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Finally healed. By Jersh tattoos in Dallas:

got this last friday. By Alix Ge

Welcome, Miranda! You are much more experienced than I am - but it seems that the majority or your scabbing is where green ink was applied. It could just be your skin's reaction to that specific color of ink. My last tattoo had some scabbing - my first didn't - and I followed the exact same routine for aftercare as I did the first so it's probably not anything you've done. Just follow your routine...and leave those scabs alone!!! I bet it will look great when it's healed.

My name is Miranda! I'm 21 and in the process of starting my sleeve. I have a quick question for you guys regarding the healing process of my newest tattoo. First off, this will be my tenth and I've properly taken care off all with no issues. This last one seems to be giving me some trouble. It's been healing for a little over a week now and I've never had this sort of scabbing before. The only thing I did different on this one? Did not wash it when I got home that night but washed it the morning after instead (I was exhausted and mindlessly forgot). Any reason it could be scabbing like this and maybe some advice? I'll be super bummed if it comes out looking a mess. The first photo is after it was freshly done. The second is tonight. Thanks!

Thank you!

I agree,some inks will react differently on different people,looks like normal healing. and welcome Miranda !

That doesn't look like scabbing. It looks like the peeling skin mushed together and formed a bit of a blob. Give it some time.

Now I'm curious. Are you saying somebody might have tattooed or marked you while you were passed out or asleep? Or did someone poke you with something at a party or a club? I guess it's not impossible. The '80s was a weird decade.

Apparently it really is a UV tattoo, at least insofar as it's a deliberate, permanent mark, with discernible meaning, made by injecting some sort of UV-reactive ink under the skin. Certainly not a tattoo in the sense of a tattoo being a piece of art that one chooses to receive from a tattoo artist, though, heh. Funny you should suggest the dermatologist, since this whole thing started with her seeing a faint scar on the back of my neck. Interestingly, it didn't fluoresce under the fancy dermatological black-light, but it does become visible under a cheap "party" black-light. Haven't really thought about removal ... at this point it's more of an interesting puzzle that I'm just trying to figure out. The dermatologist was actually pretty clueless. It was only through my own online searching that I learned there was such a thing as a UV tattoo (which is why I thought it might make sense to ask here). I've been talking with the artist who did my tattoo about ten years ago -- the [non-UV] tattoo I chose to get, I mean, lol -- and she's been great: really respectful and helpful. She's checking with one of her connections in the medical field to see if they have any ideas about the stuff that she couldn't explain herself. I'm also in the process of contacting some other folks who were doing tattoos in the mid-80s and who might have thoughts about how someone might've done the UV thing before it was officially a thing. If neither of these pan out, then, yeah, my next step will be trying to reach out to someone who specializes in tattoo removal -- I imagine they see all kinds of crazy stuff, and might have some theories.

Hi Miranda, welcome to the site. I wouldn't worry about those scabs. A week is not enough time for a tattoo to properly heal, just resist the temptation to scratch/pick at those and I bet the tattoo underneath will be fine. Who's doing your sleeve? One artist, or many?

Got this one last Monday. By Jon West

New addition to my "bird collection". Done by Pavla (Poppy Tattoo) during her guest spot in Prague. The photo is hers. Concerning the watercolor tattoos and their ability to hold, I can now compare the 2 year old tattoo with this new one because they are placed right next to each other. The older one still looks great and vivid. But I have very pale skin, and I almost never sunbathe.

Tim Lehi next month.

I got my first about six months ago...a month shy of my 61st birthday. Got my second last Saturday. After many years of finding excuses not to do it, I finally decided it was time to make it happen. Where do I go from here? I have no clue...but you never know.