aftercare lotion (I sell Hart and Hamilton at my shop, but any non scented lotion will do). As the days go by, apply lotion to it as often as needed to prevent it from drying out.
Once you have the Saniderm removed, you shouldn’t scab up, but you will get a tight layer of shiny skin that will start to flake off over time. This may get itchy, so don’t scratch it. Apply lotion as needed.
Some parts may scab upon removal. Usually if you have highly saturated areas on your tattoo, three days under the Saniderm may not be enough. Just make sure to keep an eye on the scabbed area, and wash it twice a day until it falls off on its own. NEVER pick your scabs off.
Keep your tattoo out of direct sunlight for at least 2 weeks. The sun will fade your tattoo over time, so make sure to use a strong sunblock after it’s healed to help maintain the integrity of your tatoo.
How to heal your tattoo without Saniderm (the traditional way)
Some people are allergic to the adhesive on second skins and prefer not to use it. Also, if I’m tattooing a very large area or a tattoo that has very heavy black areas in it, I will sometimes opt not to use second skin on you.
I will spray your tattoo down with a first aid spray and then wrap it in saran wrap. You may leave this on for a minimum of 4 hours, or overnight.
Pick up a bottle of Bactine or any first aid spray. Wash your hands before removing your bandage. Once you remove your wrapping, wash your tattoo off well with unscented soap. Do not scrub. Pat it dry with paper towel. Do NOT use a regular bath towel. Spray it down with Bactine and allow it to scab up. Do not rebandage.
If you are removing your wrapping before bed, allow at least an hour and a half for your tattoo to scab up. If you do not, your tattoo may stick to your sheets; this will be very painful for you to separate in the morning (and it will ruin your sheets). Also make sure you change your sheets before bed. A lot of bacteria is held in dirty bed linens.
Wash your tattoo 2–3 times a day for the next 3 days. Once your scabs start drying up, you may start applying a tattoo balm or lotion, but use it sparingly. Overuse of lotion can cause excessive scabbing. Never pick your scabs. This could end up pulling out ink, scarring your tattoo, and also leave you susceptible to infection.
Keep an eye on what you allow your tattoo to touch, especially if you have animals. Don’t let it rub up against dirty furniture, and wear clean loose clothing. Don’t let your animals near your tattoo.
Do not soak your tattoo. No swimming or baths until it’s healed. No sweating until at least 1 week into the healing process, preferably 2 weeks. No hot tubs or saunas — steam will act the same as sweat. This will ruin your scabs, possibly introduce infection, and likely ruin your tattoo. Any touch ups that are required due to negligence will be subject to my full hourly fee (and yes, it is obvious when there is negligence).
Keep your tattoo out of direct sunlight for at least 2 weeks. The sun will fade your tattoo over time, so make sure to use a strong sunblock after it’s healed to maintain the integrity of your tattoo.