just a brief update ;;

my arm seems to be healing fairly well. the scabs have all come off and the area underneath is progressing just as i would expect a heavily scarred tattoo to heal. the middle portion of the apple is all light pink scar tissue mottled with uneven yellows and a slightly darker pink in some spots. the outer areas are a little better off, but not by much — none of the ink healed evenly (which is pretty much what i was prepared for).

i appreciate the advice i received and the acceptance of the fact that my artist isn’t working out of a shop — i know this is frowned upon by some and i’m glad that i got friendly suggestions and warnings, rather than being reamed out for not hiring a shop artist,

my antibiotics are all finished and i think the infection was conquered — as far as i can tell from the surface, anyway — but one more question : there is a small red dot marking every hair follicle on the tattooed area. of course my arm was shaven for the tattoo, and the hair is growing in just as it should, but like i said the follicles seem to be red/pink, almost as if they were irritated by the infection (which seems to be a reasonable thing to have happen). normal? probably?

thanks again guys. 🙂

yeah, i still have the same question. what i’ve been doing (since i realized that i’m actually experiencing a variety of major problems, and not just a minor reaction to the pigment) is washing the area with mild soap and lukewarm water, patting dry (completely dry) and applying polysporin after letting the area air-dry for a few minutes after the pat down. i do this 2-3 times per day, and then before bed i do the same washing routine but without the polysporin. i found that when i applied polysporin before bed, it made the tattooed area more goopy and moist and disgusting than when i did the same application during the hours in which i was vertical. (i have no idea why). i don’t know if this is the right thing to do, but it seems logical, because if i leave the wound overnight with even the thinnest layer of ointment on it, i wake up stuck to my clothing or bedsheets and this causes even more gooping/healing problems. as of today, actually, i think that the tattoo has healed well enough that it could stand to go overnight with polysporin; it is no longer bubbly and oozy. i followed the advice of mister sherav here and it seems to be doing the trick (with, perhaps, the help of the antibiotics i’ve been prescribed).

however — i do have a small area (and i do mean small, like 2 mm X 2.5 mm) near the top of the problematic area, which i noticed after my shower today started to bleed. not dripping blood or anything, but a very small congealed area of blood. i don’t figure it’s anything to worry about — i think maybe the soap i’ve been using on the tattoo has just dried it out to the point that the previously moist and oozing areas have suddenly become dry scabs.

good luck with yours, bennpam6; it’s been quite a long haul for me. 10 days i think now and it’s still not doing very well at all. better, but still miles away from ideal.

yep, that sounds about right. :/ gooey, wet, kind of bubbly looking. disguuuuusting.

on a better note, parts of the scab are coming off in the most normal fashion possible (what with everything that’s gone on in the area) and revealing a fairly solid yellow underneath. not perfect obviously but not pitted or incredibly discoloured or scarred, from what i can see. so far, so good. hopefully the center of the whole mess heals in the same way … or even close to … anything other than what i am picturing as a finished product. 🙁

thank you so much for the advice matthew, i really hope it helps in the healing process. i just don’t want it to turn into a septic mess. at this point i care much less about the tattoo than i do my arm itself; obviously i’m more concerned about the general health of the area. if touch-ups are required (which i’m positive they will be), i’m going to wait a good long time and ensure all is well.

also don’t worry, i’m very careful about thorough handwashing.

and one more question — which antiseptic cream do you recommend? and is there any lotion you prefer for this purpose? will unscented lubriderm do the trick?

thanks again — i’ll keep you updated.

OH and i can’t believe i forgot to include this in the original post. i don’t know if it factors in, but i started getting sick the day before the tattoo session, and sick i remain. it’s just a cold– runny nose, brutal congested cough, etc– and it really shouldn’t have lasted 9 days. boyfriend & brother both had the same thing and it only lasted a day or two for them. so i’m not sure if perhaps the tattoo was overworked, became prone to infection after being an open, damp wound for so long, perhaps contracted an infection and is now not healing properly because i’m sick? who knows. i figured i’d throw it out there though in case it does factor in to the whole equation.