Most Difficult Tattoo Spots to Heal

[slayer9019]

@jayessebee, update?

@CaptCanada, photo?

@embers, I had a weird reaction with a red on just one section of my arm where it kinda got all rashy for a week or two about a month after I had it tattooed. Totally forgot about it til just now.. I left it alone and it magically healed up fine. I think red is one of those colors that can go ten thousand different ways.

Funny that red on me heels fastest of all and I have more problems with black

[jayessebee]

@gougetheeyes - right hand healed up just fine despite the cracking- very minimal fallout

going thru the same thing with my left right now though, I dunno why I was as careful as I can be but I'm sure it will be fine

[Twiz]

I just got a skull with a candle melting on top of it a couple weeks ago on my foot and near my ankle. And honestly it hurt like a mother fucker. The worst part was probably around my ankle bone. ouch!

[CaptCanada]

Still have some scabbing, will take a photo when I get home.

[jade1955]

The last one I had done just over a week ago is proving to be a bit of a bitch to heal.

It's a very small tattoo but its on the outside of my forearm just where it bends. The majority of it is healing well but there's an area, prob about only one centimetre right on the bend that is quite scabby.

[ThaliaCamille]

The last one I had done just over a week ago is proving to be a bit of a bitch to heal.

It's a very small tattoo but its on the outside of my forearm just where it bends. The majority of it is healing well but there's an area, prob about only one centimetre right on the bend that is quite scabby.

That bit that's kind of above the ditch, sort of on the top/outside of the forearm? That's been the worst for me, always takes longer, and has had a little bit of fall-out.

[jade1955]

@ThaliaCamille Yes that's the bit. I recon it'll be a couple of weeks before the scabby bits gone.

[Duffa]

@jade1955 & @ThaliaCamille - so many people I know have said the same thing about the ditch, but I think I must just be one lucky son'bitch? Both my arms have healed perfectly, and they both had decent coverage when healing. In saying that, last one was healing while I was on holidays so that helped a lot, and the other one I was working in the office which was a little annoying, but seemed to be ok. I just had to sit weird at the computer to type lol

[sboyer]

inner thigh close to my junk. super tender for day afterwards. nothing fell out or got scabby but it was super sore for almost a week solid.

[Kevinb52]

Kinda off topic but has anyone had your tattoos heal alot lighter then most?

My Artist always jokes with me saying that i have odd skin to tattoo and that i always heal lighter than most people.

[samanthahay]

The top of my foot. I knew it would be damn that sucked. I have an inner forearm piece and it comes right to the "ditch" and I had some trouble with that healing but not as bad as what I would imagine the whole ditch would be.

[CaptCanada]

Sorry about not up updating a picture of my tattoo. Its been over a month and it still has some scabs, and a bit of ink fall out from where a scab was until this weekend... So sadly I'm going to have to get it touched up.

[evlink2006]

Spots with lots of movement tend to be the hardest to heal followed by places that don't get to breathe much. I had one client that when we did his ditch he actually splinted his arm at night to keep it as immobile as possible and it healed the best I have seen for the ditch. Also keeping these areas too moist causes a lot of issues in healing. You only want just enough to take that tight, dry feeling under control.

[Colored Guy]

Well I think that the foot will be one of my all time least favorite places to get tattooed. While getting tattooed isn't so bad, the healing sucks. Was told to keep it cleaned and wrapped for the first few days, and I am. But I can already see a few places I will need to get touched up. And I'm not looking toward to having a swollen foot again.

I had the one on my foot heal badly too. I had to go to work the day after it was done, meaning wearing socks. I loosely taped a wound pad over it with some after care ointment the artist gave me then put on my sock. The tattoo must have creased from sitting so much and it got infected, a first for me. I kept it clean, used neosporin on it and it healed up. I did have a blank area where it was infected, which I did have touched up at a later session.

CG

[Gregor]

My thigh is being a baastard right now , dry , bruised to fuck, really painful ...

[howlingsonnets]

the "ditch" is hands down the worst...all but a half-dollar size section is healed...i have officially ran out of ideas for this spot...i have a routine i follow after every session to prevent scabbing and it works except in this spot!

[Our Endless Days]

knee ditch has been the worst for me thus far, followed by my elbow ditch.

[vwqt74]

I have a question ? I was branded (4th degree burn ) in the ditch of my arm. It took forever to heal,,I thought more so because it was winter ling sleeve shirts coats all that shit ya no, so now its been over a year the scar isn't changing anymore , I want to cover it .. I have had scars covered but I fear it will take as long to heal. , but then again its nit an.open burn that is as deep as my bone, so would you try to cover a scar there?????

[RoryQ]

Just going to throw in here that so far my kneecap is pretty slow on the healing.

Normally I'm a fairly fast healer and don't see any scabbing - just some sunburn-like peeling after a few days. Well, around the kneecap has followed the usual pattern but on the kneecap itself it's like things are proceeding in slow-motion. The tattoo is healing, but (presumably because of the location) it seems like the body is struggling with it. Possibly the fact that it's heavy on red ink is a factor.

Wonder whether the kneecap doesn't get as much blood as elsewhere or something- could that be a factor?

Hopefully by the end of the week it'll have settled down and I can finally get a pic.

[semele]

Not difficult, but my foot was also slow healing, took four weeks to settle in completely, and bits of it peeled twice. I declared it healed Monday, just in time to have the other one done next week.

[ShaneRealz]

I had the elbow pit done on Saturday, hasnt been TOO bad apart from waking up and stretching it first thing in the morning, apparently I like to sleep with my arms bent :-/

[Shakkazombie]

Elbow ditch for me, too. Not just the ditch, but all along the upper part of that area where my skin folds as I bend my arm. Shit healed roughly. Top of the feet were bad too, but mainly because I got both tattooed about 4 days apart, in a foreign country where I had to walk everywhere, in winter. Socks and swollen feet make for rough tattoo healing.

[tattooedjuliet]

I would say the elbow is was the hardest. I was worried about hte ditch, but it went smoothly both times. Now on to the knee pit, and arm pit. Those I think will be tough.

[durtyxsanchezz]

the t'aint for sure. hands down.

the Taint just sounds like a place thats not meant to be tattooed on hahah

[tatB]

Any tips on healing the elbow ditch? I started my 3/4 sleeve this week and the small amount of shading in the elbow ditch has not been healing so great. Due to the movement in the area, a few cracks formed so I'll definitely need a little touch up. Any advice on preventing the scab from cracking after future sessions? My current aftercare routine is to wash the tattoo every 4-5 hours for the first 2-3 days and let it dry heal (no ointment or lotion).