Raised Itchy red tattoo?

Ok heres the score. i have a 3 week old tattoo. it has healed very well by the looks of it theres a layer of dead skin over it waitng to peel still but not as bad as it was last week.





but when i excercise or get to hot ( EG at work in a bar ) the tattoo tends to raise up abit and itch and it gets a reddish outline to it kinda looks like skin when you scratch it alot or its irritated.





but when it cools down it looks normal again. i have also noticed its only the black outline that raises up but none of the shadeing or the colour raises apart from some of the red towards the edge.





how can i stop it itching after excersise..

Raised Itchy red tattoo?
Believe it or not, you don't have too much to worry about here.





Keep in mind that there are 2 stages to healing a tattoo. The first is where the wound closes up, and the second is the new skin toughening up...you're experiencing the second right now.





A few things that you can do to alleviate the irritation:


Take a break from exercising that particular part of your body for a week or two. The constant flexing of the skin is going to prolong the 'toughening' process.





Keep a bottle of hand lotion (I recommend vitamin A%26amp;D) on hand, and keep the area moisturized. Neosporin and ointments are ONLY for during the initial healing process, and the oil base in them can cause irritation when that's done.





The outline is raising up a little bit because of mild scarring. You notice it more there, than on the color or shading, because that outline is more like a cut, while the interior is more like an abrasion. On particularly cold days, you'll feel the outline rise even 10 years later...I have the same thing at times. A little bit of hand lotion goes a long way to keep it calm.





If the itching is a problem for you, even after lotion, tap the area lightly with your fingers...don't rub or scratch it though.
Reply:Legs can be tough to heal. Try walking instead of running for a few days, and if you do weight training...back off for a few days. It can actually cause healed spots to open back up...I know from experience. Report It

Reply:my training is pretty tough at the moment im gonna have a few days off to recover properly but my regime is around 3KM bike ride 1.5km run 2000M row then minimal weight training i dont tend to do much on the legs apart from 10 reps @70kg on the leg press. Report It

Reply:You cant. Leave it alone and it will be fine when it has fully healed. Bepanthen cream is good for healing tattoos.
Reply:I don't have any but my one of my friends has one. Just keep it covered with Neosporin to keep infection away. If it worsens I would have it checked out by a dermatologist. You may be allergic to the ink for some odd reason. How about calling the shop where you got it at and checking to see if this is a common reaction. They, after all, are the experts. Good luck!
Reply:its probably the salt in the sweat that is irratating it. Its possible that the black ink hasnt healed over as quickly as the rest.


The same happened with mine. Before you go into the gym consider putting some lotion on it (the stuff you were using when you first got the tattoo is usually good) or even waterproof sunscreen works.


It worked for me.


Good luck :)
Reply:I've had a tattoo for 5 yrs and it still does that. Keep it moisturized, using a moisturizer with menthol in it helps with the itching.
Reply:Mine's three weeks old as well! Mine also itches like crazy sometimes, exercise included...there are two things that I have found that work. First, the tattoo place reccomended lightly slapping the tattoo when it itches--this works really well sometimes and other times not at all, give it a try--but don't hit too hard. Second, I've found that if I itch AROUND the tattoo, it satisfies the itch craving, not sure why but this one is pretty much 100%. After I scratch, I use cocoa butter to cool it down.
Reply:GO to a doctor if it hasnt stopped in a week or so. It is probably infected!
Reply:DO NOT put any type of ointment on your tattoo such as neosporian only use A %26amp; D and non fragrance lotions and make sure you are not covering it up with socks and boots this irritates it when you go to work out cover it up with gauze and tape to keep the sweat out of it and wash it with antibacterial soap after workin out or anything and DO NOT scrub or scratch it because you will pull the scab off and it will pull the color out the scab needs to fall off by itself
Reply:i have a 15 year old tattoo that still does this from time to time,but it no longer itches
Reply:You can't..you just need to let the tattoo fully heal..keep neosporin on it and you should be fine.