Well there’s not much you can do about it so don’t sweat it too much.

I’d say ease up on the Lubriderm and washing; you may just be irritating it – You really shouldn’t wash anything more than a couple times a day.

Everyone heals at a different rate, but all tattoos take a minimum of 6 to 8 weeks to heal. Injuries to your genitals and mouth heal faster. (If that doesn’t sell atheists on Intelligent Design, nothing will.) I think that’s an arm? Keeping a wound constantly damp with moisturizers, yet putting drying irritants on it like cetyl alcohol (an ingredient in Lubriderm) is no good.

My tattooist turned me on to Tattoo Goo. It’s mostly natural. I love that it has rosemary, which gives it a great smell and better healing properties. I’m not a believer in overmoisturizing and prefer the holistic approach of more natural products and a better diet. If you want your skin to heal, gently wash twice a day with antbacterial soap. PAT it dry. Once it’s completely dry, apply a little Tattoo Goo. Eat good fats like avocados, olive oil, et al. Get lots of protein and vitamin C.

I don’t go for moisturizing skin until wounds are healed, but that’s not from a tattooist perspective. That’s from a nursing perspective. I also prefer Aveeno IF I’m out of Tattoo Goo, but you can use the latter on healed tattoos, too. From the looks of it, your tattoo doesn’t look infected or gross, just slow-healing and a little sore. Take care of it and I’m sure it’ll be fine. 🙂

Check this out. This was my first tat. The circled area is where the artist really chewed up the the skin. Not only is it shiny, but there’s actually a noticeable indent in my leg there. It eventually healed completely. No shininess, no indent. I am missing ink in the middle of the line but that’s easy enough to touch it when I can be bothered.