Background Healing

I thought I'd write about the healing this time, because it's gone quite differently from the line work.

After the first session I'd healed the old-fashioned way: washing three times a day, moisturising, letting it air dry. That was fine, but it's a lot of admin. I'm happy to do it, but it also meant I could only wear shorts, and I didn't want to be out in the sun exposing it to UV. So on recommendation, after the back-to-back background sessions I went with second skin instead.

The first application was a proper faff. Because the shading covers so much of the leg, and because I still needed to be able to move it, I basically had to wrap the entire thing. I think I got through half the roll and then had to peel it off and start again, which was a painful exercise. Once it was finally on, the leg felt incredibly stiff. Not from the tattoo, just from the material itself, which isn't supple at first. After a couple of hours it loosened up and, frankly, it was fine.

I took it off after about three days, and that was an interesting one in the shower. All the gunk and goo comes away with it. It came off well enough, but it left a lot of glue residue behind. I tried getting it off with soap, but I didn't want to agitate the skin, so I've mostly just left it. The upshot being that my leg has spent the last week sticking to various parts of the sofa.

There are photos below: one with the second skin on, a couple showing the peeling and the residue, and a few of where it's at now.

It's healing well. Compared to the line work, which was itchy beyond belief, this has been nothing. Once the second skin came off I started with the Curva moisturising lotion, then after a couple of weeks switched to the thicker cream, applied morning and night. That seems to be doing the job.

Next up is the knee, which is going to be interesting, and then the inside of the leg, which based on past experience I'm expecting to be relatively painful. I've also booked another back-to-back. I want to keep the progress moving, but I also want to enjoy the journey, so I think this will probably be the last double. The weather's looking pretty warm too, so we'll see how I cope.

Enjoy the photos!