tattoo bleeding ink?

September 22, 2006 12:49 PM

I got a touch up on a 3 month old tattoo yesterday. Today it is sort of bleeding ink. (I can press a white piece of paper to it after applying A+D ointment and get a print of the tattoo) Is this normal? It did not do this when I first got it done.
posted by mustcatchmooseandsquirrel to Health & Fitness (8 answers total)

Happened to me when I got my leg piece touched up. You should be fine, just exercise appropriate aftercare (that is, all the things you did to take care of it the first time you got it tattooed). If it keeps worrying you, call the shop where you got it done and ask for some aftercare tips.
posted by jtron at 1:02 PM on September 22, 2006

This is normal for the first day or so after getting a new tattoo.

Stop pressing things against it!
posted by misanthropicsarah at 1:11 PM on September 22, 2006

Yep, normal.
posted by penchant at 1:17 PM on September 22, 2006

Keep it clean and go easy on the A+D. Ointments attract dirt, and a thinner layer will actually encourage scabbing and healing.
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 1:28 PM on September 22, 2006

Agreed - normal.
posted by kaseijin at 1:36 PM on September 22, 2006

Totally fine. Every tattoo I've ever gotten has bled ink.

Although, as TheWhiteSkull mentions, you should go easy on the A&D. You really want your skin to be able to breathe. Petroleum products can cause all sorts of tattoo-disrupting processes like acne outbreaks, clogged poors, etc.
posted by Netzapper at 2:09 PM on September 22, 2006

With my older ink the artists suggested A&D, but with a leg piece I received 3 weeks ago I was told to use a thin layer of plain ole' Lubriderm instead, about 4-5 times daily. This one has healed very easily, with no scabbing and minimal itching.

Oh, and yes, the "bleeding" ink is quite normal when you have the bandage taped on for the first day.
posted by Asherah at 2:35 PM on September 22, 2006

The shirt I wore when I got my first tattoo still has a little black lizard foot print on it, though the rest of the tattoo didn't bleed through.
posted by croutonsupafreak at 3:45 PM on September 22, 2006