Is tattoo heavy scabbing normal?
I had this tattoo done three days ago and it has scabbed very thickly. http://img71.imageshack.us/img71/6078/tattooscab1ki2.jpg I've had two other tattoos and don't remember them scabbing like this (although they did scab). The tattooist didn't say to use any cream or lotion, and when I asked if I should use any, he said 'if I want to', so i've been using Savlon once a day. I've read that solid black tattoos generally tend to scab more than others, but i'm rather worried! Shall I continue to use lotion, or let it run its course? Is this due to bad work, or other factors? Cheers in advance, Steve.
My new tattoo has got really thick scabbing, what should i do???
Doesn't look too bad. Heavy black work like this tends to scab up pretty good, in my experience anyways. I would disaggree with the artist however and reccommend you use some lotion on that, something gentle like aveeno. It will help the healing and stop the itching. Just dont pick at the scabs. You may lose some color, but that is not uncommon either. When it is good and healed, in about 4-6 weeks, go back to the artist and have him touch it up. He should do this free of charge. I dont think the ink is smudged, it just looks blurry because of the scabbing. Tattoos always look great the day you have it done, and then not so good when it is healing, but once it is healed it looks as good as the day it was done.
How can you prevent scabbing on a new tattoo?
You can't. Some artists are a bit heavy handed, and you'll get deeper, longer lasting scabs. But you are traumatizing your skin, so it's natural reaction is to scab up to protect it from outside bacteria. It will scab, period. If you soak it in soapy or salt water... WHICH IS THE ONLY THING YOU SHOULD CLEAN IT WITH, it softens the scabs, bit it fades the tattoo greatly if you remove the soft scab. You should, no matter what a tattoo artist says, TRUST ME, keep it DRY. NO OINTMENTS PERIOD. Just wash it gently with Dial soap and water, rinse it, and once it starts to scab up, use just enough lotion... NON SCENTED, to cover the tattoo. Gently rub it in to where it dries quickly, and it will heal so fast. Then you should use sunscreen and lotion as much as possible to keep it vibrant. That is the fastest way to let a tattoo heal. Don't pick it, just when it itches go ahead and clean it and put just enough unscented lotion on it. I've had so many tattoos and different advice from artists, and the one time I decided to just leave it alone, wash it once a day, depending on what I did, if I was sweaty, I'd wash the sweat off, or dirt, or whatever, but I'd wash it before bed, like washing the day off, let it scab up before putting lotion and those are the tattoos that healed the best, brightest, and fastest. And, trust me, I've been through HELL with some of them due to instructions from the artist. Clean, dry, and lotion when it scabs. Done. Yes, drainage that is the colors of your tattoo is normal for the first few days, so don't think it's infected. If it doesn't stop, there is a big problem and you should go to a doctor. Also, the drainage will not wash out. I have tank tops, shirts, underwear (from hip tattoos) and sheets that will forever hold the ink colors.
Is heavy tattoo scabbing a bad sign?
Okay so I got my first tattoo a week ago and I'm freaking out. It's a yin and yang on my inner wrist thats about two inches in diameter and the shaded side, which is on the left sife of my wrist, has gotten really scabby. The scabs are pretty raised and dry and cracking and of course I'm not picking at them but this morning a part of the shaded side that doesn't have a raised scab was leaking a brownish yellow kinda clearish liquid. Not a lot but enough to scare the hell out of me. The liquid didn't come out on top of the shading but out from the side. The side without the shading, like just where the edge of the circle is basically, is healing fine and there's no redness around the entire tattoo itself but on the edge of the upper part of the shaded side has a little dark red hue. The pain has gone down significantly since I got it and it doesn't hurt really at all unless ya know you push it really hard or when I stretch out my wrist but I'm just freaking out and I wanted to ask the internet's opinion because obviously that's the smartest thing to do. Thank for your help in advance