Tattoo aftercare help! Mystery!

[Buddhisttattoofan]

Hello tattoo enthusiasts!

I am posting here today because 5 days ago I got a beautiful Buddhist mantra tattooed on my inner forearm and there seem to be a few color irregularities and a kind of hole. It was wrapped in plastic when I left the tattoo shop I did everything my tattoo artist told me to do except one thing. When I went to buy bacticrin or wtv it's called I could not find it, so I bought tattoo goo instead. Seems legit I checked online many agree it works well. So pretty much since I took the bandage off five days ago it has been covered in a very thin layer (as thin as possible) of tattoo goo. So far it's been good but now the two most important parts of my tattoo are experience some spots of color loss also the beginning of the tattoo nearest the hand is the same color as the end, yet it seems darker. The black in tattoo is behaving beautifully not red itchy or anything it almost looks like it's healed. It's only two parts of blue that are giving me trouble. I've been thinking about going back to the tattoo parlour but it's pretty far. But it's a reputable place and the tattoos he's done and drawings he's done were beautiful. http://i.imgur.com/Tz48BMC.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/NflvXnB.jpg

Help me Last Sparrow Tattoo Enthusiast, you're my only hope.

lol

[SeeSea]

For one, it looks like you might be putting too much aftercare on it - you don't need it this slicked up all the time. Are you soaking it or letting it get really wet for long periods of time? The lighter areas may be moist scabs and the color will settle after the skin and scabs completely go away. Tattoo Gu isn't causing this - it's fine although not a preferred method around here. On the other hand, the areas around the blue look more inflamed than around the black. Some people around here have reported a sensitivity to some blues. Maybe that is your case, or you could be looking at an infection. Send the pics to your artist and have him look at it them. If you are worried about an infection, see a doc.

[Buddhisttattoofan]

Thank you for your reply

I let it dry out before i ut some more on this time very sparingly the parts that seemed damaged have scabbed up so i believ you were right about the moist scabs. However the redness around that one blue part has not died down. The only things that frighten me now is the small color difference and the redness. ill post another picture. im wondering if the color of the blue around my wrist is darker because it healed faster, but then would it not be lighter? i suppose there are many reasons for the redness my hair is growing back there too so im wondering if that might be the cause?

- - - Updated - - -

Here's the picture as you can see it gets darker the closer it gets to my hand. Will this resolve itself?

[exume]

It's too early to worry about irregularities in color, the skin does weird things while it's healing. If you aren't happy with the color or solidity of some of the lines you can get it touched up later.

I'd let it dry out completely, only apply more lotion/goo if it feels exceptionally dry or itchy, and even then just a pea sized bit, just enough to cover it, not enough to shine.

[JAllen]

stop putting ointment on it, let it dry up and finish healing. once its done healing completely, wait 4-6 weeks to see how it looks as far as the colors go. until then it's going to look dry and have bit of shiny skin that will take a few weeks to not look that way.

[Buddhisttattoofan]

Infected? I'm hoping my hair is just having a tough time getting through...

[Breakme]

If that was my arm I'd be getting it checked out by a Dr.

[Graeme]

I wouldn't go to a doctor for that. It looks like some kind of irritation, quite possibly from hair growing back, but it doesn't look like an infected tattoo. Leave it alone and give it time to heal. Healing tattoos look all kinds of gnarly and they can be worrying at times if you don't have a lot of experience getting tattooed, but they're usually fine.

[SeeSea]

Possibly contact dermatitis (skin irritation in an area directly in contact with the causative agent) - a sensitivity to the blue ink. It's not rare, although red ink is generally the culprit. This isn't necessarily an infection yet - it's also right next to the blue ink in the long part on the right but nowhere near the black. Initial treatment for that is topical corticosteroids. I'd probably try Cortisone or a similar product for a couple days and see if that helps. If it gets funkier or it breaks out or gets nodules, see a doc. And I'm not a doc /disclaimer.

[Buddhisttattoofan]

I have eczema and already use those products daily so it won't be a problem to try. I put a dab of polysporin on it and it seems to have helped a little. You guys are really informative and helpful thank you for your posts

[pidjones]

For putting on tattoo ointment or moisturizers, my artist put it this way - like you are putting on lotion. Now, for the ladies this might be an obvious guide, but as a guy, I was never a lotion-user until the last decade (I'm 62). Now, my knuckles dry out in winter and crack and bleed. Also my calves get dry and itch so bad I can't sleep. So, I learned about lotions (and experimented with many before settling on Gold Bond Ultimate Healing) and found that you need very little and must rub it in until it doesn't look or feel greasy. Just wiping it on the surface doesn't do any moisturizing. Now, for a wound like a tattoo you obviously rub very gently. There will be no shiny appearance afterward. If there is, you put on too much and should blot it off with a clean tissue. My artist gave me a chapstick-type tube of her special after-care and told me that it should last at least a month (the tattoo see did is only ~ 10 x 7 cm). There was less than a teaspoon full in the tube. The healing was very uneventful, however my oily skin (Exxon wants to drill) pushed out some ink. After deeper touch-up, it looks great!

[JAllen]

It's red because it's irritated from the skin being tight around those scabs and then when you are moving the skin pulls thus causing inflammation and irritation. That combined with hair growing back will make it red. Infections aren't subtle mysteries. If you had one you'd know it. It would be more alarming, heavy greenish discharge, red streaking travelling further away from the area, it would be hot and painful. You'd most likely have a fever as well. Leave it alone and let it finish healing. The only thing I'd do other than a normal washing when bathing would be to use a tiny bit of witch hazel on a clean paper towel and dab it on the irritated areas. That, maybe once or twice a day at most. Even with that, I'd only use it for a couple of days at the most as well.

[Breakme]

Seriously?! STOP.

OK? Sorry if my thoughts don't echo most people here on this subject. I never said it was infected, just that I'd personally go to my local doctor's office and get it checked out. But that is just me. I'll leave the advice up to the seasoned pro's. :-)