is my tattoo healing properly? help!!

i used bapanthen on it for the first 3 days, then went to using moisteriser (DH has 2 sleeves and this is what he's done with his) in the shower he rubs at it when it starts peeling and ges the peeling skin off, i didnt do this for the last 2 days and now my skin over the tatt is a bit dry and i started to peel a bit of skin (which i know is a no no :( ) and i took some real skin off and started bleeding.. have i F***ed my tattoo? i bet i have :( im so mad at myslf :(
ive put bapanthen on it to try and soften the dry skin and im going to have a shower a bit latrer?

Ummm I dunno... mine healed in 3 days totally with just bepanthen... ummmm... I'd say not though...

All mine have always gone dry - which is normal. The first layer of skin has had a million little holes pushed thru it, so it's gonna die and come off because there's nothing there holding it on anymore!
Also, I've always been told to use the bepanthen for 2 weeks by tattooists and do not pick! If you leave it alone it may be fine, still... you won't know until its healed.... in the mean time, no picking! ;)

Please NO MORE PICKING!

I used to wrap mine in gladwrap for the first two days to keep the skin moist and help with the colour. Im sure if you leave it alone now it will be fine, if your not happy with it then ask for a touch up!

It should just be like really bad sunburn. Use bepanthen constantly until it is completely peeled, then switch to moisturiser. Hope it heals ok :)

keep it nice and moist. dont pick at it, like a scab,if you pull it off too early it will bleed and you will loose the colour/ink. it should just peel off when its ready.

Mine take a good 2 weeks to heal completely, and even then remain insanely itchy for months (on and off) to years.

DH on the other hand are healed the next day...b***. just luck i guess =P

thanks ladies :) just spoke to DH and he said its normal, its one big wound , naturally its going to scab a little in some areas. i was just freaking out LOL
Thanks agin for your help :grouphug:

Just keep up with the bepanthan and NO MORE PiCKING! Lol. :crossfingers: when it heals it's all good.

No more BEPANTHEN!!!!!!! its baddddddd for tattoos. it draws the ink out! not all of it but it does draw the ink about it... (think about why you use it on bums ;) ) Alpha Kerri oil is great for helping with the dryness also paw paw ointment after the scabs disappear!

I have one on my wrist that has been there for over 12 months and it STILL gets itchy. I put pawapw on mine and the itch goes away.

One tattooist told me to but aloe vera gel on my first one and OMG it stung like B^%%$. Will never do that again.

Not that I've had a new tattoo for over 7 yrs, but I've never used anything on them - I hope it heals quickly for you hun!

I didnt put anything on mine...the tattooist said just to put wet it with water it it seemed dry.

mine was done a week and a half ago and its a still a little dry but had healed really well

I used bepanthen and wrapped in cling film as well for the 1st 2 days, then bepanthen 2 or 3 times a day for a week on the advice of my artist. It healed beautifully, no problems.

Best not to pick or rub if it gets flaky, just keep it moist.

turns out I was allergic to bepanthen, swapped to pawpaw ointment and it healed fast.