i got a tatoo this afternoon and it feels like I got a scrape or cut my self after i got it. i got it just below my shoulder where the muscle is top on my right arm is there a creme or somthing i could get to take away the pain and sting or the way it feels Ive been putting vaseline on it but just wonderin if there was something else i can do sorry this is my 1st time 2 get a tatoo and dont know that much about it thanx vanguardaz_2003
2007-02-28 17:12:59 · 16 answers · asked by oklahomaboy4ever 1 in Beauty & Style ➔ Skin & Body ➔ Tattoos
Do not use Neosporin or Bacitracin & stop using vaseline.
Vaseline is preventing air from getting to it so it can dry out and heal.
You want to use a moisturizer. The best lotion to use is CUREL FRAGRANCE FREE because the main ingredients are glycerin and water. Most hand and body lotions are made of alcohol and oil, and just don't work as well. But the most important thing is that you look at the ingredients in whatever you are going to use and make sure there is NO FRAGRANCE.
Use moisturizer for 2-3 weeks, at first I would say it is not too much to put it on once an hour. As soon as the tattoo begins to feel a bit tight or dry, put moisturizer on it! The more you do, the quicker the skin will heal over. The idea here is to PREVENT SCABBING.
Do not pick or scratch at it while it is healing. Don't mess with the crust.
No direct sunlight for 2-3 weeks. This is absolutely vital with red ink, it can easily develop a photosensitivity and you DO NOT want to experience the intense itch of this reaction. But with every color of ink, even black, the sun is a major cause of new tattoos looking blurred.
No soaking in water, no swimming, hot tubbing, or direct shower water beating on it for 2-3 weeks. If it does get wet in the shower, gently pat it dry , don't rub at it with a towel. Then immediately after getting dried off remoisturize it.
IF IT GETS REALLY ITCHY:
Step one, get a HYDROCORTISONE CREAME 1% at the grocery store, like LANACORT or CORTAID, and use that on it instead of the Curel. Give it a day, it should bring down the swelling if what you are getting is a histimine reaction to the foreign material in your body. Another way to cut the itching is to get BENEDRYL, also a non-prescription item.
For pain, you can take an advil, tylenol or aleve.
Just take real good care of it and it should heal quickly. Don't let it get infected...(always wash your hands before applying creams, etc and don't mess with it with your dirty hands)
2007-02-28 17:36:26 · answer #1 · answered by Riviera_ 4 · 34⤊ 9⤋
Don't mess with your tattoo while it's healing. You could damage the a work, and what a waste all that money for permanently damaged work. Wash it gently with soap and water every day for a few days while it heals, and use vasiline on it to protect it from infection. If it bleeds, apply a loose gause until it stops, or a piece of plastic wrap to keep the blood from saturating your clothes. Wear loose clothes too, nothing that will rub against it, and stay out of the sun and hot or chlorine water (like pools or hot tubs). Don't run hot water directly on it either. If (when) it starts to itch, slap the area a couple times to stop it itching. Do Not scratch, or you'll scar the area and ruin your art work. It should heal within a week.
Incidentally, Tattooing involves many tiny needles poking into your skin. It is an abrasion, a cut into your skin. And that's why it feels like you cut it, because it's been cut into by the needles. So it needs to heal, and you need to help it heal right. If it gets infected, use a antibod cream until the infection is gone. Some creams include an anti-itch additive to help with that too. The pain will subside after a day or so, depending on your threshold for it. If you're a woose, don't get tattoos. Try the fake stick on kind you get in bubble gum machines instead. They're painless, and wash off with alcohol.
2007-02-28 18:43:50 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 2⤋
Its amazing how countries vary with their after treatments... In Australia, I would never put vasoline on a tattoo, its more of a barrier cream. We have a product called Neosporin but you can only get it with a doctors perscription (if your lucky), the product we have here would work fine for the healing process. Personally I have only ever use Bepanthan on my tattoos, it it usually recommended by your artist... It helps with the healing process whilst allowing your new tat to breathe.
Good luck dude!
2007-02-28 17:44:56 · answer #3 · answered by psycho_faerie 3 · 3⤊ 1⤋
hey! congrats on your 1st tat. this is normal what your feeling, the pain goes away in about a week. just keep putting lotion on it 2 to 3 times a day, whenever you think about it and you will be fine.
2007-02-28 19:15:54 · answer #4 · answered by ♪♪Holly♪♪ 3 · 2⤊ 1⤋
don't use vaseline...it will pull the color....my artist usually recommends Aquaphor Healing Ointment...you could try that. Steer clear of vaseline and any lotion with fragrance in it. The pain will go away in a day or so....congrats though....
2007-02-28 20:02:11 · answer #5 · answered by kristina807 5 · 4⤊ 2⤋
it is normal for you to be sore. especially if it was done on muscle that is used a lot. i am working on getting a full back tattoo and i am always sore for about three days. just in general. sometimes the pain spreads out onto my ribcage, a tattoo is traumatic to your body and it is totally normal. i'm a small girl, and i can take the pain so man up and take it!
2007-03-01 00:07:18 · answer #6 · answered by somebody's a mom!! 7 · 2⤊ 2⤋
i used bepanthen get at any chemist keep it covered for the first 12 hours and don't go swimming till it has finished scabbing
2007-02-28 17:18:57 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 1⤋
A non scented waterbased lotion would probably be better for your tatoo.
2007-02-28 17:17:28 · answer #8 · answered by Egg Bagel 3 · 3⤊ 2⤋
there is this stuff called A&D ointment it works great for stuff like tattoos,scraps,cuts,ect. it comes in a tubeyou can get it at any drug store.
2007-02-28 17:18:00 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 7⤊ 1⤋
a shower is like mother's milk on a fresh tatoo. not hot though.
2007-02-28 17:19:01 · answer #10 · answered by up all night 4 · 0⤊ 4⤋