Runningriver

Just wanted to update, because it's been a year. As @Hogrider mentioned, it took almost a full year for the colour to settle. It just recently started to look as smooth as the black/grey work. Time works wonders for healing, as is oft repeated here.

They just look like hair follicles to me. Your artist probably shaved your leg, yes? Could just be hair growing back and you're not used to seeing that, especially if you don't normally shave. Leg hair will always be visible over your tattoo, ink doesn't hide it. I'd wait a few more weeks then try exfoliating gently if ingrown hairs appear. Don't exfoliate unless your tattoo is completely healed. But I wouldn't be concerned about this one bit.

I really like this. Yes, it's plain, but I feel like that's what makes it so nice. Maybe wait a bit to see if it grows on you? 6 weeks is not a long time, and there is always (for me, at least) an adjustment period when I go through some initial regret/dislike. On the bright side, there is a lot you could do with this if you do decide you want to.

These are likely milia. Harmless. Moisturize and exfoliate gently.

My leg tattoo got infected, unfortunately. That was a few months ago, and it has healed very well, with only very minimal color loss in a dime-size area. I took pics daily to assess whether things were progressing well, or regressing, and going through them now I thought they showed the healing stages quite well, so I decided to post them in case anyone is curious (or likes gross pictures). First two are before antibiotics (oral), last set shows progress (left to right) from day 1 to day 9. You can't tell from the pictures but the infection was deep and it felt like a golf ball under the skin. I suspect the infection was from my dog jumping on me on day 2 or 3, despite all the precautions to prevent it.

The most challenging healing experience for me was the lower leg/ankle. I've attached a pic of day 2 or 3, this was peak swelling and also when I thought those stabbing pains would drive me insane. The skin heal was easy compared to the actual swelling. I think it took a solid 2 weeks before I could walk/run normally, getting progressively better each day. But i had my entire side leg (hip bone to ankle bone) done over 3 days so I did expect it to swell up like crazy, based on previous experience that involved far less trauma. Your tattoo looks amazing, by the way!

That exactly. I like to take pictures daily and compare over a few days to make it's progressing in the right direction. But this wouldn't worry me.

Thank you, Hogrider. My tattoo artist suggested it may take a good long while too, but this is reassurance that it should eventually look ok. I appreciate your comment.

Hi! My thigh tattoo is 10 weeks old. No issues with healing, normal peeling, no scabbing. Except for the light blue color... it looks cracked , raised and just not settled at all. Everything else (black and grey, purple, dark blue) is super smooth and looks like normal skin. The application was no different than previous tattoos in terms of pain or bleeding. Is this a reaction to the color? Overworked (although wouldn't that be weird for only those specific areas to be overworked)? Normal? I'm moisturizing once a day. No sun exposure. Thank you for your input.

I made sure to exfoliate and moisturize in the weeks leading up, but not a couple of days before. Seemed to work. Maybe exfoliating would help prevent those bumps?

The good quality paper towels won't stick. You only need to be more vigilant until your tattoo is no longer an open wound, a week or two, so why not play it safe and use something that won't harbor germs (I can't imagine a damp reused towel is the most hygienic option).

My entire arm was swollen the day after a bicep tattoo. It didn't last long, back to normal after a couple of days. Normal.

Week 8 healing a full side leg, so not fresh, but frig this is taking a long time to settle. The initial swelling/pain was much easier to deal with than I had anticipated (2 straight days of 12.5 hours, so i expected near-death, I guess), no scabbing and quick peeling phase, too. This piece has lots of deep colour and the blue is still scaly and itchy in some spots. My body has a hard time with some colours, I knew that going in, but I'm ready for this to be done.

How fresh is the tattoo? To me, it does look possibly infected, but that doesn't mean it won't heal. Take a pic daily, preferably at the same time (right after cleaning it, for eg), and compare to make sure it's not getting worse. If it gets red or hot, then see a doctor right away. I've had something similar twice - once it healed perfectly well on its own, and the other, it needed antibiotics.

Different strokes for different folks, and I've done it both ways (nothing for a few days then lotion, and lotion right from day 1) and all have healed similarly.

Three weeks is still early in the healing process. I would continue with the lotion (non greasy, unscented), but once a day should be plenty. And make sure you use sunscreen if it's exposed to sunlight. The 'clumpy' spots look like they have heavier saturation and they will likely take longer to settle than the line work.

I'm curious to know how it healed? I've had something very similar and while the ink did appear affected where the infection was really deep, it healed relatively well. You can't really tell there's any ink lost, in fact.

Wow! I love it. Take it slow if you're not sure. It does look amazing though.

Heya! I recently got a new tattoo, full side leg, first color piece. I found this place when looking for aftercare info and I enjoy it very much. I have a number of other tattoos dating back almost 20 years (back, upper arms, chest, thigh) and they're all black/grey. Off to read/look at amazing pics!