using skin as art canvass...?

Question

Just got a colored tattoo in my back exactly a week & 3 days ago. the skin has peeled on the 4th day as it normally would. Now it itches like hell. I never had this problem when i got my first one. Any advice?

Answer 1

I have several tattoos; some are colored, some are not. I did notice that a colored tattoo seems to itch more than a simple black one. I'm guessing it's due to the pigments used. I've heard that red is the worst, but can't say from personal experience (all mine are blue, purple and black).

Obviously you want to avoid scratching. At any given moment, your hands (and mine and everyone else's-- nothing personal) are filthy dirty germ farms. Scratching open the skin just drops germs into a nice, raw, tasty environment. Hello, infection! But, as the above poster said, SLAPPING your tattoo doesn't hurt it. It will move the skin enough to make it feel like you're doing something, but not damage the skin like fingernails would.

Chances are, your skin is still pretty dry. A LIGHT, WATER-BASED lotion (which you probably already have, but hey, never hurts to mention it) would probably help. I've used "Tattoo Goo," Vaseline Intensive Care lotion, and unscented almond oil with varying degrees of success. The "Goo" I found too greasy. The oil worked well, but could be messy and didn't always soak in entirely. My personal favorite is the Vaseline Intensive Care lotion. It stings like a sonuva, but really helped me heal quickly. (Plus, stinging is sometimes preferable to insane itching.)

Make sure your tat gets lots of air, and keep cleaning it regularily with a mild cleanser. Good luck with your new ink!

Answer 2

This may sound silly or even like the worst advice in the world but my tattoo artist told me my tattoo would probably itch after the skin peeled off and sure enough it did. He told me to make sure I kept it clean and moist and if it itches do not scratch it and if you can't stand the itching to slap the tattoo. Yes Slap It I thought it was crappy advice coming from him but let me tell ya it worked. I took good care of my tat and never had to go back to get it touched up.

Now that might be a problem if it is on your back were you can't reach. But what ever you do do not put any anti itch cream on it. Your not fighting an infection even though your skin is trying to heal it self. Doing that can mess up the tattoo. But you probably already know that.

Answer 3

I have 15 tattoos, and they ALL itched as they were healing.

A little over a week sounds right.



DON'T SCRATCH IT. You could end up distorting your tattoo, and it won't look very good once it heals.


Put unscented moisturizing lotion on it, and pat it a bit if you want. Sometimes the patting helps.


The itching will go away soon enough.



I have tattoos around my nipples... so you can imagine what it was like while THEY were healing. Lmao.

Answer 4

My daughter's boyfriend is a professional tattoo artist (he used to be on South Beach and now is working in Boston) and he tells all of his clients to use A & D ointment until the tattoo heals. Worked for me, but it did itch a bit. He said it not only prohibits infection, but keeps the colors vivid. Good luck!

Answer 5

Yes, they itch like crazy when healing. Again, you can slap it, just don't scratch it. The only other thing you can do is put some non-alcohol containging lotion.

Answer 6

put lotion on it, your skin is dried out. all mine itched.