Lower leg tattoo

[Idahoink]

Last night had my entire lower leg(knee down) and foot colored....I should have known better as when I had the outline done I could barley stand for the next 4 days. Today I am sporting a very fat foot, a calf that I do not recognize and a saweet cankle.

[Delicious]

It doesn't get much "lower leg" than the ankle, @Delicious! My most painful tattoo to heal was the recent one on my ankle. Similar to your experience, it took longer than normal to heal, but in the end, healed perfectly. You could probably switch to a fragrance-free lotion at this point and just apply a small amount as needed. If your tattooer tells you different, take that advice over mine (read: I'm not a tattooer).

yeah that is what i am going to do. it hasnt flaked but i dont want to run the risk of over saturating it

[Delicious]

So quick update... my leg is already feeling alot better now that I am using lotion. Not as rough. Still not progressed in the healing, but at least not so tender. will keep updated with new questions and/or concerns.

[Colored Guy]

My right leg heals slower due to the gun shot wound... even mosquito bites heal slow. The one from May on my left lower leg, this healed like a dream.

Rob

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Last night had my entire lower leg(knee down) and foot colored....I should have known better as when I had the outline done I could barley stand for the next 4 days. Today I am sporting a very fat foot, a calf that I do not recognize and a saweet cankle.

All done in one shot? Looks really good though.

Rob

[Idahoink]

My right leg heals slower due to the gun shot wound... even mosquito bites heal slow. The one from May on my left lower leg, this healed like a dream.

Rob

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All done in one shot? Looks really good though.

Rob

Thanks Rob, I miss NY some days but most days I wouldnt give up the peace n quiet out here.

The outline from the toes to knee sleeve was 12+ hours and the color/shading was another easy 12+ hours. I still have to get the pheonix colored and some touch up but I feel that will be a breeze. The artist is a good firend of mine and has been in the business for 12 years and is and will be a condender.

[Delicious]

meh so its flaking now, but i also have scabs... jesus the leg heals hard. I am afraid I am going to lose some of the color

[Jack]

I'm basically flaking finger nails off of my leg. It's fantastic.

[Delicious]

yes so another update.. it is about 75% flaked, but there are some stubborn scabs. it doesnt itch, it has a little tenderness/pain though. the red has turned alot lighter but the green still looks good.

[asradin]

The best way I have found to heal lower leg tattoos is straight after you have it done take an anti-histamine and then once you are home try and keep the leg raised as much as possible. I sleep with my legs above my head when healing lower leg tattoos. I also take one anti-histamine a day until it's finished scabbing. I dry heal so all of my tattoos scab a lot but I've never needed to have one touched up. Oh and FYI I got 6 lower leg tattoos in as many months plus my knee and this method has healed them all perfectly and without any real tenderness

[jaysmall13]

my legs healed terribly at first swelling quite a bit but eventually they look just as normal as they did before

[Idahoink]

I am looking forward to the morning. I am starting off in the am finishing the color on the pheonix on my left, then starting my left leg sleeve with a portrait of skulls that I designed reminding me of my mortality as I consider myself to have been very lucky in bad situations and the luck at some point it will run out.

[SStu]

with a portrait of skulls

now that sounds interesting . . .

[Idahoink]

now that sounds interesting . . .

Thanks, I think it will be and they all will be all shaded a different color with a sun above casting a yellow orange ray through the top and everything in its path will be yellow/orange

but I am a dissapoint. For 9 hours we decided to finish my lower left pheonix color and white outline then, we moved to my forearm and retouched and refreshed my favorite(looks new again!) and finished my lower left arm sleeve with a totem/tiki pole with 4 faces .

In 2 weeks I will launch operation skull portrait...

My schedule has been every 2 weeks 12 hours.

[Delicious]

whats the rush?

[Idahoink]

Heading to prison again.

J/K.

I am in no rush. I just have some time and have an opportunity with a very talanted professional artist/friend.

I also recently left the USMC for a number of years and feel free again but, was in a recent near fatal accident and should not be here typing this. I guess I want to live and dont want to miss it.

The schedule is only for 3 months - 6-7 sessions for now to finish work that never was complete.

Edited November 30, 2012 by Idahoink
lost word

[ailsa]

Okay so I just wanna ask those with lower leg tattoos if you had to limp about because of the swelling and scabbing? I had my right calf done in one sitting and it had swollen, rocking cankles and everything. I couldn't walk on it so I've been limping about. the swelling is gone but I'm still not able to walk on it properly.

I'm on day 11 of the tattoo and I know healing is slow and putting the leg down from elevation is searing pain. I think I'm just wondering when I'll start seeing a light at the end of the tunnel.

The tattoo itself seems to be doing pretty well, lettering is scabbing but the background is good and settled. but right now I'm sat with a bag of ice round my ankle, I think it's destroyed from limping around on it for the last 11 days!

Just wondering if anyone else had a problem with walking for this length of time?

[asradin]

Okay so I just wanna ask those with lower leg tattoos if you had to limp about because of the swelling and scabbing? I had my right calf done in one sitting and it had swollen, rocking cankles and everything. I couldn't walk on it so I've been limping about. the swelling is gone but I'm still not able to walk on it properly.

I'm on day 11 of the tattoo and I know healing is slow and putting the leg down from elevation is searing pain. I think I'm just wondering when I'll start seeing a light at the end of the tunnel.

The tattoo itself seems to be doing pretty well, lettering is scabbing but the background is good and settled. but right now I'm sat with a bag of ice round my ankle, I think it's destroyed from limping around on it for the last 11 days!

Just wondering if anyone else had a problem with walking for this length of time?

I had a similar problem with my first lower leg tattoo, I figured out the best solution for it by the time I got the next one done. I find that for me (and this may not work for everyone) I would take an antihistamine and ibuprofen straight after the tattoo session ended and then keep up the ibuprofen for a week or so along with the antihistamine. I would try and keep my leg raised as high as possible all the time, especially when sleeping. If the pain got annoying I would take some pain killers. I might get called a pussy for it, but for me there is no shame in taking pain killers during healing if the pain is getting in the way of normal life. You've already sat for the tattoo.

I also found that for me my average healing time for lower leg tattoos was around 18 days but I'm a slow healer so it will vary from person to person. The one thing I always remember is that the pain will be temporary, even if it lasts a month or two, but the awesome tattoo will be there forever, so if I have to I just grit and take the pain

[ailsa]

This makes me feel better, I wish I had read all this before I had it done! Could of prepared myself a little better haha. I haven't been taking any antihistamines so I'll hobble off to the chemist tomorrow and get some.

I'm a notorious slow healer, I do keep telling myself that as much as it's a pain in the ass now soon it'll be fine. I'm going to be very well prepared when I get more lower leg work.

I'm trying to elevate as much as I can but sometimes knowing the pain that happens on the way down puts me off.

[semele]

I don't think I limped for more than a few days, but when I had the outside of my right leg tattooed, it took almost a month before I had a normal-sized ankle again. Cankle doesn't even begin to describe it. Legs are weird I guess.

[else]

I rocked serious cankles after both of the calf tattoos I've had. Couldn't even tell there was a bone in there!

And I limped around, but not for more than a day or two for either of these two, but I was able to spend the first 2 days after (on both of them) lying around with my legs elevated and not doing much which I think helped.

Towards the end of February I'm getting something done mid-week and won't have the luxury of staying home from work in the days after so I'll have to see how it goes... I'm anticipating it will be a little bit awful.

[ailsa]

Yeah I went back to work today and I've done some walking on the ankle but today was the first day since I've had it done that I've had to do a large amount of walking and initially by the end of the day I felt like I was able to walk pretty normal but as soon as I got home and rested it, it started swelling and burning up and now putting my foot on the floor is searing pain.

I think antihistamines and elevation are the key! Which I need to follow more religiously! Good luck with your work @else! Would be really interested to hear how you get on :-)

[Delicious]

I dont have the ability to just stay at home for a few days, and elevating my leg has done nothing. the skin feels tight and my leg is swollen. every step is painful. the skin feels stretched tight when I am standing up. What do I do? I have to walk a mile in the morning to get to the bus and I am afraid I'll be in too much pain

[hollyjoybee]

I dont have the ability to just stay at home for a few days, and elevating my leg has done nothing. the skin feels tight and my leg is swollen. every step is painful. the skin feels stretched tight when I am standing up. What do I do? I have to walk a mile in the morning to get to the bus and I am afraid I'll be in too much pain

when i got my outside calfs done i didn't experience too much swelling or pain but i think the outside isnt so bad perhaps because it isn't on the muscle? :/

Anyhoo when i had my thighs done they really really swole and i do a job that requires my legs to be lower than my heart all day... (nail technician posture corrective stools..so comfortable..not) so i took ibuprofen to try and help with the swelling, drank lots of water to try to help clear the swelling and painkillers. The difficulty walking went after a couple of days... i hope it starts to feel better soon :( x

[Delicious]

when i got my outside calfs done i didn't experience too much swelling or pain but i think the outside isnt so bad perhaps because it isn't on the muscle? :/

Anyhoo when i had my thighs done they really really swole and i do a job that requires my legs to be lower than my heart all day... (nail technician posture corrective stools..so comfortable..not) so i took ibuprofen to try and help with the swelling, drank lots of water to try to help clear the swelling and painkillers. The difficulty walking went after a couple of days... i hope it starts to feel better soon :( x

Its my outside calf so I have no clue. But thanks for the moral support!

[gougetheeyes]

I dont have the ability to just stay at home for a few days, and elevating my leg has done nothing. the skin feels tight and my leg is swollen. every step is painful. the skin feels stretched tight when I am standing up. What do I do? I have to walk a mile in the morning to get to the bus and I am afraid I'll be in too much pain

You'll be all right. Once you realize how your body treats tattoos (as wounds) you'll get a lot more comfortable with the healing process. And you described it perfectly; tight skin, some swelling, and -- especially on the legs -- that surge/sting when the blood circulates down. Always notice it when I swing my legs out of bed with a new one.. So I've just learned to wait an extra few seconds, let it circulate and then stand up and walk slowly. You'll be fine for the bus as long as you can find something to wear that's not super tight and doesn't rub it.