Hello from Chicago

[chanelxox]

Hi!

My name is Chanel I'm 24, I have one small tattoo that I got after graduation and just received my second just this week, almost 6 years after my first. Looked at about 50 websites before I came across this but my latest addition had me a bit worried and everything I have looked up doesn't seem to really help. My sis who has many tattoos and got one similar from the same place said her did the same thing but I'm still worried. I feel like it may be a blowout. Hopefully the pics below work, first is right after tattooing 4/19 and second was today 4/21. I know its only 2 days old but advice would be wonderful. The tattoo looked less legible yesterday and it seems to me that in the last 24 hrs the ink has been rising towards the top of my skin because it looks darker than it did yesterday. So confused! Please help me.

[SeeSea]

Welcome! Yes, there are a ton of sites out there of dubious quality. It's really hard to tell what's going on so I'd hate to speculate. Did your sister's tattoo heal ok? If so, don't worry. Best thing to do is make sure you are caring for it properly and making sure to put very very little lotion or product on it after washing. Do what the artist told you to do. Head over to the aftercare subforms and surf around. Some tattoos can go through some gnarly heals and end up fine so just wait it out and see.

[chanelxox]

Thank you! And hers looks great now but she never showed me what it looked like while it was healing so I can't compare it to mine. I just hope the lines become a bit more precise with time and care because one of the letters at the moment does not look like it is supposed to. Its funny I keep pulling my lower leg up to my face so I can thoroughly inspect what the hell the tattoo is doing.

[tywalters]

Welcome to the forums. Semi-new, myself. Post back with updates in the coming days/weeks with updates? I'm interested to see how it turns out.

[sighthound]

Yep, tattoos heal in all sorts of crazy ways. Some will look like the color fell out, some will peel, some will change color. All of this while healing. Once done, though, they go to looking the way you expect they will.

So be patient - it's only 2 days old - it's gonna do a lot more stuff. Give it 2-4 weeks at least.

[L2DB]

What are you doing for aftercare?

[knucklehead211]

I'll also point out that legs, at least for me, heal slower than my arms becuase they have worse circulation. It took about three weeks for mine to go through the peel-flake cycle, compared to a few days to a week for my arm. I extended my aftercare expectations, let it dry heal with twice daily washings for most of the first week, very light a&d at the end of that week, and lotion around the middle of the second week on. Just what's worked for me personally.

[tatB]

i've had some tattoos heal like that before. not ideal but not the end of the world.

[chanelxox]

Thanks everyone! It's definitely reassuring to hear all of this. I talked to the tattoo shop as well and they reassured me that it could take longer and I read into the threads about Leg Tattoos and that definitely put a lot more into perspective as well.

For aftercare I have been following the directions they gave me which was to wash 3-4 times a day and blot dry with a clean towel, I've been doing 2-3 and then it says to apply a natural, fragrance-free lotion. I bought Lubriderm and I only apply a really small amount after I wash because I don't want to over moisturize and not allow the tattoo to breathe like its supposed to.

[el twe]

Sounds like you've got your aftercare under control. I imagine that you're just seeing a part of the natural healing process where lines blur and ink/dead skin lifts up and eventually peels away. Welcome to the forums! What's your other tattoo?

[chanelxox]

Thanks and my sister texted one of the partial owners of the shop who said its healing rough and they would fix it if there is an issue with it. So that was good news... just gotta fly back home to do that if needs be. I'll attach a photo of my other tattoo, I got it when I was 18 for the quote "What would life be if we had no courage to attempt anything." The bee I used to draw on all of my assignments in high school and I'm deathly allergic to stinging insects.

[chanelxox]

Thought I'd give a little update on the tattoo like some of you asked to do. Here's how it looks now and it has been 9 days. The last of the ink peeled last night and my skin has been so dry but I'm only putting lotion on once a day. Its also really itchy... sometimes I forget I have the tattoo and itch it but I've been pretty good about not itching it. Still waiting for some of the ink to fall into place in the last letter (the one that looks like a j), it doesn't look how its supposed to. Sorry for the glare.