30/04/2026
Healing Help (Artist Gave Me No Advice)
I got this tattoo Tuesday (4.27.26) and it's now Saturday night (4.30.26). My artist gave me ZERO advice on healing/aftercare or what to expect (I'm not going to be returning to that artist for several reasons, including this) but I've been doing what subreddits and people with far more tattoo experience have recommended (avoided showers for the first 48 hours, don't let shampoo/body wash/conditioner runoff hit it, pat dry w paper towel not shower towel, thin layer of unscented lotion for moisture, etc)
So far really, the leg is the only thing making me worried, my best guess is that since it's on the inside of my upper left arm that repeated movement + location is making the leg specifically angry (I drive, so things like twisting the steering wheel or holding my backpack), and am mostly certain that the buildup behind it is plasma + lymph fluid bc of the brown/amber dried appearance but when do I actually be worried about it? It hasn't done any of the signs that are universally worrying (weird smells, red streaks going outward, leaking pus, bleeding beyond the first night, releasing ink past the first ~48 hours, etc)
I'm SUPER new into the tattoo scene, this is my first tattoo that wasn't a flash, and my first tattoo with any amount of shading/fill in (my other tattoo is a little linework star on the elbow ditch that A) I didn't feel, and B) healed BEAUTIFULLY)