Is this normal?

[dustyrose1986]

hello, just looking for a second opinion. i just recently got a new tattoo on my inner forearm, center of wrist and elbow in the evening on Saturday 19th. a black and grey sparrow. i followed my artists instructions by leaving bandage on for a few hours and  washing the tat 3-4 times a day then applying ointment sparingly. i used the tattoo goo green salve in the tin. the next day when i had woken up it was of course oozing plasma and ink. not really concerned just yet as it is my 8th tattoo and most of them had oozed in the beginning except for the one on my wrist which it did not. anyways Monday and Tuesday rolled around and said tat became a painful bruised feeling and i could just barely wash it, by Tuesday evening the pink around the tat finally disappeared leaving behind a yellowed bruise as well as it was still leaking. that night i let it dry for a little awhile after washing before i applied the salve. might of been about an hour or less. Wednesday squeaked by finally no pain but still tender. By Thursday (yesterday) morning i woke up to good sized scabs, pretty big in size that i have ever seen on any of my tattoos. one of the large scab sloughed off early while i was showering leaving behind a deep crater where it was. i am very fair skinned so i dont know if that has anything to do with the way redness surround the scabs only. and it is not the whole tattoo just the tail and shoulders of the bird which is the blackest part. while the rest of the bird looks fairly normal and is peeling and at the milky stage.

every single one of my tattoos had healed differently and liked different lotions or ointments. this is my first forearm tattoo. as of today (Friday) it just looks downright pissed off and still a bit tender to touch and still red around scabs.

i went yesterday to see my artist who said that its just healing since it doesnt have any pus oozing from around the scabs asked me if it was hot as well, which i replied to him that i couldnt tell, but maybe very slight warmth. but that is usually normal for me for up to a week after getting tattooed. his tip was to do nothing to it, absolutely nothing. is this right? 

is redness normal around deep scabs? is there any tips on care for these scabs? does it sound like he overworked my skin? would coconut oil help?         

 

Edited August 27, 2017 by dustyrose1986
missed spelled word

[lape]

it sounds like you did a horrible job taking care of it to be honest. scabs form when plasma and dirt is allowed to sit on the tattoo. this is why you should have a proper bandage and leave it on over night. lately i've been double double bandage simply because it will put out plasma, and the more plasma you remove the nicer it will heal. ointment is basically dirt during the first few days to be honest...

the scab on the right wing looks like it has had an slight infection. you'll probably loose some color.

how to heal scabs? don't touch them, don't get them wet. don't put anything on them.

 

[dustyrose1986]

Could it have been the care on the sheet that was horrible? i clearly followed my artists instruction sheet since every tattoo artist has different care. had someone told me to leave bandage on overnight or double bandage i would have. i was only told for a couple hours, wash and apply tattoo goo or aquaphor... since im allergic to aquaphor, tattoo goo was it. i kept it clean, washing 3-5 times a day even if something touched it. i did mention i could barely touch it but alas i did since it must be done. i know what plasma does to a tattoo. i have several. 

2 months ago i had a tattoo done on the inside of my wrist. healed perfectly. from the get go had no plasma. etc. i did the same thing and used the same stuff like i did this one... dont know why it came out differently, but it did. using the exact same care...

my others which are 10-20 yrs old, first one, i was 16 at the time. i dont even remember bandaging them up, just using unscented lotion from the start. even went through some sticking to shirts when i woke up from sleep, i was a teenager so didnt worry about it. care for tattoos back then was good ol shrinkwrap for my large tat.

funny how i care more for my tats now than i did then and get blamed for not taking care of them... goodluck to you sir on your tattoo journey. thank you for your help.  

    

Edited August 25, 2017 by dustyrose1986

[Dan]

1 hour ago, dustyrose1986 said:

Could it have been the care on the sheet that was horrible? i clearly followed my artists instruction sheet since every tattoo artist has different care. had someone told me to leave bandage on overnight or double bandage i would have. i was only told for a couple hours, wash and apply tattoo goo or aquaphor... since im allergic to aquaphor, tattoo goo was it. i kept it clean, washing 3-5 times a day even if something touched it. i did mention i could barely touch it but alas i did since it must be done. i know what plasma does to a tattoo. i have several. 

2 months ago i had a tattoo done on the inside of my wrist. healed perfectly. from the get go had no plasma. etc. i did the same thing and used the same stuff like i did this one... dont know why it came out differently, but it did. using the exact same care...

my others which are 10-20 yrs old, first one, i was 16 at the time. i dont even remember bandaging them up, just using unscented lotion from the start. even went through some sticking to shirts when i woke up from sleep, i was a teenager so didnt worry about it. care for tattoos back then was good ol shrinkwrap for my large tat.

funny how i care more for my tats now than i did then and get blamed for not taking care of them... goodluck to you sir on your tattoo journey. thank you for your help.  

    

it looks fine to me,pretty normal,

just use some Aveeno lightly a few times a day and see if it might need a touchup in a few months,

my guess is it will heal just fine.

[SStu]

and it doesn't need any ointment or lotion, either. You could just leave it alone and it'll heal just fine. If the redness persists and/or gets hot then you'll need to see a doctor. 

[oboogie]

Just stop futzing with it, as @SStu said. Let it heal. Don't touch it anymore.

[dustyrose1986]

@Dan @SStu @oboogie Thank you all for your help in reassuring me. I have never had tattoo scabs this extreme before.

Just a small update: It turned out that the redness was a allergic reaction to the soap i was using. It was the tattoo goo antibacterial soap for tattoos and piercings (could be why it hurt so bad when i washed it 2 - 3 days after i got it). As soon as i changed my soap the redness had went away and healing started back up again as well as scabs leveled themselves out (instead of being raised). I switched over to vanicream cleansing bar for sensitive skin, morning and night. other than that nothing else unless it feels tight then i put on a light lotion. 

[Hel7]

On 25/8/2017 at 3:42 PM, SStu said:

and it doesn't need any ointment or lotion, either. You could just leave it alone and it'll heal just fine. If the redness persists and/or gets hot then you'll need to see a doctor. 

Yeah, I'll never stress this too much! It's fundamental not to apply more lotion than usual. If you heal within 10-15 days usually, stop. Don't apply 30 days of cream on a tattoo only because it hurts!

Otherwise if the pain really lasts for weeks and months I'd rather see a specialist, since a normal doctor could only give you antibiotics for the first days. Anyways I answered on the other thread too