Do some parts of a tattoo take longer to heal?

[sesa]

Hey guys, I know I've posted about my tat too much, but I swear this is the last. ?

I just want to know if it's normal for a part of a tattoo to heal much slower than the rest. It's been a month and a week, and my tat still looks dull and scaly in most parts. Like there are bits of shiny dead skin on top that look like they're going to fall off but never do. I moisturize with Cetaphil unscented lotion 2 to 3 times a day and have always kept it out of the sun. 

I'm okay if this is the final stage of how it's going to look. Just want to make sure that I'm not doing anything wrong to hinder proper healing. 

[Devious6]

You are not even close to being healed. Each of us heal differently and certain areas of a tattoo may heal at different rates and ways. It may be your skin, it may be the specific type and color of ink, it may be the aftercare and if you might have spread the lotion a bit thicker in one place or another, it may be..............................................................(fill in the blank). A full heal is at least a 6 moth process and, even though every one of us wants it to be faster and be finished, our skin just takes time to heal the wound you've inflicted on it.

Relax, don't over apply lotion - once or twice a day is enough because your skin needs air to heal - and enjoy it. It's just going to take some time before you'll see it in its fully healed glory!

[lape]

Is it bumpy? Cause in the photo it almost looks like scars, which is what my allergic reaction looks like. Anyway, after 5-7 weeks is usually when a tattoo looks the worst in my opinion, it has pretty much finished the healing process but it's not settled. It's hard to explain and it's impossible for me to show what I mean with photos...

[sesa]

8 hours ago, Devious6 said:

You are not even close to being healed. Each of us heal differently and certain areas of a tattoo may heal at different rates and ways. It may be your skin, it may be the specific type and color of ink, it may be the aftercare and if you might have spread the lotion a bit thicker in one place or another, it may be..............................................................(fill in the blank). A full heal is at least a 6 moth process and, even though every one of us wants it to be faster and be finished, our skin just takes time to heal the wound you've inflicted on it.

Relax, don't over apply lotion - once or twice a day is enough because your skin needs air to heal - and enjoy it. It's just going to take some time before you'll see it in its fully healed glory!

Whew, that's a relief! Didn't know the healing process took that long. Most sites I read on the subject said it took around a month for the tattoo to "look" fully healed and the skin back to normal. I was also using my black and gray kitty tat for comparison, since that healed pretty quickly. I guess colored ink heals much slower on my skin. Thanks so much, good to learn from actual people who have been through it and know what they're talking about. ?

[sesa]

5 hours ago, lape said:

Is it bumpy? Cause in the photo it almost looks like scars, which is what my allergic reaction looks like. Anyway, after 5-7 weeks is usually when a tattoo looks the worst in my opinion, it has pretty much finished the healing process but it's not settled. It's hard to explain and it's impossible for me to show what I mean with photos...

Hi! It's not bumpy or inflamed in any way. It was just my camera angle I think. It's mostly scaly and wrinkled. And also, it doesn't itch or feel hot or anything--I'm assuming an allergic reaction probably does?

In the off chance that this might be an allergic reaction, what did you do to remedy yours? And how did it affect the end result of the tattoo design? Thanks!

[Devious6]

I wouldn't say it is necessarily an allergic reaction - especially since you say it doesn't itch and isn't inflamed. Everyone heals differently so anything you read on sites about the "normal" healing period is just generic. I have two tattoos - each from last year and done about 6 months apart. The first was black and gray. It healed easily and fast. While it peeled, it did it quickly and without any scabbing.

Then I got my second one - done with various colors. It scabbed in some places quickly while others healed easily and fast. Some of the scabs seemed to take an eternity to fall off. And, my body seemed to reject the red ink in places causing me to have to go back and have some areas redone.

The point is that we all react differently and, while there are some general "norms" it's hard to compare one person's experience to another's. Those people here with lots of experience seem to have a sense of how their skin reacts and of course have less OCD-like concerns than those of us with just one or two tattoos.

Relax, and let it heal. You've done major damage to your skin and it takes months to shed the outer layers of cells that were damaged in the process and allow the "new" cells to move to the surface and reveal what your art truly looks like. If you have any concerns that you might be having some type of reaction or infection, go see your artist and let him/her guide you.

But, most of all, relax and enjoy your tattoo.

[lape]

6 hours ago, sesa said:

Hi! It's not bumpy or inflamed in any way. It was just my camera angle I think. It's mostly scaly and wrinkled. And also, it doesn't itch or feel hot or anything--I'm assuming an allergic reaction probably does?

In the off chance that this might be an allergic reaction, what did you do to remedy yours? And how did it affect the end result of the tattoo design? Thanks!

Probably just the photo then, the center of the 2 flowers looks like they have something that looks like scars to me, but you're the one who can tell. I have 2 reactions from the same color red, it doesn't itch, at least not that I notice, but it does flake skin on the largest section and they are all fairly raised. Remedy? Don't get tattooed with that color anymore. As for the final design? Let's just say my spider has 5 eyes that are in 3D and the splash behind it looks like it has colored scars running behind it. I couldn't care less to be honest.

[sesa]

On 3/4/2017 at 5:46 PM, lape said:

Probably just the photo then, the center of the 2 flowers looks like they have something that looks like scars to me, but you're the one who can tell. I have 2 reactions from the same color red, it doesn't itch, at least not that I notice, but it does flake skin on the largest section and they are all fairly raised. Remedy? Don't get tattooed with that color anymore. As for the final design? Let's just say my spider has 5 eyes that are in 3D and the splash behind it looks like it has colored scars running behind it. I couldn't care less to be honest.

Yep, the center of the flowers are where it looks the roughest all right--mostly because I think it's where the artist went the deepest to cover the black underneath (the flowers are a cover-up).

Thanks though, it's interesting to hear that people react differently to different ink colors. :-)