I need advice! Tattoo redo question

[tay9210]

Ok, so I need some real advice. I got my second tattoo about a month ago (end of March) on my rib cage. It looked perfect for about 4 or 5 days, like it was beginning to heal properly. After about a week and a half, it started to look infected. It was swollen and red, which I know can be from irritation too, but also had yellowish drainage. Not only that, it literally PEELED off my skin..like it was a temporary tattoo. I took absolutely perfect care of it. I washed it 2-3 times a day, applied regular non scented Lubriderm multiple times a day, didn't wear a bra for 2 weeks then only wore very loose sports bras, and I didn't pick at it, tan, swim, or take baths. I took Keflex antibiotics I already had and the infection (I never saw a doc about it, but it's pretty obvious it was infected) has been gone for about 2 weeks. A friend of mine was getting a tattoo at another shop and I showed her artist these pictures of my tattoo, and he said it looked like the artist who did mine went too deep, causing it to be more prone to infection.

Now it's basically fully healed, but there is definitely some scarring. Actually, there's more scarring than ink but whatever. The scarring is pink and raised because obviously it's pretty fresh. My question is, how long do I need to wait to get it redone? I'm worried maybe it'll reject the ink? Make it blurry? Edges not defined? Hurt like hell? The scar is pretty thick. I've heard the status of the scar can make a difference in how the ink looks. But I've had so much different information thrown at me I figured I would try asking people who know more about what they're talking about, so I've posted quite a few pics at various stages throughout the past month. The first pic is the day I got it done. I know it won't necessarily help me with an answer but I just wanna show how much of a beaut it was :p. The second pic is several days afterwards, when I thought there was still hope for it. The next is when it began to look infected. The next 2 are when I started to become pissed that I paid for a temporary tattoo (one of the pics is when I just got done washing it, so it's wet). And the last is the finished product, taken a couple days ago. I'm dying to get it redone asap so it can look good, but should I wait it out, or is the sooner the better? If anyone has some legit answers I would appreciate it!

[tatB]

Where are you located? Maybe we can recommend some shops to visit so an artist can take a look and give you some professional advice.

[HaydenRose]

Well what your describing sounds like an infection, but never having experienced any of this, I don't want to say yes or no. Did you go back to your artist and show them the final result or any of these pictures? If you followed those aftercare instructions, then my guess is something went wrong on the artists end. (However for your next tattoo or if you get this one redone, I may skimp more on the lubriderm--less is more, and too much can cause heavy scabbing). Also letting the tattoo completely dry out before applying any lotion will lower the chances of heavy scabbing.

My advice is... go back to your artist and see what they say. If they know what went wrong and think they can fix it, then get it redone. But if I were you, I may hesitate to go back there...

If you are still scabbing, you will have to wait to get it redone. Usually the minimum time between sessions is 2 weeks, but in your case it may be longer if you have scabs still.

Hope that was helpful... And welcome, I hope you stick around after your tattoo issue is sorted out!

[irezumi]

Just an idea to consider; it's impossible to tell what the scar looks like without being up close on it. It's possible/likely you will be told by a tattooer that any more ink on top of that just won't take and scar heavier. Option/idea; leave the current part alone and make a 'stone' looking piece by using the area around it to look like the scarred part is carved out of a block of rock. Tattooer with better skills can make a nice black & grey wash tattoo around it, adding some cracks and chips, and I bet you'll like it a lot better than you do now.

[deadsp0t]

Just an idea to consider; it's impossible to tell what the scar looks like without being up close on it. It's possible/likely you will be told by a tattooer that any more ink on top of that just won't take and scar heavier. Option/idea; leave the current part alone and make a 'stone' looking piece by using the area around it to look like the scarred part is carved out of block of rock. Tattooer with better skills can make a nice black & grey wash tattoo around it' date=' adding some cracks and chips, and I bet you'll like it a lot better than you do now.[/quote']

This sounds like a great idea! Especially considering the circumstances and the design of the current tattoo! Kudos to you sir!!

[irezumi]

Thanks DS

[Renzie]

I have some experience in the area of scars and I will say the longer you wait before doing anything to this, the more you can do to deal with the scarring. The deeper tissue needs more time than the outside, so give that plenty of time and be sure it's healed FIRST. Once that is done then you want to do daily massages of the area with gentle lotion, or emu oil. The massage is the important part. Spend a good ten minutes or so, maybe just before bed. Over time you can break down the scar tissue, it'll soften and be less raised.

In my experience tattooing over scars does not hurt more. I did have some blurring over wider scars, but thinner ones did not affect the tattoo at all.

My advice to you would be to get an artists opinion now, try to determine for sure whether that was in infection or something else. Then take a few months or a year to baby that skin and get the scarring as minimal as possible, go back, and talk with an artist again.

[SeeSea]

That stinks. I have no experience or advise to offer, except for commiseration. I love @irezumi's suggestion, though. I was watching some re-run of Ink Masters (I know) and there was an episode about tattooing over scars. There was a guy who had been bitten by a dog on the calf. Instead of attempting to cover it, the tattooer put on a ferocious looking dog with teeth, and emphasized the scarred area and texture to make the damaged area look like fresh chewed up flesh. Neat idea.