Tuesday, July 21, 2015

Elbow Tattoo Experience: What to Expect & Healing!

It's been a while! Let's get right into it and talk about elbow tattoos. I recently got a full-color rose elbow tattoo that covers the entirety of my elbow. Before getting this tattoo, I'd heard stories about how painful the tattoo was but not much about the recovery and what to expect. It's weird... I guess not many people who have had their elbows tattooed have written extensively about it? Lemme help you guys out!

I got a rose tattoo on 7/13/2015. Started the tattoo around 1 and got out around 5:30. Don't expect your tattoo to take this long- it really does depend on what you're getting and the size of what you're getting. I had been so nervous about it the previous week but by the time I arrived at the tattoo parlor I was fine... and then the tattoo started. 

Generally, you need to be lying down when getting your elbow tattooed, but that's not always the case. I was lying down for my elbow tattoo and my artist started working on it. It was fine at first... sure, it hurt, but it was only about a 6/10. She had to do the outline first and that was done pretty quickly. By the end of the outline, I was regretting my choice- would I be able to go several more hours to finish the color/shading?

I took 3 breaks total. I wish I had taken more, but that would have just slowed down the process. The pain level finally reached a whopping ten the final 2 hours. There were so many moments when I wanted to quit, but I didn't. Who wants a half finished tattoo? I sucked it up and finally my tattoo artist finished. I had been on my phone playing a game, trying to get my mind off everything. Lemme tell you, it's incredibly hard to think of anything other than the pain you're going through.

Please keep in mind that everyone's pain tolerance is different.

Recovery

First full day- The pain was ROUGH. My elbow and forearm were incredibly swollen and my entire arm hurt so much. I basically immobilized my arm and did everything with my left arm (NOT my dominant arm). I was desperately trying to search how to hold my arm, if that makes any sense. Do I lay it flat against my side? Give it a slight bend? I had to figure it out myself. A straight arm felt... wrong. Generally, when you stretch your arm out straight, your elbow is a bit wrinkled- you DON'T want that. I always held my arm SLIGHTLY bent at the elbow. Your elbow will tell you what feels right. I felt tightness when I straightened my arm, but felt fine when it was very slightly bent.

Sleeping Tip: I like to use a soft, thin sheet as a barrier from my tattoo and other things like the mattress, my pajamas, and even my hands. Sleeping position I found most comfortable were were the Trunk, Nostalgic, Soldier (using the sheet as a barrier), and my favorite- the Free Fall (with arms way less bent!). Warning: Days 3 and 4 had me with a achy shoulder, which I think is because of the Trunk or Nostalgic sleeping position- it was pretty uncomfortable for my body, but it might be different for yours!

Days 2 through 4- Arm is still swollen. I'm starting to worry- the swelling for my other tattoos went down the following day, so why hadn't my elbow gone down? DON'T WORRY! Everything's fine, Because your elbow was tattooed for hours on end, it's pretty pissed at you. Swelling should go down within the first week.

Washing/Lotion I use: My tattoo artist was very impressed with how my tattoos have healed up, which I was flattered by. I use the h2O Ocean Foaming Soap from Amazon and Lubriderm. You're best going as "natural" as you can with what you use to wash and lotion your skin- anti-bacterial 
with NO scent and lotion with no scent. I honestly love Lubriderm and highly recommend it. Another soap I use is the one at my job, an unscented anti-microbial soap. It makes sense they have it because I work at a health clinic!


Day 4 through 7- Beginning on day 4 something odd started happening... my skin was beginning to peel! I was concerned, once again, since peeling didn't start so early with my other tattoos. This, again, is normal. Because you move our elbow so much, even when you try not to, you loosen up the skin faster. This isn't necessarily a bad thing. In my case, the healing process was just going a lot faster but the tattoo still looked great.
The itching isn't too bad, but it's still a part of your body you can't scratch and that's always irritating. The skin fell off very quickly.
By day 6 the swelling had gone completely down. By day 7, a full week after I first got the tattoo (7/20), most of the skin had fallen off. My tattoo has had zero color fall out so far!

Tip: Please cover your tattoo and don't let the sun hit it. If it's Summer and hot (like it is as I type this), suck it up. Your tattoo will burn like a bitch and fade if you expose it to the sun. I'm also pretty sure you're not supposed to but sunscreen on it until it's healed, so be mindful of that. Cover it up and just wait the 1-2 weeks for it to heal.

TLDR: Just get through the pain, once it's done it is DONE. Don't mess up the tattoo that put you through so much pain by being lazy and not being mindful that your elbow was just tattooed. Everyone's pain tolerance is different, be mindful of that. Use Lubriderm, it's awesome. Your elbow will be swollen and hurting but it'll pass.

I hoped this helped anyone getting an elbow tattoo! Lemme know!

16 comments:

  1. Your 100% accurate on this! Got my elbow tattoo yesterday for 5 hours and the throbbing kept me awake last night

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  2. I'm getting my elbow tomorrow
    I'm freaking out

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  3. Nice info. My hypothesis was the same. I didn't think the aftermath would make it so swollen. I got a sunflower with a bee in black and gray, the bee has a bit of color. And in a couple of months I will be getting the same on the other elbow w/o the bee. Crazy me!

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  4. Got my elbow done last night. I'm glad I saw this post made me feel better, ibuprofen helps also and the swelling still there...second day tho. But the pain is getting better...elbow tattoos are no joke lol

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  5. Getting a rose done on my elbow in a week, extremely excited / nervous. At least it won't be done on my dominant arm, so that should help.

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    1. That's what I've had done red n black huge rose..God it hurt..day 5 healing ok still wrinkly and peeling slightly

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    2. That's what I've had done red n black huge rose..God it hurt..day 5 healing ok still wrinkly and peeling slightly

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  6. I'm on day 5 it's flaking and still sore but I'm dealing with it washing it and applying be panthanon every 3 hrs my elbow looks old and wrinkly lol..was worth the awful horrendous pain worst place I've ever had but then I'm back in Friday for the rest of my sleeve to be done ..next is my foot..ouch!!

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  7. I'm on day 5 it's flaking and still sore but I'm dealing with it washing it and applying be panthanon every 3 hrs my elbow looks old and wrinkly lol..was worth the awful horrendous pain worst place I've ever had but then I'm back in Friday for the rest of my sleeve to be done ..next is my foot..ouch!!

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  8. Got mine done yesterday and at first I thought it was okay but after the hour I couldn't take anymore, my tattoo artist managed to shadow it, I still need to colour it but it was too swollen and irritated. It's been a day and it's still swollen but glad I could find this, puts my mind to peace.
    It feels like when you hit your elbow really hard against a wall, but it will get better.
    Whoever wants to get one, I recommend it. Go for it, pain will fade at some point

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  9. I'm on day 3 swelling is getting worse can't use or even move me arm lol I have my other elbow done it was nothing like this one πŸ˜‚

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  10. I'm on day 4. My elbow crease has been the worst! Gonna try to keep it bent more, and have started triple antibiotic ointment to avoid infection. Is this OK? No color has come out, in the peeling phase.

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  11. Got a very large purple/pink/orange octopus on my elbow 2 days ago, which also goes halfway down the back of my forearm. Along with this, I got a scuba diver, a seahorse and the rest filled in with blue water. So, not only is my elbow sore and swollen, my entire right arm from the elbow down is swollen. Just trying to not crack the octopus lol.

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  12. I just got mine yesterday and my skins like rough and hard I don’t know why and I’m kind of scared

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  13. I just got mine yesterday and my skins like rough and hard I don’t know why and I’m kind of scared

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    1. Mine from 8/21 is scabbed up in some parts. It’s annoyingly painful on the side of my elbow. I’m just washing and using lubriderm. I also use hustle butter once a day. You’ll feel better by day 7.

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