Samth

I had a similar experience...I used cocoa butter for 2 or 3 weeks on my elbow and ditch before they were tattooed and the initial couple days of healing were definitely easier. Good insight!

Ive always treated it as common sense skin care. Should i be wearing sunscreen? If so, i do, but if im just having a drink on the back porch, i dont worry about it.

What do you mean? Do you have concerns about it?

Looks normal to me, especially for 9 days out. Different parts of the body heal differently and respond differently to swelling and the trauma of the tattoo application.

Definitely no expert, but that looks like bruising to me...and a very good tattoo.

Looks good, I'd wear it!

Ahh I must have missed that part

First thing I would do is talk to the artist, or if you're really concerned about an infection speak with your doctor.

I agree, even if you can engage in bartering you can really help them out

I'm not saying that everything is great, as it certainly is an inconvenience for both of you. They lost the day of work too. Im sure they would rather have been working and making money too. Also, the deposit is there to protect the artist. It will still go towards your overall cost. All you can do is reach out and state explicitly that you will or will not be at the next appointment. Again, this is certainly less than ideal. All i was trying to say was that this hardly seems to be worth this amount of online stressing and venting.

Just like any other job, people get sick. And then while they recuperate, and focus on health, might not respond to work stuff for a few days. Doesn't seem like a big deal.

I had one that got REALLY infected on my tricep, and when it finally healed all it needed was a quick touch up to pack some more color. Like others have said, all you can do is maintain your aftercare and wait for it to heal fully.

If you are seeing your doctor today, bring it up with them.

Are you applying more moisturizer than usual? Could be clogged pores

Also, 9 days is nowhere near long enough to tell. It will take at minimum 4-6 weeks to heal, and sometimes even longer to actually settle. Only then can you tell what the skin will look/feel like.