New Tattoo Scabbing - Looking for Advice

[punkycloud]

Hi all,

I've had a number of small tattoos, all black and have never had any scabbing issues. I recently got my first coloured tattoo, simple blue band and its starting to scab up - see attached photo.

This has been taken 3 days in to the heal and as i've never had a tattoo scab before was looking for some direction. My general aftercare procedure is wash it in the morning, dab dry with paper towel, air dry for 20mins then add tiny bit of ointment, a little more ointment 6hrs later, wash and ointment 6hrs later then a little bit of ointment 6hrs later before bed. I'm currently using bepanthen.

Currently the scabs look a little slimy following the ointment and when i dab dry after the wash i can feel the paper towel pull at the scabs a little. As i never scabbed before is this normal amount of scabbing and am i worrying over nothing? Should i be doing anything different or continue what i'm doing?

Thanks for any comments / guidance. 

[Howie]

Seems quite normal to me!

Maybe apply a bit less ointment (looks shiny - a thick layer stops oxygen from getting to it and obstructs the healing process) and pat dry lightly so the scabs don't stick to the paper towel.

Most important rule of all - do not tease or pull the scabs! 

[punkycloud]

Thanks for replying. Never had a tattoo scab before so was having one of those "oh sh!t I've screwed it up" moments.

 

[Dan]

1 hour ago, punkycloud said:

Thanks for replying. Never had a tattoo scab before so was having one of those "oh sh!t I've screwed it up" moments.

 

ya, like he said,looks fine except for too much goo on it,

maybe try a light coat a few times a day of fragrance free Aveeno instead.

Edited March 15, 2017 by Dan

[Kurgana]

I had something similar happen with a small tattoo I got in December - not my first piece with color and I've had another much larger one with a similar shade since, that is actually going through the peeling stage right now (no scabbing). My best guess is that the artist was a little more heavy handed than the others, since my aftercare routine was as usual. With the scab it is really easy to over moisture, leading to that slimy feel and appearance, so like the others have suggested, go easy on the ointment. A light, water-based cream is great, applied very sparingly, so that the scab can do what it's supposed to: harden and fall off. My tattoo healed just fine by the way, just took a little longer than usual, and I definitely over moistured too for a few days before figuring out it was better not to!

[Devious6]

My first was all black and gray - healed like a dream with no scabbing at all. My second has various colors and scabbed....mostly in areas with black ink. Same healing routine. Go figure? Like Dan, I'm a fan of a VERY light application of Aveno - I do morning after showering and evening before bed.

[wickedD95]

Hello there. I'm currently having a similar problem. This is my first all bold color tattoo but not my first tattoo so I know the aftercare steps. I got the tat in vegas on vacation. At first it was a normal new tat. The oozing and the burning. I went straight to work after I got back. And it's been stinging for the last few day so I looked at it closely. And I noticed these marks that look like scabs got picked off. I definitely know not to do that. Just wondering if anyone had any insight to my situation. I may be overreacting. Just hoping it heals right. I messaged the artist he said that it should take about 3 weeks to heal just wondering if the community had any info. 

Image 1 taken immediately after session 

image 2 was taken at time of this post.