Red ink healing question

[el twe]

Have any of you experienced raised skin/ink up to 6 weeks after getting tattooed?  I've heard that red ink in particular often takes longer to heal, but the rest of this tattoo wept, peeled, and healed in about 2 weeks while a few patches of solid red are still raised, itchy, and peeling now (almost 7 weeks after getting tattooed).  I've had similar heals with other red inks, but none that have lasted this long.  Any tips on how to deal with this?  Tattoo is on my lower leg, just above the ankle.  

I know that everyone heals differently, just wondering if anyone has experienced something similar and can share their experiences. 

Thanks.

[mtlsam]

Never had this with red ink, but an orange and on another occasion some white highlights were still peeling months and months later. Like the surrounding skin was fine but these areas were extra dry. It eventually cleared up and now all those spots are fine.

[Transplant]

i have had a similar experience to this. also its common for people to have an allergy to red inks.

 

hopefully this isn't the case for you, but the red on my shoulder didn't really heal. for around a year the skin was swollen and puffy, eventually the swelling went down but the red ink has completely gone. luckily its a really small area.

 

all other red ink around my body has been fine though. i hope yours heals up ok!

[Dan]

I have had similar issues with red ink over the years,I'm not allergic,but it used to heal badly compared to other colors and black,I will say though in the last 10  years  the red inks have been better quality and it does not happen anymore to me.IMO it's partly due to better quality inks and me knowing more about healing.

25/30+ years ago when I was getting tattooed, red ink was notorious for this problem.I have been getting tattooed since 84.

Edited October 2, 2016 by Dan

[bladezzz]

I've also had some healing problems with red, takes a little longer but eventually heals the same as others..

[Devious6]

The problem I've had with red and blue on my last piece is not healing but rather absorption. Others have told me they had similar experiences and I'm hoping that my touch-up work scheduled for this Thursday will do the trick. It did seem, though, was slower to heal and was more tender/itchy than my first which was black/gray.

[oboogie]

Red isn't my issue, but blue is. Blue can be a nightmare on my skin. My artist actually threw away a bottle of ink because he was convinced it was contaminated because of what it did to my skin. Some colors just don't work great on some skin. He eventually found a blue that would work on me.

[el twe]

Appreciate all the response, folks.  It looks like the color is really in there, so I'm not too worried about it falling out, just surprised to see it still so dry and raised.  Guess I just have to be patient...

[el twe]

Well, I reached out to the artist who did the tattoo in question and he suggested Benadryl cream.  Been applying it a couple times a day for a few weeks now and the red spots are looking much better.  Still a bit raised, but I was told it might take a while before they fully settle down.

So moral of the story: ask your artist!  I think I've even given that advice to others on here, but hey...

[Colored Guy]

Me and red do not get along, also the same with yellow. Older work, the red would stay raised for months especially if I was in the sun. More recent red and yellow (from 2008) had faded out quickly. All the rest of the colors are pretty good. I had some of it touched up in 2015 and seems to be holding up. I do use a sunscreen if I'm outside.

[Hogrider]

Fortunately red and I do get along. I have some purple that took well over a year to look completely normal. Never had a problem with any other color.

[Tornado7]

I have a spot on my shoulder that gets puffy in the sun. (It is black outline.)

I have just gotten my first chunk of bright red fill, and it seems less dense than other colors in the same tattoo. I think it might be my first touch up, but I'll wait a while to see how it settles.

[Tornado7]

And it is! I'm getting the red touched up this weekend. It just didn't heal the same as the rest of the tattoo.

[Gingerninja]

A friend of mine has a four month old tattoo with red ink that's still not healed. It's flaky and she says that it feels like scar tissue. She has a ton of great tattoos and her artists are top shelf. She's spoken to the artist who didn't give her any real recommendations. Her doctor has given her antihistamines, Benadryl and now a steroid cream.

Anything else that I cam recommend to her? I told her to look for another doctor, maybe one with tattoos. She's in Australia.

 

[lape]

Kinda like this?

As far as I've figured out, it's an allergic reaction to the specific color. 2 artists told me that they had a nurse come in when a client had a similar effect. They said the body is basically always trying to reject the ink, and it can stay this way for a long time. Another tattoo I have with what appears to be the same reacton is over 2 years old and it is still slightly raised and flakes every now and then. Now, I don't remember the color used, but the same 2 artists believed it was a color named Deep Red, either by Intenze or Ethernal.

Recommendation? Stop caring about it. Are you going to surgically remove it? Probably not. And don't let any artists use the same brand of ink that caused it in the first place.

[Gingerninja]

Not exactly...just looks puffy and itchy. I think if it would stop itching then she'd be in a better place. She's pretty heavily tattooed so she's not over-reacting. She loves the tattoo. Hell, I'd want the freaking itch to go away, too! Good call on finding out that brand of red ink. Thanks! @lape

[Hogrider]

On July 6, 2017 at 8:27 AM, Gingerninja said:

Not exactly...just looks puffy and itchy. I think if it would stop itching then she'd be in a better place. She's pretty heavily tattooed so she's not over-reacting. She loves the tattoo. Hell, I'd want the freaking itch to go away, too! Good call on finding out that brand of red ink. Thanks! @lape

Has she tried Vitamin E oil? If not, she should try it for a few weeks and see if it helps.

[Gingerninja]

Hey @Hogrider Good question - I'll ask her. I pinged her on Sunday to see how the steroid cream was working. She said that her red ink was less flaky but still itchy. A nurse friend of ours commented that steroid type creams would be the course of treatment for eczema and she felt like it was worth a shot. I'll mention the Vitamin E! Thanks!

 

[Leah]

Wow, I’m really late to this thread but I do believe I’m having a slight allergy to red ink myself. Or the red really is slower to heal. I got the tattoo done 3 weeks ago tomorrow. I’m using steroid cream for reduction of the swelling.  How’s everyone else doing? Any new updates on dealing with the red ink. 

[tay943]

1 hour ago, Leah said:

Wow, I’m really late to this thread but I do believe I’m having a slight allergy to red ink myself. Or the red really is slower to heal. I got the tattoo done 3 weeks ago tomorrow. I’m using steroid cream for reduction of the swelling.  How’s everyone else doing? Any new updates on dealing with the red ink. 

I've found red ink takes longer to heal on me too! All of my red ink areas have gone scabby so far - I even had one area get a little permanent dented scar. Recently got sunburned on the roses on my thigh (accident - I re-applied 3 times) and all of the red petals became raised and hot. then went super itchy and now flat again!

[Leah]

24 minutes ago, tay943 said:

I've found red ink takes longer to heal on me too! All of my red ink areas have gone scabby so far - I even had one area get a little permanent dented scar. Recently got sunburned on the roses on my thigh (accident - I re-applied 3 times) and all of the red petals became raised and hot. then went super itchy and now flat again!

Interesting. Sometimes my black tattoos will raise a bit in the heat, but not too often. It seems red is a pretty finicky color for some.

It was the first time I’d ever added color to any tattoos, I think I’m going to keep my tattoos black. 

[tay943]

1 hour ago, Leah said:

Interesting. Sometimes my black tattoos will raise a bit in the heat, but not too often. It seems red is a pretty finicky color for some.

It was the first time I’d ever added color to any tattoos, I think I’m going to keep my tattoos black. 

Once it heals you really shouldn't have much of a problem! The sunburn I mentioned was the only time that tattoo has flared up in the three years I've had it. I think your tattoo looks awesome with the red from what I can see of it.

[Leah]

Aww thanks a bunch!

[el twe]

@Leah3 weeks is still plenty early as far as healing goes, I'd skip the ointment and wait at least 3 more weeks before starting something else...

I meant to update this thread sooner, but here's the latest on my red ink saga: 

The benadryl cream didn't do a whole hell of a lot for me, other than some short-term relief.  The next suggestion was witch hazel, which I applied probably daily for several months.  Things got better, but only to a point.  Granted, I was told to have some applied with a tattoo machine and needle to get it under the skin, but topical application seemed to help.  I then visited my local shop, got a new tattoo, and asked this artist if he would do as the first artist (who had a guest spot but lives too far away for me to conveniently follow up with, besides the point but still) suggested and actually tattoo the spot with witch hazel.  He graciously obliged, which sparked a conversation with another artist who had a client with a similar problem and suggested rubbing vitamin E oil on the red ink.

The witch hazel tattoo helped a lot right away, and once that felt "healed" I began applying vitamin E oil twice a day, then daily, and now every few days.  Now, there are still some small spots that are a bit raised/hard, but nothing remotely like it was before.  The whole experience has honestly soured my feelings about the tattoo - nothing against the artist or the design, but I can't help but associate it with this 15+ month long healing process...

Sorry for the ramble, and hope it didn't come off as too much of a rant.  Tattoos!

[Leah]

Wow, thanks for the advice. I may just start applying some vitamin E and see how that goes. Hydrocortisone has done very little. I’m less worried about it since reading this thread and seeing I’m not alone in this strange saga of red. Did getting tattooed with witch hazel sting like hell? Thanks again.