How to deal with the itching of a healing tattoo.?

NEVER- EVER- EVER! SLAP A TATTOO!!! Whoever wrote that is a dirty carnie!

Slapping a tattoo could make the ink "burst" inside the skin, and you will be left with a blurry looking tattoo.

To answer your question-

It's not your skin that's making you itch, nor is it your skin that's getting relief when you scratch. All of that itching and scratching business is controlled by a specific set of neurons in the spinal cord.

This means that if you have an itch, it can be relieved by scratching a different part of the body. Since it will be on your calf, whenever it itches, scratch your arm till it feels better.

As a professional tattoo artist, a science geek, and someone with many tattoos herself, I can tell you this works.

ps, never use petroleum based products on a healing tattoo. it will drain the color.

This happened to my husband and I. We both got tattoos within a month of each other from the same guy and about 3 months later the red ink in both of our tattoos was raised. I think it has something to do with the type of ink because I have another tattoo that has red ink in it and it is fine. There is really nothing you can do, we did go to our dermatologist and got some cream to put on it but time is the only thing that will take it away. A tattoo artist had told me to go back and have them go over the red with a dry needle so the red ink can bleed out. I had my tattoo redone about a year later and it helped alot. My husbands tattoo now has no red in it at all anymore. So you most likely will have to have the tattoo redone in the red areas. It will go away though it just takes time.

I totally agree with the person who said to itch a different area. I got my tattoo on the inside of my arm, and I find that itching the outside of my arm really helps.

And you're right, do not use petroleum products. While it's healing, use aquaphor. Worked really good for me! When it starts to get dry and peel, switch to a fragrance free lotion like lubriderm.

Also, remember to keep it clean to avoid infection but do not use a towel, rag, loofa, or anything like that to wash it! Just your fingers.

Rub some lotion on it (it helped when my tattoo was itching), Put a shirt over your tattoo and gently rub your fingertips across it (DO NOT move the shirt in anyway or scratch!). All of these helped for me. I got my tattoo 2 weeks ago and it looks the same as the day I got it and it healed nicely.

It'll be worse on the calf because of growing hair

I lightly rub around the tattoo. I tap the tattoo.

Really though if you don't think about it than it isn't bad.

Well first of all don't scath it no matter, how much its itching, because you don't want to take of the scabe, its helling still, if you take off the scabe there will be color missing in your tattoo. You can but some vasaline on it, that always takes the ithcines and pain out of things, or you can either put on the cream that you're tattoo artist gave you, if they didn't give you any you should get in contact with him, and ask then question your self, were not all tattoo experters on here.

Apply a light layer of lotion when it starts to feel dry or itchy and try not to pick at it. All you can do is try to ignore it best you can, some people get itchy some don't.

It wasn't the worst. Just make sure you keep it moist and lubricated. I would suggest Aquaphor.

Slap it and wash with cool water.

take patrolium jelly and lightly rub it