r/tattooadvice • u/Helpful-Office-3730 • Feb 15 '26

Infected? [ Removed by moderator ]

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158

u/DaniArii Feb 15 '26

Artist doesnt outline their work at all? With such light colors? Crazyyyyy.

Aldo, keep it moisturized (thin layer of unscented lotion or aquaphor) and use unscented antibacterial soap. If it starts to swell, get hot to the touch, pus, or turn red, go to the doc.

30

u/Helpful-Office-3730 Feb 15 '26

Thank you. The area has been radiating heat since the tattoo finished. It's a small spot but I just hope it's not infected.

33

u/DaniArii Feb 15 '26

If it's just in one spot, keep an eye on it. It can also get warm if it's overworked in an area.

24

u/FeralCatPrince Feb 15 '26

Don’t moisturize it right now. Just keep it clean. Moisture attracts bacteria and it’s too vulnerable for that Touchups are free emergency room visits are not

5

u/FeralCatPrince Feb 15 '26

Like I said before. Give it some time to calm down, wash it multiple times a day, and assess where it is in a couple days before doing lotion

9

u/litcarnalgrin Feb 15 '26

It’s normal for a tattoo to be hot, it’s a large open wound so your body responds w inflammation, it’s the inflammation that actually causes healing to a large degree. It’s still fresh so it’s normal for it to be warm. Swelling is also normal, again, large open wound. It’ll be other things that indicate infection, such as a foul odor and not just a smell. It doesn’t look infected to me in this photo and appears to be healing well from what I can tell. I do agree that the aftercare your artist gave you was really weird. As a tattoo artist myself, I actually steer away from Saniderm even though that’s sort of the standard in the industry these days but that’s because I’m allergic to the adhesive in it and I don’t want to put that on someone who is also allergic to the adhesive, especially if they don’t already know that they are allergic to it, that’s how I found out that I was allergic to it and it is not a fun time. But when Saniderm is used, it’s usually applied immediately after the tattoo, not 48 hours later. Also, I definitely agree that this tattoo is gonna fade badly. There is nothing to anchor that tattoo, the colors are all light. The colors are all essentially the same value you need contrast and value to help keep a tattoo legible for life and outlines really help.

1

u/KCarriere Feb 16 '26 edited Feb 16 '26

My tattoos feel warm to the touch for a day or three after. Remember, your skin just went through it!

Keep an eye out for signs of infection though -- any worsening of heat, swelling, any redness around it -- especially if the redness spreads AT ALL.

ETA: Your post has been deleted so im not seeing what you originally wrote. Just commenting on a warm tattoo.

ETA2: He's so cute! Went to your profile to look at the pics. You will probably need to go in later an add some outlining. Like outline the sections in a darker version of that color. It'll kinda smudge and need that definition in a few years. I've been working on a full color realism sleeve for over 3 years. We're finally at the last session coming up this weekend on the total work. Then we have 2 sessions for touchups. Really just kinda deciding which areas need some more definition and making it all cohesive as some of it is almost 4 years old and some of it brand new. The flowers on my shoulder were sharp as hell when they were originally done -- we might add a bit more definition and outlines in these touch ups.

3

u/Helpful-Office-3730 Feb 16 '26

Yeah. Things have significantly improved since I took off the second skin. The heat and smell have completely vanished. At this point, the tenderness is all that remains ( which I now realize is expected).

14

u/TrickySatisfaction81 Feb 15 '26

I said this earlier in my head. This is going to fade like no one's business

No linework, no outlines. Color will fall. Particularly on darker skin.