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Just let it heal. Don't mess with it any more. Don't put anything on it, except maybe some unscented lotion.

Just give it time a let it heal. It's not going anywhere.

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.

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.

My first tattoo was a sleeve and chest panel. I thought about it for years and took about a year to find the right artist. I now have two sleeves, chest panels, back and am working up one leg to tie it into my chest panel and back. Go big or go home.

We all heal at different rates...but it takes months for us all to heal fully. Give it time and don't over saturate it with lotion - your skin needs air to heal.

@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.

I have seen reactions to red ink,not too much from black though, and after this long ? maybe you irritated the skin ,like scraped it or the hot summer sun ? or mosquito bites ? a link to a pic of it would help.

Finally got my griffin calf piece done back of the knee was no joke.

Here in New England it's been a pretty crappy summer. It's rained quite a lot this year and we have only had a couple of weeks worth of nice weather. The forecast for the next week or so is high 70's during the day and 50's at night. I love the day temps but the 50's is a little cool.

Temps here in East Tennessee have stopped reaching the 90s, and are now getting into low 60s, upper 50s at night. Heaven! Riding the GoldWing in 82 degree weather on the way home from work is SO much nicer than 98! Once I get over about 35 MPH it actually feels cool, and encourages me to "take the long way home". Even mowing in this weather isn't too bad.

Had a great time there yesterday! Even talked the wife into joining me, although I don't think she enjoyed it nearly as much as me. The "art fusion" contest is fun to watch - three artists each start on a canvas for 10 minutes, then switch for ten minutes, then switch again. The final outcomes are really different.

Yes, this. I use my lotion for any tattoo only for a maximum of 14 days, two times a day, and I try to let them take air so no tight clothes and such. I never had problems in healing with this method, many tattoo artists of mine too suggest to use Bepanthenol (that's the cream everyone uses here and to me is great) only for 7 or 10 days, but they always say that we all need to find our personal way of healing. 14 days works great for me, bigger and smaller tattoo alike, so I stick with that. Now I am in a phase very similar to yours: my inner calf tattoo done 20 days ago is perfectly cured, but I have still pain on my ankle and a little bit on my calf too. I had back ache for a good month when I did my entire upper back with a totally black phrase! So I think that (understood that the tattoo artist's experience and way of tattooing has its importance, since some of them have a "heavier" way which is more painful) if you get a tattoo on a particular area of your body prone to more pain (muscular or of other types) you may need much more time to heal properly, even if the tattoo itself isn't anymore red or itchy. Mine heal all at a fast rate, no redness or swelling after some days, but in those two areas I experienced and still am experiencing some heckin pain at a muscular (or something else.. I'm not a doctor ahah) level! The advice I could give you is to use your lotion only the days/weeks you are accustomed to, like, 10 or 14 days. If still the tattoo has some problems, you feel pain and such, let it take air and rest.. don't apply more cures to it! By the way it looks awesome!!

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

My whole left leg is music inspired.

Yeah, if that starts feeling warm you very well might have an infection. At that point quit waiting and see a doctor.

This one of Highway 61 is inspired, in part, by music. Dylan; blues highway ect... although it's also inspired by road trips and the connection between northern MN and the Mississippi River. I also have a guitar with roses that Mario Desa made one me and a steal your face (grateful dead symbol) that I got in Vegas. My tattoo of red hot chili peppers is not inspired by music- that one is inspired by my love of hot peppers.

No, he is going to be in NH. I was talking with him at Pagoda but he was all booked. He asked where I lived and he said he was going to be in Portsmouth at the end of the month. Gonna be my first venture below the elbow.

My tattoo artist sent me the pic she took, and this one I managed to upload. So what do you guys think of it? :)

Thou shalt not take ye self so seriously, they are just F***ing tattoos, maan.

THIS THIS THIS THIS THIS. Thou shall not refer people to Tattoodo constantly because it sucks as a resource.

Thou shalt not offer advice to people about getting tattoos or aftercare unless thou haveth at least one of your own.

I. Absolutely. Love. The. Hot. Weather!!! Looking forward to basking by the pool Sunday afternoon after I get the grass cut.

Unfortunately, there's still a lot of bias against tattoos out there, especially in certain fields and professions. There are a good number of folks who work at my college with visible tattoos. I interview every full-time employee before they are hired - some came to the interview with exposed tattoos, some not. And many of them work in my IT department. For me it isn't an issue at all. I also don't hide the fact that I have tattoos - although I have not made the jump to a below-the short-sleeve shirt level....yet. I find it funny when I'm out somewhere with folks of my age and hear them comment about tattoos. Generally, I don't say anything but, if I'm wearing short sleeves I'll casually make like I have an itch on my upper arm and expose part of a tattoo. The reactions are priceless. I also make a point of wearing sleeveless shirts in the warmer months and my social media pages have pictures of me with my tattoos exposed. Call it my campaign to help eliminate tattoo bias. Of course, I'm 62, have an Army retirement check coming each month and I'm the president of the College. There's not much people can do to me at this point. Still, I will probably wait until I retire in a few years to move to an exposed area. That's my long way of supporting what people have said about focusing on the importance of your job. It's unfortunate, but unless you are willing to wear long-sleeve shirts for work I'd probably forgo an exposed tattoo for now.

The shop I went to for my first tattoo had a smell. Not bad, but obvious. I realized after a little while there were several artists in there who vape and it was due to competing scents of vape flavors. I almost began to play a game in my head of "can I pick out which flavors they are using?"

Moron for the win. @Rikhall

Every time this thread is bumped, the song Ladies Night starts playing in my head... Let the chair dancing commence.

i'd say NO, there's just as much hair post-tattoo. it's just visually less noticeable against a backdrop of black and coloured ink.