Need some help all. For some reason I am getting pretty bad acne in the tattoo and around the area. I got the tat about 3 weeks ago now and for some reason i got zits and they keep coming back. For the healing phase i used a&d ointment, very thinly for the first few days then when it was healed used a lotion like aveeno. I have really dry skin so i have to use it quite a few times daily... could this be the cause of it? I have just switched to aquaphor to keep the tat looking good and not dried out but don't know what to do about the zits. its a cool tat and i hate to see it look like bad. Thanks!!!

This message has been edited. Last edited by: kim g,

Are they actually zits that produce a head, or are they just red bumps? Did your artist shave the area? Does your artist solder his or her own needles?

Here are a few thoughts. If the bumps are just red and do not produce puss, the pores are probably clogged by the products you have been using for after care. If this is the case, you may want to avoid their use for a few days and then only apply them minimally. If they are really little infections(zits), and your artist sahved the area, they are quite possibly ingrown hairs. If hairs are shaved against the grain, they can curl back into the skin when they grow back. If this happens, the body thinks its a foreign object and trys to destroy it. Lastly, if your artist makes his own needles, he may not be removing all the flux that is used in the process. Some people have reported that the left over flux can produce white head like bumps if it contacts the broken skin.

I had little white heads about 2 weeks after my tattoo. I thought it might be due to overmoisturizing or it could have been ingrown hairs cause my artist shaved my leg. They are gone now, one month after the tattoo.

I also have endured this troublesome outcome after tattoo, and I haven't had acne since I was sixteen until now; and I am now 47. I read the response here, and I have to say the responder made sense with his opinions, however, the acne I got after recieving my tattoo did not limit itself to the tattooed area, nor did it limit itself to the shaved area. The acne has broken out all over the top-side of my arm and hand. The tattoo was made on the topside of my fore-arm. So this pretty much rules out in-grown hair and/or soldering flux. What can I do to stop this acne? Is it a virus given to me by dirty tattoo equipment? Please help!