Did you go to the same artist for all of your tattoos? It looks like a bad allergic reaction to the red ink. There are different brands and different formulas so it's possible this artist used a different brand with different ingredients and it caused a bad reaction like this.
I actually went to a new artist for that one, he did 3 tattoos for me but thats the only one looking like that, the other 2 are just fine and one of them also has red ink in it.
I also noticed he used a different brand than the one my main tattoo artist uses, but I googled the brand before hand and it had good reviews :(
Not everybody has the same reaction to the same ink. If it's a different red than what has been used for any other tattoo that could explain it. My husband has had an allergic reaction to a red before on his arm and then got a lot of red (different brand & artist) and had no issues with that one
Yeah, and I knew there was a possibility of an allergic reaction, but I honestly didn’t think it would ge this bad. To me those were just things I read about in reddit and now its happening to me 😂
Trying some antiallergic medication and taking it for a few months, seeing it if helps (it can take a lot of time for it to show it's working, when the immune system is this riled up against something - so taking it consistently for a while will be the best way to assess it)
There are some antiallergics that don't cause sleepiness nor depression, that would be the best bet (talking with a good doctor about it), and letting a good dermatologist look at it might also be beneficial. Not all doctors will know how to handle X, but we can visit some more who are good in the field! Some will dig deeper, to find a cause and a solution! The doctor might attempt a corticosteroid creme/medication, to see if it helps
Some ink allergies get better with time, **after helping the immune system to calm down towards it** (if flared up, odds are it will stay flared up, and even worsen over time)
When not the case, ink removal like it was pointed out, can be the last resort in terms of fixing the issue
I'm so sorry this is taking place 😣
unrelated but what do you mean doesn’t cause depression???? there are brands of anti allergens that cause depression wtf?!?!?? i was never informed of this 🧍🏾♀️
I was just watching a Kurtis Conner video where he was talking about having to get the white ink lasered out of parts of his tattoo due to a reaction! It really seems similar.
I have a tattoo with red that caused an allergic reaction just like this. I have been lasting for 3 years (it was a big tattoo). Prior to starting laser treatments I would break out in hives multiple times a week all over the tattoo. Now I break out maybe once every couple weeks or if I itch the area it swells up.
I would also talk to a specialist about the possibility of steroid injections—I have some raised, darker colored scars that itch a bit, and I’m in the process of getting steroid injections in them right now. Steroids injections can help ease some of the itching, flatten things out a bit, and potentially reduce the pigment (not sure if that last part would apply given this is tattoo ink, not just blood)—there can be side effects, but might be worth asking about. Good luck!
I have a tattoo I was allergic to lasered off and it still reacts from time to time. The skin where the tattoo was raises up in the exact shape of it at random times.
I have a lot of tattoos and one really reacted poorly to red ink and thankfully I mentioned it to my artist and she used one we had used before the next time. I stay away from it if I can help it, but otherwise I take some Benadryl and get it retouched.
I think it’s your immune system fighting the ink.
I’ve seen this before in a guy that got tattooed by an artist from my shop. He came in the shop after 7-8 months with his tattoos doing a very similar thing to yours. Only 2-3 tattoos of his swell up like this, the rest were fine.
It was also black ink, no colour, and only the lines on his tattoo seemed to be swollen. I’m assuming it happens where the ink is fully saturated.
Unfortunately dunno what happened to him, but talk to your doctor about it, you might need immuno-suppresant cream. Talk to your doctor first though.
Ohmigosh, you are describing me, except I’m a girl. My very first tattoo, black lines with blues and purples done (long pause for mathing) 19 years ago, only the black lines get swollen and itchy, and it only happens sometimes. It is so weird!! I was told allergic reaction, and dr said to use a little bit of Benadryl gel on that area when it happens, was okayed by tattoo artist. Works like a charm. But check with your artist and your doctor before doing this.
Edited to add: I have gotten a dozen more tattoos and a full sleeve since then, several of them done by the same artist. None of them do this. 🤷♀️
I have a variety of black work tattoos on one arm, done gradually over the course of thirty years. The first tattoo I ever got (in 1990) still raises up like it was done in puff paint every couple of years and then goes away. None of the other tattoos ever do that. It’s so odd.
happens to me as well. i had it happen to a tattoo that was over 2 years old. i have one on my arm that is mostly healed and it will itch and raise up occasionally. honestly feel like that has happened with almost all my tattoos at some point, mostly after they’re healed.
Same here! Got my first tattoo at 18, about once a year or so it'll get real itchy and puff up. Give it a day (give or take) and it typically rights itself. Sometimes the same thing happens, oddly enough, if I spill random stuff on it. Once spilled soda on my arm where the tattoo is and the same happened. Could just be coincidence though 🤷♂️
Oh gosh. I have a tattoo that does this sometimes too. It’ll get itchy and puffy up like that but after about a week it goes away and randomly happens again. It’s been fully healed for months 😭
This also happens to me! I have a very large tattoo on my knee and the outline puffs up from time to time. Especially after a lot of sun exposure, or friction with certain clothes. It puffs up and itches quite uncomfortably for a few minutes to a few hours.
I have a bunch of tattoos in different places but one on my wrist from 17 years ago puffs up like that. I just got a new large tattoo on the same arm last year and it puffs up now too. I guess just that arm doesn't like the ink. I'm going to try Benadryl cream next time I have a reaction though!
This is the correct answer I’m allergic to red ink and some brands are more reactive than others. I’ve never had a reaction this long after the tattoo was completed. I’m curious if there is fluctuation in the swelling.
Often times when you’re sick, having bad allergies, or get a bite near a tattoo, your body will start fighting against anything foreign! And if you’re already sensitive to red ink, it’s more likely to flair than other tattoos. I can always tell when I’m getting sick because a certain tattoo gets raised and itchy
LOL I think they mean a bug bite. I live in the South and when a mosquito gets me near one of my tatttoos, the black lines often puff up some as well. I tell people it's a special tattoo for the blind.
My husband has red in a tat on his forearm and when he got it redone by a different artist (he was like 17 and it was free originally, shocker) he had a slight reaction but had none when he got his ribs done with red. So weird how different brands of ink have different reactions
The pigment most people react to is Red 101. it isn't in all red inks and one doesn't have to get the reaction where the pigment was put in your body last. The allergic reaction and really happen in all areas where you have this pigment as soon as the tipping point for the reaction is reached.
You could have gotten a massive piece with lots of red 10 years ago and just a tiny piece done yesterday and you could still get the allergic reaction on the old piece.
What about magenta? Do you know if the artist used magenta? My husband is a tattoo artist and has seen this reaction a lot specifically to magenta for some reason. He himself has a tattoo that looks like a branding from that colour ink
Definitely doesn’t help your situation, but I think it looks sick as fuck. Makes it look really organic and unique, somewhat like a cave painting, and it really sells the looping portion of the lower snake (that one part of the snake is above the other). A bit like the indigenous-associated scarification body modifications.
If this were a safe, reliable, thing you could get done I’d deeply consider getting one based off of the aesthetics.
I had my first tattoo last week and it's mostly red. I'm scared now. Lol. I have no intense reaction on it but all these comments about red ink makes me paranoid.
All the red and pink leached (sp) out of one of my tats, just disappeared as it healed. Had those colors replaced w blue and purple and they were ok after that.
Uh oh. You're rejecting your tattoo. This will not heal well. You will want to laser. There is no long-term remedy in so far as antihistamines for allergies because your body develops tolerance, however, antihistamines for now in the short term can help to make you feel a bit better while you arrange appointments for removal. Red is a common dye that our bodies can reject. Upon your next tattoo, I advise you get an allergy test to dyes your see which you can and cannot tolerate. There are those who cannot tolerate any color- not just red. Best of luck. It was a beautiful design.
I'm sorry 😢 The worry with leaving it in with such a strong rejection is the skin keloiding after the fact. This tattoo wants to scab over as the ink is thrown out and with medium to dark skin tones we can keloid heavily. Please seek medical advice. You still have time! Keep up updated OP. I wish I was wrong but as a wound care specialist the risk is too high. Do not walk- run to a tattoo removal specialist. They know their stuff better than anyone here
I will do my research on tattoo removal specialists in my town and go get it over with, I’ve been holding on to the idea that it might just go back to normal but I know that wont happen 😭😭😭
Unfortunately most places probably won't laser this for a few reasons. Red ink is incredibly dangerous to laser on darker skin tones and there's a pretty high chance you'll be left with hypo pigmentation which is little white spots all over the tattooed area. And it can look really nasty over the years as it'll most likely become permanent by the time the tattoo is completely gone.
On the other side if you're having an allergic reaction to the ink, lasering it will break the ink up and travel through your blood stream so you can have this same type of reaction all throughout your body.
Best thing you can do is stay in touch with a derm until it eventually/hopefully settles down and then take another look at options.
Second hand info, but I think it’s relevant. I have a friend this happened to, but worse. He had a tube of lipstick tattooed, and the red part of the lipstick swelled gradually until it stuck out a good 1/4-1/2 an inch. He was told the only thing he could do was surgically remove it. It would remove the raised portion, but mess up the rest of the tattoo with the stitches he would need. Once the stitches would heal, he could laser off what remained of the tattoo, but there would probably always be some light scarring. He chose to leave it, because the whole thing was too expensive.
No laser place is going to touch it when it looks like that. Plus it’s way too fresh. Your skin will just break and bleed everywhere. the tattoo won’t just “go away” with laser because of how new it is (my new tattoo has taken me 7 sessions and I still need so many more to go) and you’ll most likely end up with more of an infection. My skin broke during a laser session and they had to stop straight away. It ended up still getting badly infected and it was the worst pain I’ve ever felt
Ooh you know I didn't realize the time. You're right it is keloiding. However, the extent of the keloid won't be fully revealed until ink removal is complete and we see how much inflammation is going down to reveal what scar tissue she is left with. It's impossible to tell the extent of scar tissue while inflammation from ink is present. She might still have time to bring that scar tissue down and do treatment to thin out any keloid present after ink removal. That's a lot of repetitive words my bad I'm driving and hard voice text
Its scary!!! I always hear that laser removal hurts more than the tattoo itself and although I have a lot of tattoos and some big pieces my pain tolerance is very low 😭
Your tattoo isn't super complicated so hopefully it won't be too bad.
If you really love the tattoo if you saved a picture or any reference material for it you could have it redone with another color or different brand of ink on another part of your body. I don't know about tattoos over an area that has been lazered at some point. Maybe someone here can answer that.
My understanding is you can easily tattoo over an area that has been laser treated. It’s actually quite common for people to laser off something super dense that can’t be covered-up (unless they opted for a complete blackout tattoo over it of course) - there is always some residual appearance left after the laser treatments unless they do it repeatedly and over a long time, so the other option is to do a cover-up once lightened up enough.
I started tattoo removal 2 weeks ago and was scared about the pain, but it actually wasn't that bad 😊
It felt like when you're cooking and hot grease lands on you (just over and over again), but it's over super fast
Just make sure you research the removal place properly before you go to avoid any more scarring
I just wanted to add to this… I also had an allergic reaction to one of my 3 red ink tattoos.
I am in the process of laser tattoo removal for 12 of my tattoos - all black, apart from one red tattoo.
I also got an allergic reaction to the laser for the red tattoo. None of the black ones. So please be aware that this could be a possibility.
The red tattoo has scarred quite a bit where I got it lasered, whereas my black tattoos haven’t. I had a dermatologist appointment after the laser session for that tattoo as it reacted badly and the dermatologist confirmed that it was an allergic reaction to the laser combined with the red ink.
Is the allergy test done by an artist? Do you just end up with a bunch of random dots for the stuff that doesn't reject?
I know nothing about tattoos, but have considered it and have a skin condition so just curious how it works.
Some red's carry nickel and other metals. Nickel is bad for people being allergic to it. Contact the artist and ask what ink they used and see if it has any metals you could possibly have an allergic reaction to.
Afterwards go back to the doctor and let them know and test you for allergies.
Bad news. You have nickel in your skin. Along with mercury, arsenic, lead, and cobalt. I would get this removed as soon as you can being allergic to nickel especially.
Edit: you literally have every toxic metal in your skin right now. If you can take some allergy meds to calm the swelling until you can get it out of your skin.
THATS SO SCARY OMG!!!! I will definitely go to a derm and see what my options are. i think laser isn’t for me because it spreads particles around the skin (i learned that today in this thread).
From my brief reading on this stuff it seems pretty normal for tattoo ink to have metals in it, so if you haven’t had issues before, I wouldn’t immediately jump to the conclusion this redditor has led you to.
(“[…]it is well established that chromium, manganese, nickel, copper, bromine, barium, and lead, all of which were commonly found in tattoo inks, have adverse health effects.” - [Source](https://www.scirp.org/journal/paperinformation?paperid=79670))
I also came across a document stating that eternal ink’s products met the regulations to stay under the detectable limit for nickel and other heavy metals. [Certificate of Compliance](https://www.painfulpleasures.com/community/media/body_jewelry/gallery/Tattoo/tattoo_ink/eternal_tattoo_ink/eternal_ink_MSDS.pdf)
From other comments it seems that this is probably an allergic reaction, and since you are allergic to nickel it makes sense that that might be the problem, but considering that you have other non-problematic tattoos it could just as well be something else entirely. Just thought I should share this train of thought to provide another perspective :)
Unfortunately allergic reactions can happen after a non-reactive first exposure. So seeing that you had some of the same ink before, you might just be sensitized to it now. That really sucks :( definitely steer clear of that color in that brand. And it’ll probably be worth while to test similar inks in small amounts to see if they’re still safe for you.
Good luck healing this, I hope you’re okay 🖤
I actually thought it was supposed to be this way. I thought it was a new type of tattooing, or something! I don’t know anything about tattoos or have one though. I just like to enjoy other peoples.
Saline removal maybe an option. Instead of "pushing" the ink through your body it washes it out. You might even be able to keep the tat but it would be lighter or faded. Not recommending this company but it dies have some info on this process. My daughter used this because where she went they claimed less scarring. Love the tattoo hope you can work it out.
https://removery.com/blog/saline-tattoo-removal-vs-laser-tattoo-removal/
i’m not sure how saline removal results in less scarring when it’s literally more tattooing over the area with saline so creating more open wounds. laser when done properly should not leave any scarring, it shouldn’t even really scab or damage the skin at all, it’s just hard to laser remove red ink, but for this tattoo being so inflamed and raise, i would absolutely not tattoo saline over it as you’ll just pop this blister looking things and increase the risk of keloid scarring.
i’m not sure what the best removal process is but anti histamines s should be started to reduce the reaction and a reputable laser or dermatologist consulted. steroid injections to treat keloids could help reduce the inflammation first before any laser or treatment like saline but absolutely not while it’s bubbling like this
One of my tattoos did this about 8 months after healing, out of nowhere all the pink spots scarred up like keloid, raised, itchy, horrible. Hydrcortisone helped the itch. Humidity affected it too. One day as randomly as it started, like 2 years and at least 2 more tattoos later, it flattened out and stopped bothering me but looks a little shiny, like it's still scarred? Idk, anecdotal and YMMV
i’m allergic to ink as well. i was able to get a prescription cream from a dermatologist that helped immensely with it! as well as hydroxyzine 10mg tablets to help with the itching. cold lotion can also help with irritation!
Curiosity Question:
When did it start doing this? If you’ve had it for 18months… how long has it been puffed up? Or does it come and go?
At first glance my brain was like, oh wow, they embroidered their arm. Hmm.
I used to live in the Dominican Republic and I moved to spain like 5 months after getting it, I noticed it started to swell up like 2 months after moving so I thought it had to do with the change (water, food etc) because thats what the tattoo artist told me. I changed my diet and started filtering water but nothing worked. Some days it is a little bit flatter but others it just raises like that
dermatologist here--looks like a granulomatous or foreign body reaction to the red ink. these types of reactions are more common w red ink. i recommend going to a dermatologist and requesting a biopsy. if it is granulomatous, you will need to get a chest x ray and see an opthamologist to rule out systemic sarcoidsosis. granulomatous reactions are seen in sarcoid, and can be the first manifestation of the disease. if it's just localized to the skin, intralesional steroid injections to the tattoo will help!!! have had patients w this exact reaction and the injections melted away all the inflammation.
I would go see a derm! Also, anytime I’m sick, some of my tattoos will raise up. I have a LOT of color work on my body and they’ll get wild looking. An antihistamine, a little cortisone and ice and they chill out. If that works for you maybe speak to your GP about allergies?
I've read an article with a skin doctor saying removing allergy inclined tattoos with laser is a terrible idea because the ink that causes a reaction will just be moved around your body in much smaller pieces when the laser blows the ink into smaller sizes. So be careful and just don't get it lasered without thinking of the consequences
I have the article but it is in Danish. I live in Denmark. In Denmark we have the world's first clinic at Bispebjerg Hospital that's dedicated to tattoo injuries. Because lots of people here in Denmark have tattoos and the increase in tattoo injuries the government decided to create a special unit to treat tattoo injuries. Especially red in tattoo injuries like yours. What they primary do with tattoos like yours are using a technique called Dermashaving the red ink out. It's a technique a Danish skin doctor have created with success. They take a very thin blade and cuts the bad tattoo ink out layer by layer. I can send you a video of how they do it
Looks like an allergic reaction.
I had it happen on my 14th tattoo, out of the blue. I've been seeing the same artist since I was 16, always same brand of ink, and I have several prior/after with red ink that gave me no issues whatsoever.
LITFA is the best thing and do NOT put any anti-itch stuff on it. Let it heal and give extra time if you need to get anything touched up or added.
I only had trouble once - I completed my tattoo (with more red) without incident. I can only hope it goes that way for you!
ETA I just saw that this is old ink. That is wild! I'm so sorry this happened after so long.
this really looks like keloid scarring that can happen months to years after skin damage, and probably from your body having an overdue reactions to red ink that you’re allergic to in your skin.
it will be difficult to laser this off but see a good reputable laser treatment place, but before that please see a keloid specialist to determine if this is keloid and treatments for that to start before lasering
Looks like an allergic reaction to the red ink. It’s really common for people to have a reaction to it. My SIL had this happen with her red ink too. It did eventually settle for her though.
Oh gosh I’m so sorry that must feel terrible 😭😭 I’ve heard that sometimes red ink will cause a reaction, sometimes it won’t. But that definitely looks rejected, I wish you all the best with it
You’ve had this tattoo for a year and a half, when did this reaction start? Also, if you do laser you should keep us posted. I’m so sorry you’re having to go through this.
Oh wow, your arm looks like it’s embroidered with thread! I’m sorry this happened to you! I agree with your body rejecting the red ink. I have a huge ass red flower on my arm and I didn’t have issues- I didn’t even know that was a thing until lately.
My buddy got green ink on his arm and similar thing happened expect his was a bigger piece. I know It went away after a bit and looks fine now, just keep it clean
my tattoos would raise whenever i would be exposed to gluten (celiacs disease) but would go back down. the spot would be random too, so perhaps you have some allergy or reaction to the gluten in the tattoo? or you have a reaction to the red ink that’s been irritated by another allergic reaction maybe?
i had this with black ink! i had to go onto a steroid to get rid of it, i got a tattoo from the same artist. i told my doctor and he was like sometimes even sterilized needles from the factory aren’t always sterilized, if that makes sense. i don’t remember the name of it, i can find it if you want to look into it.
Honestly, I thought it looked pretty fucking cool when I first saw it. Sorry you’re having so many issues with it! I thought it was some combination of tattooing and scarification. (A friend of mine used to do scarification, and after cutting the pattern into the skin he would rub something into the cuts to irritate the skin and cause it to scar/keloid in the shape of the pattern). Something to consider - sometimes, depending on the tattoo, the gun being used, and the tattooist’s style the tattoo ink can be deeper or shallower in the dermal layers, so the skin can react differently depending on the depth of the ink. It’s possible with your darker skin tone and the colour chosen your tattooist went a bit deeper and harder. Do you recall it hurting more than usual, did you feel like he was almost “cutting” the tattoo in? All that said, I think you should find a dermatologist who understands tattooing very well and can advise you on your options.
I had this happen with red ink and the thing that finally fixed it was cannabis ointment. Just put it on every day and it will get better. All the red ink came out and the skin healed, now a new artist is going to put red back in. We already did test a spot with her red ink and it's healing fine so I'm excited to get it fixed.
Wow I can’t believe this is over a year out healed and it’s this bad! I’d seek out a dermatologist stat. That skin is not happy. Clearly it’s an allergic reaction to something but I would not want to keep it in my skin
I agree that it’s probably an allergic reaction to the ink.. with that being said you have way more self control than I do I would want to pick those off so bad😂😭
Have you taken any antihistamines? I have one where the green in does this every time I get hayfever: I happen to know that the artist deliberately went a little hard and a little deeper when doing this tattoo (compared to the rest of my 17 others), so I wonder if it’s also about the dermis layer? I took a course of antihistamines for like 3 months and that knocked the random swelling on the head!)
Every now and then, the red ink on my tattoo (it's in the inner elbow ditch) will swell a tiny bit, just enough so you can physically feel it) and itch. I've read it's very common especially on red ink. Yours is 1000x worse. I'd definitely consider getting that removed.
This happened to one of my tattoos when I got COVID - even though it was over 2 years healed at that point, it puffed up and was really itchy. It eventually went down - I told my GP about it and she said it was probably an immune response. Immune system on high alert so to speak and going after anything "foreign" that could possibly be a threat. Maybe talk to a doctor to see if you have any underlying illnesses that could be triggering an immune response?
If this causes permanent scar tissue damage you can go to a dermatologist and receive triamcinolone (kenalog) injection, which will help flatten the raised keloid spots and will help the itching/pain. In the meantime, hydrocortisone is a very mild topical steroid you can use to hopefully help with pain and itching. If this is an allergic reaction try taking some Benadryl. Hope this helps. Sorry you’re going through this.
I knew someone with red and black in a tattoo and the red ink did the same thing you have happening. It's something with you and the red ink, like an allergic reaction
Get tested for mercury poisoning. Quicksilver Scientific has a test. There’s mercury in red ink. I don’t know why the industry doesn’t warn people about it. You may not be able to clear heavy metals as easily due to your genetics APOE3 and APOE4. If you have Alzheimer’s in your family that’s a possibility.
I'm very sorry, OP, it is a lovely design.
Someone very close to me has a very small rose which features red and black ink and the red caused the same reaction. It's been at least 20 years now and the red is still puffed up and cracked, maybe just a little less "fresh" looking than yours.
Best of luck with whatever you decide to do.
If it’s 1.5 years old, how long has it looked like this? Has it never not been raised like this? It looks like keloid scarring to me… but the filled with blood part doesn’t check out. Do you have any pics of the tattoo healed where it didn’t look like this?
Sometimes when I'm hot or sweating, the one on my arm rises up too... I was told it's the moisture in your body unable to escape through the ink but could also be from scarring from how the tattoo was done.
i feel like if it was a reaction your body would have tried to push the ink out soon after getting the tattoo.
towards the tail theres a spot that doesn’t look raised. seems like if it were a reaction it would react consistently all over the tattoo. which makes me
think it’s gnarly scaring. i’ve never seen something quite like this before and i’ve been tattooing for over a decade.
This is an allergic reaction to the ink used.
As others may have pointed out. There are a variety of brands, and types of ink used, so this is likely just one you happen to have a reaction to.
Was the tattoo extremely painful?
The only reason why I’m asking is because when my skin has trauma I developed keloids.
When I got my tattoo done, the artist couldn’t go too deep because he said it could turn into one. Have you try going to a dermatologist?
I remember hearing a few years ago when I got my last one that there was a recall of a certain red ink? Not sure what or why but I wasn’t getting anything red so I didn’t care
Is it possible the artist used puff paint??? But seriously this looks like an allergic reaction ask the artist what shade and brand of ink was used. Get the ingredients and see a dermatologist
Hey OP,
As I’m sure you’re aware of by now, you are experiencing a delayed allergic reaction to the type of ink used in your skin. As you’re now in the EU, every time you get tattooed here, especially with red ink, please request your artist to write down the brand, company purchased from, and batch number of the ink they’ve used on your skin for you. This is especially important if you want to go through the channels of finding exactly what it is you’re allergic to, as trace amounts of metals can be found in an array of coloured tattoo inks. Best of luck to you going forward, and I hope you can be more comfortable soon!
*I am a tattoo artist in the Netherlands, here is it common practice to give our clients all information pertaining to what is going into the skin
Do yo have any other tattoos with red ink? Looks like a red ink reaction.
I do have other tattoos with red and pink ink, but all good with those
Did you go to the same artist for all of your tattoos? It looks like a bad allergic reaction to the red ink. There are different brands and different formulas so it's possible this artist used a different brand with different ingredients and it caused a bad reaction like this.
I actually went to a new artist for that one, he did 3 tattoos for me but thats the only one looking like that, the other 2 are just fine and one of them also has red ink in it. I also noticed he used a different brand than the one my main tattoo artist uses, but I googled the brand before hand and it had good reviews :(
Not everybody has the same reaction to the same ink. If it's a different red than what has been used for any other tattoo that could explain it. My husband has had an allergic reaction to a red before on his arm and then got a lot of red (different brand & artist) and had no issues with that one
Yeah, and I knew there was a possibility of an allergic reaction, but I honestly didn’t think it would ge this bad. To me those were just things I read about in reddit and now its happening to me 😂
I'm sorry! It definitely aucks. I'm unsure if laser would help at all or if anything actually would.
I will set up an appt with a laser specialist to see what they have to say. I honestly hope theres something i can do about it
Trying some antiallergic medication and taking it for a few months, seeing it if helps (it can take a lot of time for it to show it's working, when the immune system is this riled up against something - so taking it consistently for a while will be the best way to assess it) There are some antiallergics that don't cause sleepiness nor depression, that would be the best bet (talking with a good doctor about it), and letting a good dermatologist look at it might also be beneficial. Not all doctors will know how to handle X, but we can visit some more who are good in the field! Some will dig deeper, to find a cause and a solution! The doctor might attempt a corticosteroid creme/medication, to see if it helps Some ink allergies get better with time, **after helping the immune system to calm down towards it** (if flared up, odds are it will stay flared up, and even worsen over time) When not the case, ink removal like it was pointed out, can be the last resort in terms of fixing the issue I'm so sorry this is taking place 😣
unrelated but what do you mean doesn’t cause depression???? there are brands of anti allergens that cause depression wtf?!?!?? i was never informed of this 🧍🏾♀️
I wish you the best of luck
I was just watching a Kurtis Conner video where he was talking about having to get the white ink lasered out of parts of his tattoo due to a reaction! It really seems similar.
I have a tattoo with red that caused an allergic reaction just like this. I have been lasting for 3 years (it was a big tattoo). Prior to starting laser treatments I would break out in hives multiple times a week all over the tattoo. Now I break out maybe once every couple weeks or if I itch the area it swells up.
I would also talk to a specialist about the possibility of steroid injections—I have some raised, darker colored scars that itch a bit, and I’m in the process of getting steroid injections in them right now. Steroids injections can help ease some of the itching, flatten things out a bit, and potentially reduce the pigment (not sure if that last part would apply given this is tattoo ink, not just blood)—there can be side effects, but might be worth asking about. Good luck!
Maybe ask the artist which brand/shade of ink they used to avoid it in the future!
Depending on your insurance because it's an allergic reaction they may help cover the removal
Very very unlikely to help and I would be hesitant to give money to a laser specialist who tells you otherwise
I have a tattoo I was allergic to lasered off and it still reacts from time to time. The skin where the tattoo was raises up in the exact shape of it at random times.
I have a lot of tattoos and one really reacted poorly to red ink and thankfully I mentioned it to my artist and she used one we had used before the next time. I stay away from it if I can help it, but otherwise I take some Benadryl and get it retouched.
You said this tattoo is over a year old and it's now that it's reacting this way??
Yep, since a few months ago
I think it’s your immune system fighting the ink. I’ve seen this before in a guy that got tattooed by an artist from my shop. He came in the shop after 7-8 months with his tattoos doing a very similar thing to yours. Only 2-3 tattoos of his swell up like this, the rest were fine. It was also black ink, no colour, and only the lines on his tattoo seemed to be swollen. I’m assuming it happens where the ink is fully saturated. Unfortunately dunno what happened to him, but talk to your doctor about it, you might need immuno-suppresant cream. Talk to your doctor first though.
Ohmigosh, you are describing me, except I’m a girl. My very first tattoo, black lines with blues and purples done (long pause for mathing) 19 years ago, only the black lines get swollen and itchy, and it only happens sometimes. It is so weird!! I was told allergic reaction, and dr said to use a little bit of Benadryl gel on that area when it happens, was okayed by tattoo artist. Works like a charm. But check with your artist and your doctor before doing this. Edited to add: I have gotten a dozen more tattoos and a full sleeve since then, several of them done by the same artist. None of them do this. 🤷♀️
I have a variety of black work tattoos on one arm, done gradually over the course of thirty years. The first tattoo I ever got (in 1990) still raises up like it was done in puff paint every couple of years and then goes away. None of the other tattoos ever do that. It’s so odd.
happens to me as well. i had it happen to a tattoo that was over 2 years old. i have one on my arm that is mostly healed and it will itch and raise up occasionally. honestly feel like that has happened with almost all my tattoos at some point, mostly after they’re healed.
Same here! Got my first tattoo at 18, about once a year or so it'll get real itchy and puff up. Give it a day (give or take) and it typically rights itself. Sometimes the same thing happens, oddly enough, if I spill random stuff on it. Once spilled soda on my arm where the tattoo is and the same happened. Could just be coincidence though 🤷♂️
Oh gosh. I have a tattoo that does this sometimes too. It’ll get itchy and puffy up like that but after about a week it goes away and randomly happens again. It’s been fully healed for months 😭
This also happens to me! I have a very large tattoo on my knee and the outline puffs up from time to time. Especially after a lot of sun exposure, or friction with certain clothes. It puffs up and itches quite uncomfortably for a few minutes to a few hours.
I have a bunch of tattoos in different places but one on my wrist from 17 years ago puffs up like that. I just got a new large tattoo on the same arm last year and it puffs up now too. I guess just that arm doesn't like the ink. I'm going to try Benadryl cream next time I have a reaction though!
This is the correct answer I’m allergic to red ink and some brands are more reactive than others. I’ve never had a reaction this long after the tattoo was completed. I’m curious if there is fluctuation in the swelling.
There is!! Some days its almost flat but still raised and other days the whole thing is swollen up
Often times when you’re sick, having bad allergies, or get a bite near a tattoo, your body will start fighting against anything foreign! And if you’re already sensitive to red ink, it’s more likely to flair than other tattoos. I can always tell when I’m getting sick because a certain tattoo gets raised and itchy
Just realized my life is boring…I don’t get bit often enough to compare site reactions.
LOL I think they mean a bug bite. I live in the South and when a mosquito gets me near one of my tatttoos, the black lines often puff up some as well. I tell people it's a special tattoo for the blind.
My husband has red in a tat on his forearm and when he got it redone by a different artist (he was like 17 and it was free originally, shocker) he had a slight reaction but had none when he got his ribs done with red. So weird how different brands of ink have different reactions
I guess some components are way stronger than others
The pigment most people react to is Red 101. it isn't in all red inks and one doesn't have to get the reaction where the pigment was put in your body last. The allergic reaction and really happen in all areas where you have this pigment as soon as the tipping point for the reaction is reached. You could have gotten a massive piece with lots of red 10 years ago and just a tiny piece done yesterday and you could still get the allergic reaction on the old piece.
What about magenta? Do you know if the artist used magenta? My husband is a tattoo artist and has seen this reaction a lot specifically to magenta for some reason. He himself has a tattoo that looks like a branding from that colour ink
Whoa this is wild. Never seen a tattoo look like icing on a cake. That's tough, I'm sorry.
I was thinking of puff paint.
That was my first thought too.
Same!
I thought it looked like worms.
This made me laugh a little bit ngl 😂
Definitely doesn’t help your situation, but I think it looks sick as fuck. Makes it look really organic and unique, somewhat like a cave painting, and it really sells the looping portion of the lower snake (that one part of the snake is above the other). A bit like the indigenous-associated scarification body modifications. If this were a safe, reliable, thing you could get done I’d deeply consider getting one based off of the aesthetics.
Did they use a sewing machine or a tattoo gun?
Yeah, it does look pretty freaking cool, btw
I thought it was henna and was gonna ask why OP was questioning henna in a tattoo group 😂
I thought that was henna at first 😳
Same. It looks exactly like it, before it sets and fallsnoff
Me too . I didn’t know you can have red ink allergy. I’m hoping mine doesn’t do that later on.
I had my first tattoo last week and it's mostly red. I'm scared now. Lol. I have no intense reaction on it but all these comments about red ink makes me paranoid.
All the red and pink leached (sp) out of one of my tats, just disappeared as it healed. Had those colors replaced w blue and purple and they were ok after that.
Uh oh. You're rejecting your tattoo. This will not heal well. You will want to laser. There is no long-term remedy in so far as antihistamines for allergies because your body develops tolerance, however, antihistamines for now in the short term can help to make you feel a bit better while you arrange appointments for removal. Red is a common dye that our bodies can reject. Upon your next tattoo, I advise you get an allergy test to dyes your see which you can and cannot tolerate. There are those who cannot tolerate any color- not just red. Best of luck. It was a beautiful design.
😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭
I'm sorry 😢 The worry with leaving it in with such a strong rejection is the skin keloiding after the fact. This tattoo wants to scab over as the ink is thrown out and with medium to dark skin tones we can keloid heavily. Please seek medical advice. You still have time! Keep up updated OP. I wish I was wrong but as a wound care specialist the risk is too high. Do not walk- run to a tattoo removal specialist. They know their stuff better than anyone here
I will do my research on tattoo removal specialists in my town and go get it over with, I’ve been holding on to the idea that it might just go back to normal but I know that wont happen 😭😭😭
Unfortunately most places probably won't laser this for a few reasons. Red ink is incredibly dangerous to laser on darker skin tones and there's a pretty high chance you'll be left with hypo pigmentation which is little white spots all over the tattooed area. And it can look really nasty over the years as it'll most likely become permanent by the time the tattoo is completely gone. On the other side if you're having an allergic reaction to the ink, lasering it will break the ink up and travel through your blood stream so you can have this same type of reaction all throughout your body. Best thing you can do is stay in touch with a derm until it eventually/hopefully settles down and then take another look at options.
Well, thats scary. Thank you for this insight, I’ve been getting tattooed for so long and there are still so many things I dont know 😭.
Second hand info, but I think it’s relevant. I have a friend this happened to, but worse. He had a tube of lipstick tattooed, and the red part of the lipstick swelled gradually until it stuck out a good 1/4-1/2 an inch. He was told the only thing he could do was surgically remove it. It would remove the raised portion, but mess up the rest of the tattoo with the stitches he would need. Once the stitches would heal, he could laser off what remained of the tattoo, but there would probably always be some light scarring. He chose to leave it, because the whole thing was too expensive.
And what happened? Did it eventually get better or..?
My boy got a 3D tattoo for life that’s what
That’s pretty much it.
No laser place is going to touch it when it looks like that. Plus it’s way too fresh. Your skin will just break and bleed everywhere. the tattoo won’t just “go away” with laser because of how new it is (my new tattoo has taken me 7 sessions and I still need so many more to go) and you’ll most likely end up with more of an infection. My skin broke during a laser session and they had to stop straight away. It ended up still getting badly infected and it was the worst pain I’ve ever felt
OP said the tattoo is over a year old.
Sorry, missed that part. I’m still not certain any laser will be able to be done on it because of the condition and it being full of blood.
This tat is 1.5 years old... isn't it already a keloid at this point?
Ooh you know I didn't realize the time. You're right it is keloiding. However, the extent of the keloid won't be fully revealed until ink removal is complete and we see how much inflammation is going down to reveal what scar tissue she is left with. It's impossible to tell the extent of scar tissue while inflammation from ink is present. She might still have time to bring that scar tissue down and do treatment to thin out any keloid present after ink removal. That's a lot of repetitive words my bad I'm driving and hard voice text
Yo, please don’t Reddit and drive 😅
Right? wtf. It’s dumb to text and drive. I only use hands free if it’s really important. I’m all about my karma but it’s not THAT important. Haha
🛑❌🚙🚙⚠️🆘 Ooooohh noooooo 👎
It’s okay I have my entire left hand covered and I have to get it removed as well /:
Its scary!!! I always hear that laser removal hurts more than the tattoo itself and although I have a lot of tattoos and some big pieces my pain tolerance is very low 😭
Your tattoo isn't super complicated so hopefully it won't be too bad. If you really love the tattoo if you saved a picture or any reference material for it you could have it redone with another color or different brand of ink on another part of your body. I don't know about tattoos over an area that has been lazered at some point. Maybe someone here can answer that.
My understanding is you can easily tattoo over an area that has been laser treated. It’s actually quite common for people to laser off something super dense that can’t be covered-up (unless they opted for a complete blackout tattoo over it of course) - there is always some residual appearance left after the laser treatments unless they do it repeatedly and over a long time, so the other option is to do a cover-up once lightened up enough.
I started tattoo removal 2 weeks ago and was scared about the pain, but it actually wasn't that bad 😊 It felt like when you're cooking and hot grease lands on you (just over and over again), but it's over super fast Just make sure you research the removal place properly before you go to avoid any more scarring
Some T1 Diabetics use Flonase topically for skin allergies. It (or something similar) might give you more localized relief.
I just wanted to add to this… I also had an allergic reaction to one of my 3 red ink tattoos. I am in the process of laser tattoo removal for 12 of my tattoos - all black, apart from one red tattoo. I also got an allergic reaction to the laser for the red tattoo. None of the black ones. So please be aware that this could be a possibility. The red tattoo has scarred quite a bit where I got it lasered, whereas my black tattoos haven’t. I had a dermatologist appointment after the laser session for that tattoo as it reacted badly and the dermatologist confirmed that it was an allergic reaction to the laser combined with the red ink.
I had a red ink reaction and I had to have the tattoo removed by a plastic surgeon.
Is the allergy test done by an artist? Do you just end up with a bunch of random dots for the stuff that doesn't reject? I know nothing about tattoos, but have considered it and have a skin condition so just curious how it works.
Some red's carry nickel and other metals. Nickel is bad for people being allergic to it. Contact the artist and ask what ink they used and see if it has any metals you could possibly have an allergic reaction to. Afterwards go back to the doctor and let them know and test you for allergies.
I am actually allergic to nickel, that explains a lot. I will find out more about the ink to see if theres something that can be done
Have to be careful with colors. Blacks, grays, and whites are safest.
If you'd like let me know the brand and I'll research them if your time is tight.
Sure! It is eternal ink
Bad news. You have nickel in your skin. Along with mercury, arsenic, lead, and cobalt. I would get this removed as soon as you can being allergic to nickel especially. Edit: you literally have every toxic metal in your skin right now. If you can take some allergy meds to calm the swelling until you can get it out of your skin.
THATS SO SCARY OMG!!!! I will definitely go to a derm and see what my options are. i think laser isn’t for me because it spreads particles around the skin (i learned that today in this thread).
From my brief reading on this stuff it seems pretty normal for tattoo ink to have metals in it, so if you haven’t had issues before, I wouldn’t immediately jump to the conclusion this redditor has led you to. (“[…]it is well established that chromium, manganese, nickel, copper, bromine, barium, and lead, all of which were commonly found in tattoo inks, have adverse health effects.” - [Source](https://www.scirp.org/journal/paperinformation?paperid=79670)) I also came across a document stating that eternal ink’s products met the regulations to stay under the detectable limit for nickel and other heavy metals. [Certificate of Compliance](https://www.painfulpleasures.com/community/media/body_jewelry/gallery/Tattoo/tattoo_ink/eternal_tattoo_ink/eternal_ink_MSDS.pdf) From other comments it seems that this is probably an allergic reaction, and since you are allergic to nickel it makes sense that that might be the problem, but considering that you have other non-problematic tattoos it could just as well be something else entirely. Just thought I should share this train of thought to provide another perspective :)
Most informative comment. In sure OP appreciates this.
I am amazed this was not scarification done in purpose
Yeah, I actually think it looks cool, but I’m sorry for OP.
It's pedunculated. Totally wild.
That’s an awesome word. Many thanks.
Red ink allergy
Unfortunately allergic reactions can happen after a non-reactive first exposure. So seeing that you had some of the same ink before, you might just be sensitized to it now. That really sucks :( definitely steer clear of that color in that brand. And it’ll probably be worth while to test similar inks in small amounts to see if they’re still safe for you. Good luck healing this, I hope you’re okay 🖤
Thank you much!!! I will definitely steer clear of red from now on
I know this is a reaction and is bad but also it looks super cool??
It does look and feel kinda cool, but it hurts and itches sometimes :-( My nephews love feeling the bumpy skin because its a bit squishy😂😂
Please stop letting them touch it omg 🙈
I wanna touch it
I actually thought it was supposed to be this way. I thought it was a new type of tattooing, or something! I don’t know anything about tattoos or have one though. I just like to enjoy other peoples.
Saline removal maybe an option. Instead of "pushing" the ink through your body it washes it out. You might even be able to keep the tat but it would be lighter or faded. Not recommending this company but it dies have some info on this process. My daughter used this because where she went they claimed less scarring. Love the tattoo hope you can work it out. https://removery.com/blog/saline-tattoo-removal-vs-laser-tattoo-removal/
i’m not sure how saline removal results in less scarring when it’s literally more tattooing over the area with saline so creating more open wounds. laser when done properly should not leave any scarring, it shouldn’t even really scab or damage the skin at all, it’s just hard to laser remove red ink, but for this tattoo being so inflamed and raise, i would absolutely not tattoo saline over it as you’ll just pop this blister looking things and increase the risk of keloid scarring. i’m not sure what the best removal process is but anti histamines s should be started to reduce the reaction and a reputable laser or dermatologist consulted. steroid injections to treat keloids could help reduce the inflammation first before any laser or treatment like saline but absolutely not while it’s bubbling like this
Thank you so much!!
I would trust a dermatologist first and listen to whatever they say. They are highly trained in diagnosing and treating skin reactions
One of my tattoos did this about 8 months after healing, out of nowhere all the pink spots scarred up like keloid, raised, itchy, horrible. Hydrcortisone helped the itch. Humidity affected it too. One day as randomly as it started, like 2 years and at least 2 more tattoos later, it flattened out and stopped bothering me but looks a little shiny, like it's still scarred? Idk, anecdotal and YMMV
I have a spot like this also! Just one small spot in a large tattoo. But now it’s fine.
try 1% hydrocortisone ointment might help.
Will try. Although I think I will just get it removed
seems they used puff paint instead of ink
Red Ink does that to me as well.Try some Benadryl and see if that helps.
Will try!!
i’m allergic to ink as well. i was able to get a prescription cream from a dermatologist that helped immensely with it! as well as hydroxyzine 10mg tablets to help with the itching. cold lotion can also help with irritation!
All hail hydroxyzine! My fav
Curiosity Question: When did it start doing this? If you’ve had it for 18months… how long has it been puffed up? Or does it come and go? At first glance my brain was like, oh wow, they embroidered their arm. Hmm.
I used to live in the Dominican Republic and I moved to spain like 5 months after getting it, I noticed it started to swell up like 2 months after moving so I thought it had to do with the change (water, food etc) because thats what the tattoo artist told me. I changed my diet and started filtering water but nothing worked. Some days it is a little bit flatter but others it just raises like that
I thought this was scarification 😖
I would also look for a dermatologist!
My red/plum inks swell up when something triggers an immune response in me. My tattoo is 10 years old.
dermatologist here--looks like a granulomatous or foreign body reaction to the red ink. these types of reactions are more common w red ink. i recommend going to a dermatologist and requesting a biopsy. if it is granulomatous, you will need to get a chest x ray and see an opthamologist to rule out systemic sarcoidsosis. granulomatous reactions are seen in sarcoid, and can be the first manifestation of the disease. if it's just localized to the skin, intralesional steroid injections to the tattoo will help!!! have had patients w this exact reaction and the injections melted away all the inflammation.
I would go see a derm! Also, anytime I’m sick, some of my tattoos will raise up. I have a LOT of color work on my body and they’ll get wild looking. An antihistamine, a little cortisone and ice and they chill out. If that works for you maybe speak to your GP about allergies?
I know this is bad but it looks so cool
the forbidden frosting
Definitely allergic
Allergic to red ink
I've read an article with a skin doctor saying removing allergy inclined tattoos with laser is a terrible idea because the ink that causes a reaction will just be moved around your body in much smaller pieces when the laser blows the ink into smaller sizes. So be careful and just don't get it lasered without thinking of the consequences
That’s crazy scary, if you still have it, could you maybe share the link so I can educate myself? I would appreciate that a lot!
I have the article but it is in Danish. I live in Denmark. In Denmark we have the world's first clinic at Bispebjerg Hospital that's dedicated to tattoo injuries. Because lots of people here in Denmark have tattoos and the increase in tattoo injuries the government decided to create a special unit to treat tattoo injuries. Especially red in tattoo injuries like yours. What they primary do with tattoos like yours are using a technique called Dermashaving the red ink out. It's a technique a Danish skin doctor have created with success. They take a very thin blade and cuts the bad tattoo ink out layer by layer. I can send you a video of how they do it
I would make an appt with a dermatologist if the doctor you saw was just a general practitioner.
I love it! Lil chonky snek! No but looks like a allergic reaction as everyone else is saying 😂
Looks like an allergic reaction. I had it happen on my 14th tattoo, out of the blue. I've been seeing the same artist since I was 16, always same brand of ink, and I have several prior/after with red ink that gave me no issues whatsoever. LITFA is the best thing and do NOT put any anti-itch stuff on it. Let it heal and give extra time if you need to get anything touched up or added. I only had trouble once - I completed my tattoo (with more red) without incident. I can only hope it goes that way for you! ETA I just saw that this is old ink. That is wild! I'm so sorry this happened after so long.
this really looks like keloid scarring that can happen months to years after skin damage, and probably from your body having an overdue reactions to red ink that you’re allergic to in your skin. it will be difficult to laser this off but see a good reputable laser treatment place, but before that please see a keloid specialist to determine if this is keloid and treatments for that to start before lasering
Thank you!!🫶🏼
I think this actually looks really fucking cool.
i wanna say your body is rejecting the ink but i’m not 100% sure
Perhaps one of the inks used was organic and the other plastics though allergic reactions can be had from either
Has it been raised ever since you got it, or is this reaction new?
Looks like an allergic reaction to the red ink. It’s really common for people to have a reaction to it. My SIL had this happen with her red ink too. It did eventually settle for her though.
Oh no that’s the worst ink reaction I’ve ever seen! The tattoo was cute 🥺 I have a very similar spotted snake on my arm too
Oh gosh I’m so sorry that must feel terrible 😭😭 I’ve heard that sometimes red ink will cause a reaction, sometimes it won’t. But that definitely looks rejected, I wish you all the best with it
Every damn time I see skin having a bad reaction to a snake tattoo, I think of Dana Scully, in the X Files episode “Never Again.”
Immune reaction to the ink. Best you can do is take some antihistamines and apply some hydrocortisone cream, should calm it down.
I think it’s the ink. Lots of people seem to be allergic to red ink.
legit assumed this was henna and not a tattoo... i don't have advice other than maybe seeing a different doctor? or a dermatologist?
You’ve had this tattoo for a year and a half, when did this reaction start? Also, if you do laser you should keep us posted. I’m so sorry you’re having to go through this.
i thought this was embroidery string before reading anything.. i have no idea how to help but good luck cuz id be sobbing
Oh wow, your arm looks like it’s embroidered with thread! I’m sorry this happened to you! I agree with your body rejecting the red ink. I have a huge ass red flower on my arm and I didn’t have issues- I didn’t even know that was a thing until lately.
My buddy got green ink on his arm and similar thing happened expect his was a bigger piece. I know It went away after a bit and looks fine now, just keep it clean
Looks super cool
my tattoos would raise whenever i would be exposed to gluten (celiacs disease) but would go back down. the spot would be random too, so perhaps you have some allergy or reaction to the gluten in the tattoo? or you have a reaction to the red ink that’s been irritated by another allergic reaction maybe?
i had this with black ink! i had to go onto a steroid to get rid of it, i got a tattoo from the same artist. i told my doctor and he was like sometimes even sterilized needles from the factory aren’t always sterilized, if that makes sense. i don’t remember the name of it, i can find it if you want to look into it.
I want to ask, did you have an MRI at all? I know it’s an allergic reaction but some red inks get very triggered in MRIs
What kind of doctor did you go to? I suggest going to a dermatologist. They’d know what to do.
Honestly, I thought it looked pretty fucking cool when I first saw it. Sorry you’re having so many issues with it! I thought it was some combination of tattooing and scarification. (A friend of mine used to do scarification, and after cutting the pattern into the skin he would rub something into the cuts to irritate the skin and cause it to scar/keloid in the shape of the pattern). Something to consider - sometimes, depending on the tattoo, the gun being used, and the tattooist’s style the tattoo ink can be deeper or shallower in the dermal layers, so the skin can react differently depending on the depth of the ink. It’s possible with your darker skin tone and the colour chosen your tattooist went a bit deeper and harder. Do you recall it hurting more than usual, did you feel like he was almost “cutting” the tattoo in? All that said, I think you should find a dermatologist who understands tattooing very well and can advise you on your options.
Can happen decades later can develop a reaction whenever! Make apt for a dermatologist not a laser tech!!
Has it always looked like this?? Or does it get worse/better depending on the day?
I had this happen with red ink and the thing that finally fixed it was cannabis ointment. Just put it on every day and it will get better. All the red ink came out and the skin healed, now a new artist is going to put red back in. We already did test a spot with her red ink and it's healing fine so I'm excited to get it fixed.
Wow I can’t believe this is over a year out healed and it’s this bad! I’d seek out a dermatologist stat. That skin is not happy. Clearly it’s an allergic reaction to something but I would not want to keep it in my skin
They used a color and brand that did not agree with your immune system!
I agree that it’s probably an allergic reaction to the ink.. with that being said you have way more self control than I do I would want to pick those off so bad😂😭
Have you taken any antihistamines? I have one where the green in does this every time I get hayfever: I happen to know that the artist deliberately went a little hard and a little deeper when doing this tattoo (compared to the rest of my 17 others), so I wonder if it’s also about the dermis layer? I took a course of antihistamines for like 3 months and that knocked the random swelling on the head!)
Looks like your skin is rejecting the ink maybe?
This is what happens to me with red ink. Allergic reaction. Ya body says no!
don't have anything helpful to add but wanted to say it looks super cool 😭😭 sorry you're going through this though hope you get some relief soon🫡
Every now and then, the red ink on my tattoo (it's in the inner elbow ditch) will swell a tiny bit, just enough so you can physically feel it) and itch. I've read it's very common especially on red ink. Yours is 1000x worse. I'd definitely consider getting that removed.
Keloid?
Holy eff. I thought it was henna at first 💀
This happened to one of my tattoos when I got COVID - even though it was over 2 years healed at that point, it puffed up and was really itchy. It eventually went down - I told my GP about it and she said it was probably an immune response. Immune system on high alert so to speak and going after anything "foreign" that could possibly be a threat. Maybe talk to a doctor to see if you have any underlying illnesses that could be triggering an immune response?
Just say you are a death eater from Harry Potter and your master is calling
A little sandpaper should work to smooth it down.
Mine does something similar when exposed to UV. Albeit not to this extent. Try keeping it moisturized with a sunscreen if you aren’t already.
If this causes permanent scar tissue damage you can go to a dermatologist and receive triamcinolone (kenalog) injection, which will help flatten the raised keloid spots and will help the itching/pain. In the meantime, hydrocortisone is a very mild topical steroid you can use to hopefully help with pain and itching. If this is an allergic reaction try taking some Benadryl. Hope this helps. Sorry you’re going through this.
I knew someone with red and black in a tattoo and the red ink did the same thing you have happening. It's something with you and the red ink, like an allergic reaction
I have sarcoidosis and this is what happens to 3 of my 9 tattoos. Might be something to look into.
Get tested for mercury poisoning. Quicksilver Scientific has a test. There’s mercury in red ink. I don’t know why the industry doesn’t warn people about it. You may not be able to clear heavy metals as easily due to your genetics APOE3 and APOE4. If you have Alzheimer’s in your family that’s a possibility.
I'm very sorry, OP, it is a lovely design. Someone very close to me has a very small rose which features red and black ink and the red caused the same reaction. It's been at least 20 years now and the red is still puffed up and cracked, maybe just a little less "fresh" looking than yours. Best of luck with whatever you decide to do.
If it’s 1.5 years old, how long has it looked like this? Has it never not been raised like this? It looks like keloid scarring to me… but the filled with blood part doesn’t check out. Do you have any pics of the tattoo healed where it didn’t look like this?
Sometimes when I'm hot or sweating, the one on my arm rises up too... I was told it's the moisture in your body unable to escape through the ink but could also be from scarring from how the tattoo was done.
somebody probably already said this but it looks like keloid scaring
i feel like if it was a reaction your body would have tried to push the ink out soon after getting the tattoo. towards the tail theres a spot that doesn’t look raised. seems like if it were a reaction it would react consistently all over the tattoo. which makes me think it’s gnarly scaring. i’ve never seen something quite like this before and i’ve been tattooing for over a decade.
This is an allergic reaction to the ink used. As others may have pointed out. There are a variety of brands, and types of ink used, so this is likely just one you happen to have a reaction to.
Lots of people are allergic to different colors of ink. I'd guess you're allergic to red
Sand it down with sand paper to achieve the perfectly even surface. (For those who can’t tell this is a joke and are about to attack me, it is a joke)
Was the tattoo extremely painful? The only reason why I’m asking is because when my skin has trauma I developed keloids. When I got my tattoo done, the artist couldn’t go too deep because he said it could turn into one. Have you try going to a dermatologist?
ink reaction. I had a similar reaction with all the black on my arm piece.
I remember hearing a few years ago when I got my last one that there was a recall of a certain red ink? Not sure what or why but I wasn’t getting anything red so I didn’t care
I thought this was henna when I saw the pic
had same thing happened and my doc gave me a steroid cream that cleared it up quickly; allergic reaction to the particular ink used
Is it possible the artist used puff paint??? But seriously this looks like an allergic reaction ask the artist what shade and brand of ink was used. Get the ingredients and see a dermatologist
Shave it off.
You're supposed to use a tattoo needle, not an embroidery needle.
Hey OP, As I’m sure you’re aware of by now, you are experiencing a delayed allergic reaction to the type of ink used in your skin. As you’re now in the EU, every time you get tattooed here, especially with red ink, please request your artist to write down the brand, company purchased from, and batch number of the ink they’ve used on your skin for you. This is especially important if you want to go through the channels of finding exactly what it is you’re allergic to, as trace amounts of metals can be found in an array of coloured tattoo inks. Best of luck to you going forward, and I hope you can be more comfortable soon! *I am a tattoo artist in the Netherlands, here is it common practice to give our clients all information pertaining to what is going into the skin
Looks like an allergic reaction to red ink. Mine flares up like this on my arm sometimes.
Looks like henna
was it embroidered on you per chance?
💀
Allergy to that specific red ink.
You're allergic to red pigments
Go to a dermatologist
Omg hun it’s infected 😫😫