Hi there, first time poster.
I’ve currently got two tattoos. One on each of my upper arms.
These two tattoos were done by the same tattooist and came off without a hitch.
No issues during, no issues after, completely healed up fine, very happy with the work.
I recently decided to get the right one turned into a half-sleeve. We worked a design together.
When I went to get the outline & bloodline done it wasn’t too bad. It welted a bit but there was no excessive bleeding.
We almost finished the outlining but the underarm area hurt and we left 10% for the next session when we would start shading.
It was about a month between the outline and me going back on Wednesday to get the shading done.
We finished the outlining and got cracking on the shading. It wasn’t hurting so I was happy, but there was excessive bleeding.
The tattooist would wipe the shaded area and within 20 seconds there would be blood balls again, not to mention the welting/swelling that was present.
He explained to me the downsides of bleeding and welting and how it can affect the look of a tattoo and we decided to call it a night.
The plan was to load up on Vitamin-K on Friday for lunch and an early dinner to make the blood coagulate. I had massive amounts of Brocollini.
Last night (Friday) I went back in and we tried again. It started to welt/swell quite quickly and we had to do certain spots that were separated from each other.
The general answer from the tattooist now is that we wait for 2 weeks to let it settle down, load up on Vitamin-K throughout the next 2 weeks and give it another crack.
I’m obviously annoyed as having a half-complete tattoo sucks.
Can anyone please offer any advice for how I can stop my body not only bleeding, but from welting/swelling as well?
Please take the following into account:
– I haven’t taken any aspirin for months before
– I didn’t drink for at least a week before, and that was only a few drinks
– I had two full plates of Brocollini (Vitamin-K) the second time we attempted the tattoo
– I didn’t take any painkillers, ibruprofin, recreational drugs, steroids, or anything of the sort for weeks before
– I do take valium daily, but that’s obviously for a different reason
– This is the same tattooist, the same tools, the same area of the body
– We tried tattooing on fresh skin and over my old tattoo and the same result happened
Any other questions please ask as I think we pretty much covered everything before we tried again.
Thank you.
I used to be a bit of a bleeder when getting tattooed, and I would swell up like nobody’s business. I tried a few simple things that have made a big difference. I try to make sure that my iron level is high in preparation for the tattoo, so I increase my iron rich foods for a few weeks prior (beef, spinach, cream of wheat, etc.). I have also been known to take an iron supplement for a few months if I have an appointment coming up.
I also make sure to try to ‘eat clean’ for a couple of weeks before the appointment. No junk food or processed foods. Lots of salads, and veggies. Lots of home cooking rather than take-out.
And I restrict my salt intake for a few days prior to the appointment. This seems to make a big difference in the swelling (and the weeping that would happen afterwards). So no bacon, chips, or any other salty foods. Since I am in ‘eat clean mode’ at that point it is pretty easy to avoid the salt.
And I always eat on my way to the appointment and stay fed and hydrated during. If my blood sugar drops too far the bleeding can get bad, so every time the artist takes a break I eat a handful of snacks. It seems to be working.
Maybe some of these will help you.
Thanks Lola. I’ll have a chat with my tattooist and may give it a crack. I should be eating healthier anyway.
I’m just going to have to keep chipping away at different things until I figure out what it is I guess.
At least we can also chip away at the tattoo bit by bit if worse comes to worst, hopefully without ruining it.
Having an unfinished tattoo is extremely annoying.
@jaredlynwood 143999 wrote:
I have three tattoos, one on Mt Rist other on my arm and the 3rd one is on my ankle.
And how is that in any way relevant to this thread?
@ArniVidar 144005 wrote:
And how is that in any way relevant to this thread?
It’s not, but it does allow one to raise their post count.
@jaredlynwood 143999 wrote:
I have three tattoos, one on Mt Rist other on my arm and the 3rd one is on my ankle.
So you got tattooed on Mt Rist? Where is Mt Rist? Did you and the tattooer hike and or climb to the top and do the tattoo up there?
Crap this post is probably considered an asshole post and I probably be banned for a week or something lame like that.
@buttwheat 144007 wrote:
So you got tattooed on Mt Rist? Did you and the tattooer hike and or climb to the top and do the tattoo up there?
.
taking it back to the old battery powered tattoo days!
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