Is My Tattoo Bubbling Normal? |
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  Oct 6 2009, 01:55 AM
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#21
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I usually recommend covering so that blood, ink,plasma isn't getting all over clothes, car seats, furniture n stuff. Also, it's a fresh open wound. The covering stops anything airborn from getting onto the tattoo while it is still fresh. I use a thin layer of bepanthen & then cover with cling wrap (I think it's seran/ceran wrap in the states) but alsouse non-stick wound dressing. it really depends on how you were taught i spose. It's kinda like when you come away from hospital with stitches or a freshly cleaned wound/graze, you need to protect it from any nasties that might be around. Usually a couple of hours allows for the tattoo to settle an stop bleeding, weeping. It's not so raw. Hope this helps...
-------------------- "Drawing is the honesty of the art. There is no possibility of cheating. It is either good or bad." Dali
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Oct 6 2009, 07:35 AM
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#22
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Of course I know an open wound should be kept clean until it's become a closed wound. I just don't get this whole ridiculous business of petroleum jelly and cling film.
Imagine a tattoo without the ink in it, for the wound that it is. Or, let's say for example, imagine you trip over and graze your knee on the ground....what do you do with the wound after it's been cleaned? Vaseline and clingfilm anyone? wtf 
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Oct 8 2009, 09:18 AM
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#23
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QUOTE (amybird @ Oct 6 2009, 08:35 AM)  Of course I know an open wound should be kept clean until it's become a closed wound. I just don't get this whole ridiculous business of petroleum jelly and cling film. Imagine a tattoo without the ink in it, for the wound that it is. Or, let's say for example, imagine you trip over and graze your knee on the ground....what do you do with the wound after it's been cleaned? Vaseline and clingfilm anyone? wtf You'd use a band-aid of course.  But tattoos are bigger than band-aids and knee scrapes don't need special attention during the healing process. Specially formulated oil based ointments like Neosporine, help speed along the healing process of a simple cut or scrape. You keep it covered and let the medicine work it's magic. But keeping a tattoo covered is bad. It needs to dry out, and heal on it's own to assure the best finished piece of art. Oil based products, if left on for too long, will get into the skin, and push the water based tattoo pigment out. Causing your new tattoo to fade and look like your grandpa's forearm tattoo. Tattoos are open wounds, for sure, but require a bit more specialized attention. The vaseline that is put on immediately after the tattoo, is used to keep the blood and ink from oozing out too much while you wait for the body to clot the wound and stop bleeding. Though it needs to be removed once the tattoo stops bleeding profusely so it doesn't soak into the wound. For the bandaging, something as simple as a folded paper towel is fine for the recommended waiting period until you wash with warm water. But if you just finished lining something bigger, like an entire sleeve, then cling wrap is most commonly used for the initial wrap because it's the most versatile. And once again, it's removed ASAP, as if left on too long, it becomes a breeding ground for bacteria. It's just an initial cover until the bleeding stops. That's the logic behind it, and although artists' special preferences differ a bit, this is pretty much the tried and true method.
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Oct 8 2009, 10:20 AM
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#24
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mybe you should ....lol not a doctor dont know what you got .......jk i guess i meant open wound ....thanx
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Oct 8 2009, 10:38 AM
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#25
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QUOTE (J.D. @ Oct 8 2009, 07:18 PM) Tattoos are open wounds, for sure, but require a bit more specialized attention. I'm starting to disagree with this, even though my level of experience is still very low, and am finding that less is very much more, with aftercare limited to keeping the tattoo clean and nothing else (e.g. no lotions or any other stuff for the already traumatised skin to process and deal with when it's got enough on its plate) giving super-fast healing time, complete with giant thick scabs flaking off all over the place to reveal bright smooth inky skin in just a few days (so I guess all the things I've read saying "DON'T LET IT SCAB!" are bollocks too. Scabs are part of the skin's healing process...). All these lotions, regardless of their ingredients, really have nothing on millenia of evolution, surely? I guess the only exception might be when your work environment and/clothing does not allow you to keep your skin clean and protected, so an antiseptic lotion would be a sensible precaution. And air has to be better than vaseline for enabling a fresh tattoo to dry up and start forming a protective layer...? Blah. It all seems very screwed up to me *shrug* |
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Oct 8 2009, 11:06 AM
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#26
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QUOTE (amybird @ Oct 8 2009, 11:38 AM) I'm starting to disagree with this, even though my level of experience is still very low, and am finding that less is very much more, with aftercare limited to keeping the tattoo clean and nothing else (e.g. no lotions or any other stuff for the already traumatised skin to process and deal with when it's got enough on its plate) giving super-fast healing time, complete with giant thick scabs flaking off all over the place to reveal bright smooth inky skin in just a few days (so I guess all the things I've read saying "DON'T LET IT SCAB!" are bollocks too. Scabs are part of the skin's healing process...). All these lotions, regardless of their ingredients, really have nothing on millenia of evolution, surely? I guess the only exception might be when your work environment and/clothing does not allow you to keep your skin clean and protected, so an antiseptic lotion would be a sensible precaution. And air has to be better than vaseline for enabling a fresh tattoo to dry up and start forming a protective layer...? Blah. It all seems very screwed up to me *shrug* What? Amy dear, you're over thinking again. All I can understand is the "Don't let it scab" part of your post. Yes, "don't let it scab" is bullshit. You want to let it scab. Regarding everything else...click here It's as simple as that. For me, that's what works. For others, there are variations. This topic has been debated countless times on this forum. Every time I've seen it talked about, it's pretty much the same instructions. Oil based vs waterbased aftercare is always the debate. What did your tattoo artist do after he finished lining your sleeve? EDIT: I think I understand what you posted. You're saying why not leave all products off and just let it scab. My answer to that is, if you don't keep it from drying out too much, your scab can split and bleed, causing your tattoo to potentially scar, and most definitely loose ink, leaving a blank skin toned spot that's as big as where the scab split and the ink got pushed out. -------------------- |
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Oct 8 2009, 11:59 AM
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#27
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QUOTE (J.D. @ Oct 8 2009, 12:06 PM) W EDIT: I think I understand what you posted. You're saying why not leave all products off and just let it scab. My answer to that is, if you don't keep it from drying out too much, your scab can split and bleed, causing your tattoo to potentially scar, and most definitely loose ink, leaving a blank skin toned spot that's as big as where the scab split and the ink got pushed out. Nail on the head as usual! |
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Oct 8 2009, 12:28 PM
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#28
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Aah the scab splitting makes sense... probably determined a lot by body part e.g. inner forearm vs elbow, and the amount of bending the skin undergoes.
After each of my tattoo sessions my tattooist covers the area in vaseline and cling film, which feels horrible and then I rush home, take it all off, wash etc. Next time I might ask him to skip it, coz the dressing would be coming straight off whether home was 20 seconds or 20 minutes away. But yeh, tired subject, each to their own and all that. I just prefer logically sound arguments to "that's the way tattooists have been doing it for years", you know?
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Oct 8 2009, 12:36 PM
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#29
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QUOTE (amybird @ Oct 8 2009, 12:28 PM) Aah the scab splitting makes sense... probably determined a lot by body part e.g. inner forearm vs elbow, and the amount of bending the skin undergoes. Yes, that's a factor, but you never want to risk your tattoo drying out and splitting. Even if the tattoo is on a place where the skin doesn't stretch much, you still never know when it can accidentally be bumped or scraped. Lotion used appropriately will help minimize the splitting.
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