My first tattoo blurred over time, but where my third and forth tattoos stained, the area of the blow out was obvious from the beginning (although I didn’t realize initially ~ with the third I first thought it was an ink stain that had been accidentally wiped on the outside of the skin and would wash off! ~ with the forth and worst I thought it was a huge bruise as it did also bruise and swell there).

It hasn’t expanded since. Here’s hoping yours doesn’t blow out any more.

I joined this forum specifically in search of an answer to this very question!

I have had four tattoos over 20 years. The first one seemed quite neat at first then the ink slowly blurred over time so that eventually, after ten years, the lines were mostly blurred together. The guy who did the tattoo was a real back-street artist. I was naive. I concluded it was a dodgy tattoo and a learning experience!

I was subsequently told by a number of people it was probably a result of the needle being put in too deep.

The next tattoo I had (ironically by an artist who is rumoured to put needles in too deep!) was really clearly defined and has stayed that way for ten years.

The third tattoo I had was a cover-up of the original blurry one, and this bled ink all around the outline. Again I assumed I’d made a poor choice of artists.

My forth tattoo earlier this year, I researched extensively for and had seen a number of amazingly intricately detailed tattoos by the artist I used ~ and it has bled out really majorly ~ a good two inches, looking like a huge bruise. Luckily the staining is on my inner arm so not hugely noticeable. This time I know I used a talented and reputable artist. He’s at a complete loss as to why it happened.

The area that has ‘stained’ was particularly painful during the tattooing, and swelled up quite alarmingly in the 24 hours afterwards (this has never happened to me before from tattoos). I initially assumed the marks to be bruising, but a few months later, it obviously isn’t.

One tattoo artist told me he’d never again tattoo a lactating (breastfeeding) mother as the ink is much more likely to blur/stain/bleed colour in this case.

However, I was not breastfeeding a child for my first tattoo (which blurred. moreso overtime than immediately), and I was breastfeeding a child when I had my second tattoo which was immaculate and never blurred. I was breastfeeding another child with my third and fourth, both of which bled colour.

I’m now assuming I just have particularly blurry skin!!!?

But I’d love to know if there’s more to it…???