Intro & Aftercare Question

[mmorgan]

Hi everyone! I am new to this forum, lurked for a bit before joining! Lots of good posts on here :)

Anyways, I have four tattoos, in order of when I got them - Swahili symbol for hakuna matata on my right wrist, "c'est la vie" on the left side of my collarbone, a zentangle feather on my left arm, and my newest and the subject of my question in this thread, 3 Alberta wild roses on top of my right shoulder. I'm a 20 year old girl if you didn't pick that up from my tattoos :P

Now for my question! My roses were done Saturday (July 27th), today is now Tuesday (July 30th) I usually use H2Ocean - its what I used for my last tattoo, just a small amount whenever it got dry feeling or tight. I've been doing the same thing for the roses, but they're quite scabby. I've been told that they are scabby because the my artist had to really "grind" (his words) the ink in there. BUT I spoke to him today and he said to stop using any ointment or lotion immediately. This seems a little odd to me, especially since the skin feels very tight & is painful to move my arm very much, where the ointment gave some relief, especially at work (I have to wear coveralls so I make sure to wear a clean t-shirt that covers the tattoo) but the rubbing and the weight of the coveralls can make it really sore further into the day.

Does anyone have any ideas to relieve the pain? I don't want to possibly ruin the tattoo by continuing to use ointment or lotion..(I had this slight pain with my other tattoos but this one is in an odd place so I've decided that's why it hurts a bit more)

Thank you for reading, I look forward to your advice & reading everyone's stories & finding answers to any other questions I may have!

[slayer9019]

Usually I try to follow the artist's recommendations on aftercare, but a little FYI, I actually dry-heal all of my tattoos. It may suck a bit but really they have all healed fine. Your mileage may vary.

[Killercook76]

i've used all different product for my tattoos.. I found that for me that for the first few days I put nothing on my tattoo just clean it really well. After 2 days or so then i put plain lotion on it. Don't waste your money on "tattoo" lotions. The plain luberderm type is perfect.

If your artist told you something I would just do what he says and then leave it be for a couple of days. It's not a big deal anyhow that is what touch ups are for.

[HaydenRose]

When I got my shoulders done I scabbed a ton despite following my and my artists aftercare instructions. It's a spot that gets a lot of movement, so it heals rough. I would follow what your artists says and be careful and gentle with the scabs. Hopefully then once they fall off you haven't lost any ink. I did and had to have them touched up.

Post pictures of your tattoos!

[Brock Varty]

zentangle feather

Da fuq is dat?

[Delicious]

its a type of pattern i believe

[Brock Varty]

its a type of pattern i believe

Sounds like some sort of combination dildo/meditation device.

[mmorgan]

Correct! A bunch of small random designs inside a larger design, in my case, a feather!

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Fair enough :) just work will suck haha pretty sure people think I have a broken collar bone the way I've had my arm plastered to my side!

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I've already lost a bit of ink :( I definitely will go back for a touchup anyways!

Ill post photos later when I'm back on my computer :)

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I guess ill have to find the right method for me! This will definitely be a painful one because of the movement in the area and my line of work!

[slayer9019]

I've already lost a bit of ink :( I definitely will go back for a touchup anyways!

Ill post photos later when I'm back on my computer :)

For the most part you will not know if you had ink fall out until it is near the "shiny skin" phase unless you see pink scar tissue. If it looks lighter/hazy in some spots, don't consider it lost just yet!

[mmorgan]

Good to know! I guess we'll see when its all healed!

[mmorgan]

Photos are uploaded on my profile! They won't rotate though :(