Most Difficult Tattoo Spots to Heal

[Brock Varty]

I don't tattoo, so take from this what you want. I would use a very tiny amount of white, unscented hand lotion when you notice the skin getting tight and dry. The ditch on my right arm is nearly all shading and I had no issues with a dry heal and then a tiny amount of lotion when it gets very dry and tight. I probably only used lotion 3 or 4 times in the two weeks my ditch was healing.

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@BrianH

I don't tattoo, so take from this what you want. I would use a very tiny amount of white, unscented hand lotion when you notice the skin getting tight and dry. The ditch on my right arm is nearly all shading and I had no issues with a dry heal and then a tiny amount of lotion when it gets very dry and tight. I probably only used lotion 3 or 4 times in the two weeks my ditch was healing.

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@BrianH

I don't tattoo, so take from this what you want. I would use a very tiny amount of white, unscented hand lotion when you notice the skin getting tight and dry. The ditch on my right arm is nearly all shading and I had no issues with a dry heal and then a tiny amount of lotion when it gets very dry and tight. I probably only used lotion 3 or 4 times in the two weeks my ditch was healing.

[tatB]

@Brock Varty

Thank you! The super tiny amount of lotion has made the healing experience 10x better. I've switched to dry healing my new tattoos because I feel like it works better for me but now I know a high movement area like the elbow ditch needs a little lotion.

[SamWolter]

I have tried a bunch of different methods and had luck with a few. My system now is as follows: Leave the bandage on the first night after being tattooed, this allows all the lymph, blood, and plasma-goo to ooze. Then in the morning I hop in the shower and remove the bandages, wash with as hot of water I can stand (without burning myself) while using antibacterial soap, and let it air dry. Once completely dry, I use a small amount of aquaphor (by Eucerin). I use the aquaphor pretty much the whole time the tattoo is healing and they don't really get dried out or crack. They seem to heal up pretty well. Just my 2 cents on healing. It has worked for some pretty rough/problematic areas. Neither of my elbow 'ditches' are tattooed yet, but I think they might be next. They are really the only empty spots left on my arms. Not too excited about it after reading everyone elses comments on healing them. Hopefully my method works!

[CU82]

I had a smallish piece done on the side of my knee wrapping around behind my knee. All black and grey but it will have to be touched up. The section in the bend of my knee faded as it healed. Now that I've lived with it for a while, I think I'd like to add to to it and go above and below my knee on the side and wrapping onto the back, but damn if the back of the knee isn't painful. Worse than ribs-I swear.

[hollyjoybee]

I've definitey gone for all the easy to tattoo and easy to heal spots first.. i had my upper thigh (front) tattooed only on wednesday passed but its defo by far still the sorest. Usually i dont get much scabbing at all.. just peeling but i'm getting a few scabs already.. i dunno if its because the swellings gone down a bit and my thighs are perhaps a bit less toned than they should be? I moved on from Bepanthen to lotion today... i'm getting the other thigh tattooed this coming wednesday so i guess at least i'm getting them out the way at the same time!

What would people suggest is best? Its not really tightless weather here in bonny scotland yet but do you think it's best to keep it as unclothed as often as possible?

[else]

I haven't done anything on the thigh yet, just calves, but my experience so far with calves is that the less clothes you have rubbing on them the better.

[hollyjoybee]

Thanks @else Thats kind of what i expected.. better find me some knee length skirts and hope the snow stays away ! :)

[youthcrewalex]

for me its hands! then the arm ditch

[chrisnoluck]

healing my knee cap sucked because it was so damn swollen and i'm on my feet all day at work so that didn't help one bit. arm ditch definitely wasn't fun either because of constantly moving my arm.

[Eskimette]

front of my hips (hipbone to hipbone lettering and swallows) was difficult due to jeans chaffing, sitting creasing etc... I actually took a big maxi pad and put it o the inside of my pants facing my body to stop things from rubbing..odd I know, but it worked.

[joakim urma]

Back of the knee was pretty hard for me. I had trouble walking stairs and it would itch badly. I eventually had to have the whole thing redone because it healed so uneven. I think it was partially due to my new jeans being to stiff and full of nasty chemicals, but also just from the spot being really difficult to heal.

[Eskimette]

Back of the knee was pretty hard for me. I had trouble walking stairs and it would itch badly. I eventually had to have the whole thing redone because it healed so uneven. I think it was partially due to my new jeans being to stiff and full of nasty chemicals, but also just from the spot being really difficult to heal.

back of the knee just sounds obnoxiously painful lol

[slayer9019]

Back of the knee was pretty hard for me. I had trouble walking stairs and it would itch badly. I eventually had to have the whole thing redone because it healed so uneven. I think it was partially due to my new jeans being to stiff and full of nasty chemicals, but also just from the spot being really difficult to heal.

I found that you really have to take care of this spot. I think it is because it scabs easy combined with all that bending and friction on pant material. I found you gotta load that sucker up lotion to keep it moist. Also using a super heated washcloth on it helps relieve the issues

back of the knee just sounds obnoxiously painful lol

Its brutal for sure

[DevilMan]

For me the trouble spots on my full sleeve/chest piece were the elbow ditch and even more so the 'front' of the armpit, were the full sleeve goes over into the chestpiece, in my case that part was also black background so it was hit pretty good.

I kept it moist, but even then it kept on cracking and (sometimes) bleeding, and some spots didn't heal nicely and lost some black, and needed a touch-up.

I'm now busy on my second sleeve/chestpiece, and my artist managed to make the exact spot in this arm a black background bit too :-)

It seems to be healing better this time, although only half of the 'armpit-spot' has been done yet.

Next week my elbow ditch will be getting background, and probably the rest of the armpit spot, so i'm for some fun with healing ;-)

[Graeme]

For me the trouble spots on my full sleeve/chest piece were the elbow ditch and even more so the 'front' of the armpit, were the full sleeve goes over into the chestpiece, in my case that part was also black background so it was hit pretty good.

I kept it moist, but even then it kept on cracking and (sometimes) bleeding, and some spots didn't heal nicely and lost some black, and needed a touch-up.

I'm now busy on my second sleeve/chestpiece, and my artist managed to make the exact spot in this arm a black background bit too :-)

It seems to be healing better this time, although only half of the 'armpit-spot' has been done yet.

Next week my elbow ditch will be getting background, and probably the rest of the armpit spot, so i'm for some fun with healing ;-)

The last session I had on my sleeve hit both the ditch and into the armpit and it sucked. The ditch was bad and did the scabbing, cracking, and bleeding thing but ended up healing pretty well...there are a couple of tiny spots that lost some pigment but they're barely noticeable. Going into the armpit was bad too with the bruising and swelling and not being able to comfortably rest my arm by my side for a couple of days. I'm glad that I'm not going to have a session like that again.

[Hospitelli]

Top of the foot has been nothing short of a pain in the a$$ for me. It took easily over a week for the initial swelling to go down in the foot and then after that it scabbed up pretty good. Now I'm just worried about loss of pigment but I'll wait till it's fully healed before making the decision if I'd like it touched up. I'll also consult with the artist first to get his opinion on it as well.

[tatB]

currently dealing with some trouble spots in my elbow ditch. currently keeping it just moist enough with aquaphor so it doesn't crack and bleed. i know it can be solved with a quick touch up but a little discouraging because my other ditch healed without issue. also want to avoid scar tissue so the touch up will hold. any advice? words of encouragement? empathy?

[beez]

currently dealing with some trouble spots in my elbow ditch. currently keeping it just moist enough with aquaphor so it doesn't crack and bleed. i know it can be solved with a quick touch up but a little discouraging because my other ditch healed without issue. also want to avoid scar tissue so the touch up will hold. any advice? words of encouragement? empathy?

Empathy! Honestly I just began to ignore it because I kept getting so worked up about it. The body will take care of itself! The healing takes a lot longer and is a little rougher than any other spot I've healed. But it healed mostly fine! I accidentally scraped the one area that did not heal fine. I conifer that user error. Do not scrape it. ;)

[hogg]

@BrianH, I had spots like that on my ditch that lasted a few weeks. I had scabs behind my knee last month that lasted 3 weeks and looked a lot like that. Resist the urge to pick it (easier said than done) and hope for the best. All my aforementioned spots healed fine.

[tatB]

thank you @beez and @hogg

your support will help me get through this difficult time in my life as a tattoo collector....

it is tough not to check on it multiple times a day and twist and bend your arm every which way to see if it is ready to flake off soon.

[GrayCatLove]

My lower abdomen was the hardest to heal. However, it was covering scar tissue from a major surgery several years prior, from hip to hip, and I have an active job.

The easiest was my hip, but it hurt the worst getting it. Go figure.

[tatB]

update on my elbow ditch healing adventure:

not as scary looking as my previous post and so far looks like only partial color loss (the cloudy gray area in the eyes, instead of solid black). i expect i'll have at least a small area of complete color loss (bare skin) under that remaining scab, but still hoping for the best.

[beez]

update on my elbow ditch healing adventure: not as scary looking as my previous post and so far looks like only partial color loss (the cloudy gray area in the eyes' date=' instead of solid black). i expect i'll have at least a small area of complete color loss (bare skin) under that remaining scab, but still hoping for the best.[/quote']

Looks right on target to me!! I am keeping my fingers crossed for you, but I really don't think it looks like it's gonna heal too awfully! Chin up!

[shootermcgavin125]

is there any way that I can help the scabbing process? Or speed it up? It is annoying especially when it flakes and itches in my jeans.

[TigerBlue77]

Starting my full back down to back of knees in 3 weeks.

I have a pretty active job, that does include a fair amount of driving.

I've been a bit concerned for how my cheeks, and cheek ditch is gonna feel and heal?

Anyone out there who can share their experiences healing their ass cheeks?!