In this thread, we commiserate about healing our fresh tattoos.

[slayer9019]

I had a huge chunk of my lower leg tattooed on Tuesday, and HOLY SHIT healing the knee ditch sucks. Everything else is fine, though sleeping has been tricky the last two nights, but FUCK YOU, Mrs. Back-of-the-Knee. The tattooing itself was really pretty easy for the most part, but unbending my leg is the worst healing pain I've had to deal with so far. Kinda like someone is taking razor blades to that crease. I just hope that it heals well enough that I don't have to do this again. Okay, whining session = over.

Agreed. Back of the knee was all around horrible. Mine looked pretty rough for a long time. About a month and a half to look normal

[sketchcornwell]

I just had a two session piece finished on the inside of my forearm. It goes from wrist to just below the inside of my elbow.

2 Days after I had my black done on that piece I had what I guess to be a slight allergic reaction. A burning Itching feeling (much different than itching from the normal healing period) and a few tiny red bumps. Its about the size of a 50 cent piece and its only in the area real close to the inside of my elbow, not all over the whole tattoo. I talked to my artist and he said my skin was probably extra sensitive and reacted badly in that small area. The black healed fine and the itchy spot went away after 5 or 6 days.

After having the color done a few days ago, I have the exact same thing going on in the exact same spot again.

Its sucky

[Chris3000]

I got a tattoo 5 weeks ago in the ditch of my arm and the only thing I am not crazy about is the tightness of it. If I don't keep it really moisturized it's almost as if I can't stretch my arm out to its full extension or I feel a slight ripping sensation like I'm wearing a sticker in the ditch of my arm. Other than that no complaints. Anyone else experience this in the ditch, or anywhere else for that matter?

[Hogrider]

I just started my back piece last week and got the outline done in one session. One week in - who knew that a tattoo on your back would ITCH while healing????? :cool:

[Vinn]

Trying to sleep last night with a fresh knee cap tattoo I learned something new..a cotton sheet can feel like it weighs ten pounds.

[Georgie1976]

Hate having to have showers instead of my wind-down evening baths. I am almost past the itchy stage. Woot!

[Wavey]

Currently got one healing. It's not that bad, I can zone out from the itch. The worst part for me is having to ignore the urge to start picking at the flakey skin lol

[EmmaB]

I am on Day 3 of healing a big inner forearm tattoo with surprise elbow ditch and inner wrist involvement. The swelling is now starting to go down. I'm doing wet-healing (keeping it covered with clingfilm, washing, air-drying, Bepanthen and rewrap every four hours) like I did with my other two tattoos, which I'll stop tomorrow. On the first day some areas went a bit raised and bumpy looking, so I started googling ink allergies and fretting, but that's all gone down again now. So seems to be doing OK! It's just the warm tight skin and clingfilm rustle I could do without.

[scott]

I dry heal, just leave it alone maybe moisturize it when I get out of the shower if there's any to hand if not no big deal.

I did all the creaming and stuff at first but got fed up of having wet sleeves all the time when I was getting my arms done so figured the body's good at healing itself and left some shading, there was no difference to the creamed areas.

[vPooch]

I got my first tattoo Thursday and the artist told me to leave the bandage on for an hour then have a shower and wash it with some mild soap so I did that and it didnt start scabbing until around noon the next day. He told me to apply h2Ocean 3 times a day and Im worried about my tattoo because it has some scabbing ( which I know is normal) and has like white on top of the scab (could be flaking I dont know) but it kind of worries me... any ideas?

[Mark Bee]

I'm sure you'll get lots of advice here. My two cents? I use the dry heal method. I wash the fresh tattoo the next morning in very hot (don't burn yourself) water then pat it dry wish a fresh ,clean cloth. Then...I do nothing. I keep it dry and clean and away from things like wool, cat/dog hair and dander. Try not to think about it too much and definitely don't pick at it. The human body is an amazing organism and does a remarkable job of healing itself. I find when I leave it to take care of business it does just that. Congrats on your first tattoo!

[vPooch]

thanks! Im just worried that it might look like shit when its done healing because i loved it when it was done:confused:

[Mark Bee]

I get what you are saying, but don't worry. Healing for the first time was a bit nerve-wracking for me too. After its healed its going to look great. Then you get to do the second round!

[else]

thanks! Im just worried that it might look like shit when its done healing because i loved it when it was done:confused:

Mine *always* look like shit during healing. Always.

and then they look AWESOME.

Eat healthy, rest enough, wash your hands a lot. As @Mark Bee said, your body will heal itself if you let it.

[vPooch]

Mine *always* look like shit during healing. Always.

and then they look AWESOME.

Eat healthy, rest enough, wash your hands a lot. As @Mark Bee said, your body will heal itself if you let it.

Alright thanks that makes me feel a bit better :)

[keepcalm]

Hey folks... was wondering if I could hear from any ladies (or anyone, I guess) about arm hair regrowth? I'm considering going down my left arm with a couple of pieces, but I am really concerned about my arm hair not growing back the same, haha. My other tattoos are in places that didn't need shaving (hip, ribs), so I've never had to do that before. I have a medium amount of arm hair, I'd say, and I would NOT be happy if it grew back darker or thicker (I know that's not just a myth!).

Anyone have any hair experiences to share, good or bad? Haha. Thanks in advance!

[Mark Bee]

Hey folks... was wondering if I could hear from any ladies (or anyone, I guess) about arm hair regrowth? I'm considering going down my left arm with a couple of pieces, but I am really concerned about my arm hair not growing back the same, haha. My other tattoos are in places that didn't need shaving (hip, ribs), so I've never had to do that before. I have a medium amount of arm hair, I'd say, and I would NOT be happy if it grew back darker or thicker (I know that's not just a myth!).

Anyone have any hair experiences to share, good or bad? Haha. Thanks in advance!

I'm not a lady, but I have tattooed my forearms. I've had my arms shaved a number of times in preparation for tattooing and each time my arm hair has grown in exactly as it was prior to the tattoo. I'm only one person, so my account is strictly anecdotal.

[beez]

@keepcalm I have not experienced any crazy hair growth from any of the areas shaved on my arm for the tattoo - I think you'll be fine! There is literally no difference in the hair that has grown back vs. the hair that was vs. the untouched areas around the tattoos - this includes my forearm. There's my $.02!

[keepcalm]

@Mark Bee & @beez, thanks for the replies! Would love to hear more - the law of averages, etc. ;)

It will probably be fine, but it would just suck if it wasn't, that's all, haha. Thanks again!

[beez]

@keepcalm check out this link from Snopes : Thick Talk, it states that our hair does not actually grow back thicker and darker!

Mayo Clinic corroborates here, as does this post from Aetna's InteliHealth, as reviewed by members of the faculty at Harvard Medical School.

Looks like you don't have to worry at all!

[hollyjoybee]

@Mark Bee & @beez, thanks for the replies! Would love to hear more - the law of averages, etc. ;)

It will probably be fine, but it would just suck if it wasn't, that's all, haha. Thanks again!

Hi @keepcalm :) I work within the beauty industry and when we were learning about hair removal we were taught that only repeated shaving will cause hair to grow back more coarsley...it's a bit of a myth that it grows back darker and in more abundance. Its rather the texture of the hair that changes. And it needs to be over a long period of time :) I hope this helps in some way. My forearms were shaved for my tattoos and the hair grew back exactly the same.

[keepcalm]

@beez and @hollyjoybee -- Thanks so much for the links and additional reassurance... I definitely feel better about it now! :) Perhaps I will not be afraid to venture down my arm at some point in the future.

[CABS]

I'm trying this thing where I heal one tattoo at a time. It's tough though. I'm sure it's better for the body and what not.

I used to heal like, 3-4 tattoos at the same time. This guy that was getting tattooed next to me noticed that, and he mentioned that I should take vitamins and iron pills.

Does everyone else heal 1 tattoo at a time? Or do you guys heal multiples too?

[else]

I'm trying this thing where I heal one tattoo at a time. It's tough though. I'm sure it's better for the body and what not.

I used to heal like, 3-4 tattoos at the same time. This guy that was getting tattooed next to me noticed that, and he mentioned that I should take vitamins and iron pills.

Does everyone else heal 1 tattoo at a time? Or do you guys heal multiples too?

I had a whole bunch going at once there for awhile...

I definitely noticed that each subsequent tattoo was taking longer and longer to heal. And that the day after was getting harder and harder on each one.

I've been on a little break here for the past couple months.

It looks like my break will be ending soon though and I'll be healing multiple tattoos again :D

[slayer9019]

Is it weird that I kinda miss healing tattoos? First time in about 2 years I haven't had a big patch of fresh healing tattooed skin. I'm just working through some outlining of clouds and lightning all over my thigh