How Long Do You Have To Wrap A Tattoo?
You’ll need to keep your tattoo wrapped in cling film from one to three days. Depending on the size of your artwork this may be longer and your artist will let you know but a general rule of thumb is: Small line-work pieces – keep the cling film on for one to two days.
Contents
How long should I leave my new tattoo wrapped?
Best. tattoo is reader-supported. When you buy via the links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission at no cost to you. It’s a delicate process, getting a tattoo. It takes time and care to think about the design you want, the color that best suits your skin tone, and then waiting patiently for it to heal.
- After all that work comes the wrapping up of your new ink with cling film – how long should you keep a tattoo covered ? The short answer is that it depends on the tattoo artist and what they recommend, but most artists will say to leave your new ink wrapped up for at least 24 hours;
If you want a more detailed answer, we’ve got this article about how long to keep tattoos covered in cling film. Let’s get reading!.
How to wrap a tattoo with a wrap?
How Can I Re-Wrap a Tattoo On My Own? – The first tattoo wrapping is done by your tattoo artist. But, what happens when you want to re-wrap the tattoo at home? How can you do it on your own? Here are some tips and tricks to utilize for this situation;
- Make sure you’re in a clean and sterile environment ; find the cleanest room in your home, and if you cannot recreate the cleanliness of a tattoo studio, then you may not want to re-wrap the tattoo at home.
- Make sure to wash your hands thoroughly before touching the tattoo. Use at least 60% alcohol hand-washing soap, and wash your hands for at least 20 seconds. Focus on the fingers, the nail, and they are between the fingers as well. After you wash your hands, make sure not to touch anything else other than the tattoo.
- Wash the tattoo with lukewarm water and antibacterial, gentle, and fragrance-free soap. After you wash the tattoo, tap dry it with a paper towel or let it air-dry on its own.
- Now that the tattoo is cleaned and dried, take the breathable wrap and apply it carefully onto the tattoo. Make sure the wrap covers the whole tattoo, and ensure the adhesive ends up sticking to the skin surrounding the tattoo, not the tattooed skin.
Make sure to keep the tattoo re-wrapped for a few hours, or overnight. After you remove the wrap again, you will need to wash and dry your tattoo again. Refrain from leaving the wrap on for several days, as some manufacturers advise, without consulting your tattooist first.
Can you use cling film to wrap a tattoo?
Why Should I Avoid Cling Film Tattoo Wrapping? – As many tattoo artists say, cling film is the last resort to tattoo wrapping and it should be avoided. Cling film is good for tattoo wrapping right after the tattoo is done; once you remove the cling film, in the following 2 to 4 hours, you should not use it to re-wrap the tattoo.
Now, the reason for this lies in the fact that cling film is made from plastic. The plastic is not a breathable material, so it traps the air in the tattoo, preventing it from naturally drying out and healing.
Without drying out, the tattoo cannot close and seal. Not to mention that the plastic wrap created a tattoo vacuum, which can heat up the tattooed skin, promoting quicker bacteria and germ breeding and growth. There were also cases of tattoo blowout being caused by cling film and plastic tattoo wraps.
Should I Cover my New Tattoo?
Tattoo: To Wrap or Not to Wrap? – Wrapping your tattoo in cling film or plastic wrap is believed to have developed from the ’60s and ’70s Biker gatherings. Freshly tattooed Bikers were brazenly ripping off their bandages repeatedly, showing off their new tattoos, blood and ink oozing everywhere.
- The “cling film” legend goes like this: one of those bike enthusiasts decided to wrap his new tattoo in see-through plastic, so he could show all his mates without taking off its cover;
- It worked;
- His mates could now see his new tattoo, and he didn’t flick blood and ooze around;
(This was at a time and age where concerns and knowledge about blood-borne viruses such as HIV and hepatitis were uncommon. ) Whether this journey back into Biker history has any merit, the message itself does: You need to protect your freshly inked tattoo from external infections for best results. The real questions are:
- What should you wrap your new tattoo with?
- When should you wrap your new tattoo?
- How long you wrap your new tattoo for?
A critical step for a naturally healing tattoo is air-drying it out. Only expose your fresh tattoo to a clean environment like your bathroom rather than the garage. Once the top layer of a tattoo has dried out and flaked off, it will reveal your tattoo underneath.
