nerdlove

thanks for the replies. this is my first tattoo that covers almost the entire outer portion of my forearm. i guess i'm not really familiar with how the healing process is and what i can expect. i have some medical conditions so i was mainly worried about infections but an allergy never crossed my mind. "dry" aftercare is basically not using any ointments or lotion 2-3 days until the tattoo starts to tighten. just washing 2-3 times a day. once the tattoo starts to tighten, the artist told me to start using a fragrance-free lotion 3-4 times/day. it's contrary to most of what i read online but all the artists at the parlor agreed. it's a pretty reputable place so i took their advice. the dry technique might be a reason why the red is still irritated. i'm not sure. i already went through the initial 4-5 day itching period about 3 days after the tattoo. it stopped itching but once it finished peeling and most of the scabs came off, just the red outlines started itching. maybe this is a second phase of healing. i'm trying not to worry but it's just in my nature. thanks again for the advice and input. i'll keep everyone updated.

Hello everyone, I had a tattoo done on my forearm about 2 weeks ago with mostly black ink and some red lines. The tattoo artist recommended the "dry" aftercare. It eventually scabbed in some areas but now most of the scabbing/peeling has fallen off naturally. The black portions of the tattoo look great. No color issues or reactions. However, the red lines are raised and just started itching.The raising of the red was apparent early on during healing but the itching is new and started yesterday. The color also is a dark pink instead of the true red that was put on. While healing, some of the red areas were bumpy and those areas scarred and took the longest to fall off. Oddly, it's not those portions that are itchy but the parts of the red where the scabs fell off first (the thinner lines). There still seems to be a thin layer of skin over all of the red lines so there's still some healing going on. From what I can tell, the artist may have been heavy handed with the red as well. I've contacted my artist via e-mail but just thought I would try for any opinions here. Is this common or should I see a dermatologist soon? Thanks for any input. T