Leah

I had something really similar happen to some red ink. It raised for about a month and then just became an itchy dry patch. I'm pretty sure it's my body rejecting it, luckily a majority of the tattoo was black so I'm not all that concerned. More annoying than anything. In my case the artist was mixing his own inks. The shop couldn't even tell me what was in the mix. I haven't gone back. Been tattooed since by a new artist with no problems.

I use fragrance/color free lotion the whole time. I used to use A&D for the first few days but stopped that years ago. 

I have to ask, did this ever get better? Also, how was the wedding? 

It looks like you have a very slight blow out in some areas. It looks good though! I wouldn't worry too much about it although you'll probably obsess over it. To my knowledge there is nothing you can do about it. I have a few tattoos that did that too. 

Love that! The hot bath idea is great! 💡 

20 hours ago, InkIncShow said:

Everyone is going to be different, but in my experience placement matters and I am willing to bet your diet does too. My ditch got super swollen, but I think that was a matter of placement. My bicep didn't at all, but I eat a lot of almonds, ok fine I eat lots of nuts there I said it. Anyway, healthy oils are going to help your body fight inflammation. Plenty of others can cause you to swell more. You could check this article out to get a better idea:

https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/foods-that-fight-inflammation

I get how new age-y and probably asinine I sound, but lets face it, your body is going to react to situations differently depending on what you put inside it. 

Awesome advice! That doesn’t sound asinine at all, diet is a huge factor in so many other things so why not tattoos? I should eat better that is for sure. The swelling is way down now and I’m starting to peel, I usually start peeling after like 3 or 4 days. Thanks again for the response and the link. Have a nice night! Cheers. 

Thank you! I know it’s pretty normal for me to swell this way so I’m not so nervous, more curious about others’ swelling and whether or not they do. Thanks for responding! Cheers. 

For reference, I usually do not have a bi-cep. 

I normally swell like this. It’s the oddest thing. 

Thank you. I have a pretty physical job but as soon as I go up I’ll be sure to ice and elevate it. Was curious if anyone else shared my experience. Thank you!

I don’t think that would work well. Although, that is a pretty light shade of blue so hopefully they can. 

Hey guys,

I'll add a pic later in the thread but I recently got a bicep tattoo, 3 days ago, decent size (a cover-up) and my bi-cep is the size of a ham. I had a similar experience with my forearm. Anyone else experience this?

Quick update. The red is getting better and better. Just small dry bumps now. 

Hey guys, so I woke up this morning and the red lost most of its puffiness and now seems like it has small itchy bumps on it. It is way more flush with my skin and I think the bumps aren’t here to stay. I took the advise and left it alone, no lotion or anything just kept it dry so it could breathe. I think folks were right when they said it just wasn’t healed yet. In conclusion, if I do have an allergy to the ink it’s extremely mild. More likely though, red just took a bit longer to heal than black. How are you guys doing? Thanks again for all the help. Thinking about getting an ink color test from my artist because I want an underwater marine life back piece. If I show any reactions I’ll do it black.  Cheers. 

What you have so far is awesome. You could totally do a live crow and add some blue through his black too. Like that iridescent blue/black look.

I wonder if you could do something along the lines of a mandala around the skull, it would most likely disguise The Sun beams. I actually don’t think it looks bad the way it is but I am a fan of sun tattoos in general, so I’m biased. Lol 

Thanks a ton for the help and will do! Have a great weekend! 🙃

Wow, thanks for the advice. I may just start applying some vitamin E and see how that goes. Hydrocortisone has done very little. I’m less worried about it since reading this thread and seeing I’m not alone in this strange saga of red. Did getting tattooed with witch hazel sting like hell? Thanks again. 

Aww thanks a bunch!

24 minutes ago, tay943 said:

I've found red ink takes longer to heal on me too! All of my red ink areas have gone scabby so far - I even had one area get a little permanent dented scar. Recently got sunburned on the roses on my thigh (accident - I re-applied 3 times) and all of the red petals became raised and hot. then went super itchy and now flat again!

Interesting. Sometimes my black tattoos will raise a bit in the heat, but not too often. It seems red is a pretty finicky color for some.

It was the first time I’d ever added color to any tattoos, I think I’m going to keep my tattoos black. 

Wow, I’m really late to this thread but I do believe I’m having a slight allergy to red ink myself. Or the red really is slower to heal. I got the tattoo done 3 weeks ago tomorrow. I’m using steroid cream for reduction of the swelling.  How’s everyone else doing? Any new updates on dealing with the red ink.