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

[Mick Weder]

It's winter here.

Dry healing is taking a little longer than normal.

One week out from a freshy trying to dry heal, the tattoo actually cracked and started to bleed. Never experienced that before.

Hot wash down, little bit of Cetaphil, and like magic, the next day the last bit of scabbing fell away & the tattoo was nice and soft.

So, a slightly diff approach to healing now during these cold weeks.

[Boiled Dove]

So I got some color put in around the TARDIS, bad pick from that night below, on Friday. He is an old school biker friend in a shop in Colorado and he just tapes some paper towel over his work and says to clean it up after a couple of hours. It works, but they do get pretty flakey for a while.

So, got the tattoo on Friday and on Monday everything is still nice and smooth and then I go see DRI on Monday night. It was like an old time punk rock show. It was in a tiny warehouse space in an industrial area on the south side of Indy. Just a big garage door open to the outside and it was about 85 and very humid outside. Inside it was unbelievably hot and humid. I thought I might sweat all the pigment out. ;-) The next day the tattoo is crusty as, I put Eucerin on it and it just soaks it up and gets all crusty again. Still looks good so perhaps all the heat and sweat just punched the process into overdrive.

Not bitching, no infections and no pain (other than the pain of being next to the stage for DRI when you are 43) just talking about the process.

Here is a shot I took the night I was tattooed, I will get a better one when it is healed up.

[Mick Weder]

Completely off topic here.

Remember when my brother (RIP) had his DRI tattoo smashed into his bicep.

That night, he's in the pit at a local HC gig.

Some dude literally dug his nails into his tattoo and virtually ripped the fuckin thing from his skin.

After I shook my head in compete disbelief that Robbie was even in the pit to begin with, the damage to that tattoo was unbelievable.

And nails, should of seen the infection that set in.

It healed an absolute mess.

He thought it added character.

I thought he was a fuckin idiot.

[Boiled Dove]

Holy Crap. But I could see how someone could see that as making it more hardcore.

[OutOfIdeas]

The amount of bacteria under the average fingernail is fucking disgusting.

Fact.

[WhyMista]

So I just got the outside of my pointer fingers done and this is the first tattoo I've gotten that is sore and actually hurts as in bending my fingers is a bit annoying. My fingers and the outside of my hands were no big deal. Should make things interesting seeing as I ride a motorcycle and my gloves are a tight fit...

[/img]

You'd think I'd be used to this as I've had my fingers and sides of my hands done all in the past two months. Can't tell if I forgot that those were sore or if this one is actually just worse lol

[Mick Weder]

The fingers are painful. It's a funny area the hand and fingers as some areas are alright, then a few mils across, completely different.

Both my hands/ fingers were blasted solid but and we jack hammered the ink in so we wouldn't suffer drop out.

Getting down towards the cuticle of the nails were excruciating and working between the webbing also a little tricky.

[Marwin3000]

Right now I'm 8 days into healing a piece on my inner biceps! It's healing really great so far! Absolutely no scab at all! Right now I'm at the itchy sun burned feel stage!

[WhyMista]

The fingers are painful. It's a funny area the hand and fingers as some areas are alright, then a few mils across, completely different.

Both my hands/ fingers were blasted solid but and we jack hammered the ink in so we wouldn't suffer drop out.

Getting down towards the cuticle of the nails were excruciating and working between the webbing also a little tricky.

Yep. One second its not a big deal and then it hits for me right near the knuckle and it does sting a bit. But its not sore anymore. None of mine have ever been sore after the first day though. I do have a really high pain tolerance though I've broken my hand twice and my foot and big toe and none of those did I get set or take pain meds for so I guess that might explain why none have ever been sore more than 24hrs. Somewhat odd to me is that my hands have itched the least. My forearms and wrist itched like a motherfucker.

I have no desire to find out how bad the cuticle and webbing feels lol

[SeeSea]

Laying on the floor on my stomach 2 days after a back session. So why must the cat insist on tearing around the corner and leaping, repeatedly, right on to the center of my back?!?

[Graeme]

I don't like to complain much about tattoo healing discomfort, but mother of fuck, I wish somebody had warned me about how much a healing back itches!

[Rikhall]

Just ripped my knee climbing a pylon there goes some colour

[ThatGuy]

Oh how I wish I had a fresh tattoo to commiserate about. It's only been 6 weeks since my most recent one, but I'm craving MORE.

[Mark Bee]

I don't like to complain much about tattoo healing discomfort, but mother of fuck, I wish somebody had warned me about how much a healing back itches!

Staple a swatch of low-pile carpet to a corner of a wall. Heaven.

[Colored Guy]

Staple a swatch of low-pile carpet to a corner of a wall. Heaven.

I used a shower brush on mine, of course over my shirt. That felt great.

[Mark Bee]

I used a shower brush on mine, of course over my shirt. That felt great.

Yup - that's an even better idea. I can feel it now...:D

[ebonyperry]

Hi all, i have developed a really thick black scab over my tattoo? It was my first one and i got it done 3 days ago. Under the scab it looks like it has little to no colour, its almost as if my tattoo is lifting off? What do i do? X

[SeeSea]

Hi all, i have developed a really thick black scab over my tattoo? It was my first one and i got it done 3 days ago. Under the scab it looks like it has little to no colour, its almost as if my tattoo is lifting off? What do i do? X

Don't pick at it. How is it doing now? You will (or probably already have had) the outer skin falling off. Color in the upper layer will come off - that is normal.

[idyllsend]

Oh man, I scratched my 1 day old tattoo today. I work in a chocolate factory, and often have scratches and bruises from working, but I've been pretty lucky and hadn't injured any fresh tattoos...until today. A layer of skin came off, just a small bit, but I think it'll require touch ups :(. Good thing I plan on going back to Franz in a month or two!

[marley mission]

Oh man, I scratched my 1 day old tattoo today. I work in a chocolate factory, and often have scratches and bruises from working, but I've been pretty lucky and hadn't injured any fresh tattoos...until today. A layer of skin came off, just a small bit, but I think it'll require touch ups :(. Good thing I plan on going back to Franz in a month or two!

who knew the chocolate industry was such a bloodsport :)

[idyllsend]

who knew the chocolate industry was such a bloodsport :)

You'd be surprised!

[Hospitelli]

Having an absolute miserable time with the healing of a recent tattoo. Normally...... I'd be just starting to peel/flake after about 3 to 4 days but some spots scabbed over pretty good and discharged some ink while doing so. Now I'm worried about the potential for some lines to be blown and loss of ink in some spots. Beyond frustrated.

[jnin]

I got tattooed a couple weeks back-and it looks damn near healed, apart from a little scab that I want to pick so bad!!!

[s3rndpt]

I am trying SO hard not to pick the flakes off right now. All the larger areas of color are just peeling in big sheets. At least it's not itching. The light layer of Aquaphor I put on this morning seems to be doing its job. And I finally don't feel like I got punched in the arm any more (tattoo was finished on Saturday).

[tatB]

Having an absolute miserable time with the healing of a recent tattoo. Normally...... I'd be just starting to peel/flake after about 3 to 4 days but some spots scabbed over pretty good and discharged some ink while doing so. Now I'm worried about the potential for some lines to be blown and loss of ink in some spots. Beyond frustrated.

Most of us have been there before. Stay positive. Even a few spots of ink loss become less obvious after a few months of settling into the skin.