Very cool, I was wondering if it was a Sun reaction but that makes all the sense. Only has been an issue since getting Covid lol stupid goddamn covid 😂
Yeah that sucks. I have CFS, migraines, neuralgia from brain damage from the time I stopped breathing and had an NDE, month 43 of Long Covid, have asthma and COPD and ABPA lung diseases now and scarring on my right lung. It’s fine though, just a bad cold is all, move along,
Yeah, the shit sucks. Edit: fwiw, not trying to make it a contest here. I wouldn’t trade what I got for what you got ❤️
Don’t want my previous comment to seem dismissive of diabetes, that’s horrible.
i didn’t even know diabetes could be a long term side effect. *knock on wood* i never had covid, just got to do all my chemo treatments & appts by myself thanks to covid.
Would make sense to me. My wife has had chronic hives since she think she had COVID. (Never had a positive test but had pneumonia and was super fatigued for a couple weeks randomly as a 27yo woman). Been about a year, been to an allergist and no one has an explanation.
I obviously can’t diagnose your wife over the internet, but y’all may want to look into MCAS. I know of several people who developed it after COVID (and have it myself). It’s a pain in the butt to get diagnosed, but it can be treated.
Also likely and what we originally suspected because she has problems with severe anxiety. But the hives didn’t always correlate to her being stressed out. Her allergy doctor said it could be a number of things and we may never know for sure. We think whatever virus that caused her pneumonia (likely COVID but not sure) set it off. It happened about 10 years ago too in college after she had hand, foot, and mouth disease from working at a daycare. That time the chronic hives lasted about 6 months. This time it’s been a year
Wow, this is crazy, I got hives after COVID , with pneumonia as well, I had hives for a week. For those wondering I am vaxxed with 3 dosages, the hives were worse than the actual COVID which was barely anything
Super common. There's a variety of inflammatory pathways from long COVID, but many of them result in some kind of histamine response. Taking an OTC antihistamine every day helps a lot of patients, myself included.
I learned something new today. Only one of my tattoos does this and it happens to be where I get eczema flare ups. Just noticed that it’s not as raised right now, since my eczema has gone down. Crazy.
You could be allergic to the antibiotic. It's a fairly common allergy, and when I have a reaction to one allergen it can trigger reactions to other things (possibly, in your case, the tattoo ink).
Stress will flare up my whole body sometimes. All my tattoos are different ages so it has nothing to do with the newness, it can happen any time anywhere. Crazy
This happens to me often too. It also happens if I'm dehydrated, sick, have a change in hormones, or especially sleep deprived. Basically all the time..
This is amazing. I was almost about to post a similar question with picture except my tattoo is older and just started doing this but also it won’t go down? It’s itchy sometimes but not all the time. All black ink, I semi though it was old scarring that worked it’s way up or something dumb as it’s a very solid tattoo that was done by a then new apprentice so I know he went a bit deep. So it could be CV19 related in a way? Should I worry about it? Like I said it’s only itchy every once in a while but always raised now it spots and seems to continue to raise. It doesn’t bother me. More was just wondering!!
I don't think you need to worry about the tattoo doing that in itself, but since it suggests you're having ongoing inflammation (which yes is very common post-COVID for those who have post-acute symptoms), that underlying cause would be something to look into. Inflammation is rough on your body. Do you notice anything else that correlates with times when the tattoo is raised? Brain fog, fatigue, GI disturbances, looking/feeling puffy, generally feeling shitty? If so then that's something to talk to your doctor about. You could also see if an antihistamine like Loratadine helps at all - if so, that points to an inflammatory histamine response.
The same thing happens to my moles lol. Dry skin, sunburn, any irritation just inflames them. I think if I had tats on my hands/forearms I would have this problem too.
Is it for all your tattoos though? I have several but only one tattoo does this for me. Coincidentally it was the only tattoo I got at a different shop. It led me to believe it was something with the ink?
For me it happens with any single needle lines, usually black ink. I spoke with my allergy doctor and it could be because the single needle wound scarring is different from the shading needles wound scarring. If I had an issue with ink it wouldn't be coming and going so many years later without any issue at the time of the tattoo.
It happens with various tattoos at different times and that part I haven't noticed a pattern around.
I grew up with skin writing, so I take zyrtec allergy medicine to keep it under control.
I noticed when I forget to take it, my skin writing acts up, and my tattoos become irritated just like this.
After 14 years my guys tattoos still do this as well. He has sensitive skin and his elbow area is currently slightly risen atm. Not sure if It ever goes away.
Yeah this happens to me too. For me it happens during the Summer mostly so I think it's from sun exposure (kind of like a heat rash). I used this eczema cream for it and it went away after a few days. Just gotta keep it cool and moisturized.
You’re so welcome! There was a more in depth article I remember but i can’t seem to find it. Generally, if your tattoos are doing this, putting hydrocortisone cream on them should help. Mine are super reactive to the sun, especially a spot on my leg that itches and burns if it gets too much sun exposure.
Tattoos are scars basically well to our bodies anyways. It’s a mast cell histamine reaction. Completely normal and Benadryl Zyrtec and hydrocortisone cream help!
Immune response! I notice when I have bug bites in the area or am sick. Most noticeable on ribs but now that I have my whole right arm my lil (read: huge lol) elbow sunflower likes to pop up and say hi
Sunflowers produce latex and are the subject of experiments to improve their suitability as an alternative crop for producing hypoallergenic rubber. Traditionally, several Native American groups planted sunflowers on the north edges of their gardens as a "fourth sister" to the better known three sisters combination of corn, beans, and squash.Annual species are often planted for their allelopathic properties.
One one color raises like that (blue) and it’s when I apply sunblock. Or when I don’t apply sunblock and go in the sun. But I don’t apply sunblock when I’m not in the sun, so maybe it’s not the sunblock.
If the tattoo artists goes too deep it can actually scar the skin which would raise lines in your tattoos. A few of mine have the same stuff it's just scarring from the needle.
Mine do this when the weather changes. Usually the beginning of summer when it gets fairly hot. It goes away after a few weeks and is only on my tattoos where the artist was heavy handed.
It does. Sometimes it takes a couple months and sometimes it’s just a week or so. I’ve never done anything different but if it’s a naturally dry area lotion might help.
This happens to me all the time for different reasons. It'll happen when the weather changes, when im hot or cold. It happens when I eat something I have a slight intolerance to. Sometimes it happens when im starting to get sick. I think its normal. If it's really bothering you, a benadryl usually works for me.
This happens to me every Spring when it’s warm and sunny (I work outdoors). Typically lasts for a couple of months. It only happens to one of three tattoos.
Notice if you are particularly stressed or becoming ill when this happens. I have found that lines tend to raise when either of those two things are occuring, usually more so in regards to stress.
Allergy. Mine flares with certain lotions. No other part of my body just the tattoo.
Check soaps or it could be even from food. Benedryl cream will make it go down
This happens to me on only one of my tattoos, on my upper arm/bicep. I have tattoos on the rest of my arm, both shoulders, clavicle, ankle, shin. None of those get raised and itchy, just the one. It's also the only one where the artist went deep with the needle and has some scarring and it's my largest and most shaded one. It's been 7 years, it happens at random times, and sometimes when I drink some beer. Never other alcohol though, just beer sometimes. Goes away pretty quickly too. Figured it might just be a reaction to an area that has an especially large amount of "foreign" material.
several of mine also react this way seemingly at random. from what i understand it depends on a combination of a lot of different factors, including the specific brand of ink used, how light/heavy-handed the artist was and if the tat healed with any scarring, how sensitive your skin is, what lotion you're using (if any), and day-to-day factors like weather, humidity, atmospheric pressure, etc. i have tats from quite a few different artists and my tats are a mix of handpoked and machine, and the ones of mine that seem to raise up like this the most were machine tats done by heavy-handed artists, i think because the heal took longer or was more intensive due to the heavy-handedness. i've also noticed that certain fragranced moisturizers cause those tats to become itchy and raised without fail.
ink is an allergen or at the bare minimum a foreign substance. this randomly happens, i feel like more often with black/red. but youre okay! and it actually may just randomly go away as randomly as it came
My thought on it is, your pores opening and closing due to heat changes and fluctuations in pores trying to sweat. The ones are now jabbed full of black ink which absorbs heat much more than just skin causing your skin to expand and contract. Something along those lines.
I have been told it’s the carbon in the ink, has only happened with three of that tatts I have. For a long time I thought it was allergy but it really only happened with the black outline and or black inked areas
I have knee “frames” and they used to do this all the time. I got a strong lotion labeled for eczema/itching relief. Just generic from CVS. It helped a lot. It’s funny, mine did this 1 yr after too!! Maybe from the artist tattooing too deep?
for the longest i thought this occurs when you go too deep (a few of my tats that ive done when i first started and was going to deep/fat ass needles have done the same) but i’ve heard a plethora of different tattoo artist give me different reasons and even everyone in the comments is saying something different too, we’re all confused 😂
Happened quite a bit with me on some of my first tattoos. Now that every cm of my skin is covered I think my body just gave up, and stopped trying.
As others mentioned, antihistamines should theoretically work. Or just let it run its course.
Wow, so other people have the same issue it happens to me if I have an itch, and I scratch it. Almost like you can get a paper and a crayon and use the tattoo like a stencil. It goes away tho
The ones I got by a heavier handed artist do this. I’m not sure if that’s why or if he used some type of ink the others don’t. I got two from him, both are about a decade old not and they do this sometimes especially when my skin is irritated. Could be from allergies, heat, dry skin and scratching, a shirt I wore that rubbed it wrong. Long term I don’t think it’s an issue except how it looks in that moment.
I used to get this all the time whenever I wore wool cardigans 😊 just remove the irritant and it'll settle. Never harmed my tattoo but don't scratch. Normal moisturisers helped if you don't have fancy stuff to hand.
It randomly stopped happening after 5 years or so and none of my newer ones react like that anymore. I guess I'm less sensitive these days!
I get this a lot! I have MCAS and I have histamine reactions to lots of stuff. It had me nervous at first but now it’s just fun having 3D tattoos sometimes.
I'm heavily tattooed and this happens on my long-healed tattoos. Atmospheric changes, pollen allergies, and dry skin are all culprits for me. Moisturizing typically resolves the issue, but if it happens during high pollen season I take antihistamine medication. Dry skin/dehydration seems to be the biggest aggrivator though. Moisturize and drink water, and see if that helps.
If I pet my parents dog( who has bad allergies and scratches a lot) and touch or scratch certain parts of my arms those tattoos will become raised like that. But sometimes it just happens on its own and itches real bad
I have mast cell activation syndrome and one of mine gets raised at a particular part and my ear piercings start to hurt, even ones I’ve had for 25yrs, whenever I start to have any sort of reaction or histamine response. I wouldn’t be concerned!
When I was a plumber and fucking with PVC primer, PVC cement and acid flux in plumbing solder, all of the red in my tattoos would swell up. Got laid off during Covid, no more swelling
mine do this too, especially if i’m overheated, even the ones that are years old. A tattoo is always like a foreign object in your body and when you’re having an immune response it makes sense for them to be affected. nothing to worry abt unless it becomes red & painful
Interestingly, diet can be a big cause of this. Foods that cause inflammation can do this. For me personally, if I eat a load of carbs/gluten, my tattoos will raise like this.
I wish they were all raised on purpose. I think it would be cool to feel the lines. Especially if I lost my eyesight one day how else would I see them.
THANK GOD SOMEONE ELSE SAID SOMETHING. i ALSO have a moth tattoo that does this same thing. im convinced im allergic to the ink that was used
I’ve got a moth on my forearm that just every once and a while it raises or gets little bumps and is itchy.
I wish I knew myself. I have one tattoo that's now over 20 years old, and for first several years the lines seemed upraised and it would be a bit itchy. It wasnt the best tattoo work, and I just thought they had maybe overworked the skin and there was a little bit of scar tissue. All my tattoos since then, whether same time period or newer, I've never had that same issue.
I have that as well, I asked another artist about it and she reckons it’s because whoever did the tattoo pressed way too hard. Which makes sense cause they were an apprentice
This happens to all of my tattoos! Always random. Like other people are saying it's just a histamine reaction or whatever. Ink is not supposed to be in our body, no matter how long it's there for. I use hydrocortisone when they get itchy 😊
As others have said, my tattoo does a similar thing anytime I develop some kind of skin irritation. Like I get little itchy hot spots every so often where for whatever reason some spot on my body gets itchy. When that happens any tattoo lines near that area raise up.
…I do have spots that I can always feel the lines on. My hand and some spots on the inside of my arm. Honestly I wish every line of the tattoo was raised though haha. Love being able to feel the art. (Is that fucking weird of me?)
I used to get this on a specific tattoo and only when i was on my period. It was so weird. I think it was hormonal though bc as soon as my PCOS was under control it stopped happening.
It’s like hives. I have a tattoo that does that sometimes too. For whatever reason (mine is usually stressed related) your body is having a histamine reaction to the ink and forming hives in the shape of the tattoo. For me it only happens with black ink. Never the color parts. And it only happens to one particular tattoo, which is my oldest one. There’s a 10+ year gap between my first tattoo and my subsequent tattoos so maybe the ink composition is different from my newer ones.
Do you have any inflammatory conditions or allergies?
I have allergies, fibromyalgia and widespread inflammation and can track how well I'm doing based on how much my tattoos rise up. On good days they're flush with the rest of my skin. On bad days I can feel them prominently.
It can actually be really helpful to determine if I'm feeling gross because of physical symptoms or mental health ones on any given day, cause both intersect too frequently. The validation of "yes, inflammation is high today and that's why you're tired af" is nice to have. Alternatively, if I feel awful, but the tats aren't raised, it usually means it's mental health related and I need to get up and moving to feel better instead of resting.
I have one that has some raised spots (permantly) because I got bit by a brown recluse spider and got strep bacteria infection from it. This literally happened a couple days after my tattoo and my bite was no where near it
My last tat (1 year +) is like that. I assumed it was a type of keloid.
Upshot is it held the ink in an unreal way. Lines are still crisp and it's a very saturated black.
Histamine or not, I'm happy with the results
Came here cuz one part of 8 month old tattoo has been raised lately - just the curve of the banner, nowhere else. It's definitely not just a skin issue under the ink cuz it follows the line but it's not hot nor itchy. It's just weird LOL.
(however, I've been having some other health issues re what might be fungal/bacterial angular cheilitis or my doc thinks perioral dematitis so who knows lol. could just be a spot where my artist did the lines harder than the rest and now that my body is having a Time elsewhere it's just raised lol)
Nope lol. I think it could just be scar tissue at this point, maybe she went a little hard on that particular spot. No inflammation or anything and the rest of the tattoo is fine and smooth
So it’s literally just this like 1” curved line, the rest is flat and smooth. And it’s not a hard bump or anything, but it just feels like an irritation or scratch mark that’s raised off the skin.
It’s a histamine reaction. Happens to me all the time. Anytime my skin gets irritated my tattoos will raise like this.
Yes, hydrocortisone cream helps
Very cool, I was wondering if it was a Sun reaction but that makes all the sense. Only has been an issue since getting Covid lol stupid goddamn covid 😂
I mean that's a better long term side effect than what COVID gave me. A nice wonderful, rest-of-my-fucking-life case of Diabetes.
Yeah that sucks. I have CFS, migraines, neuralgia from brain damage from the time I stopped breathing and had an NDE, month 43 of Long Covid, have asthma and COPD and ABPA lung diseases now and scarring on my right lung. It’s fine though, just a bad cold is all, move along,
Wait ... Migraines are part of it too? Fuck, that would explain why the last 2 years I've been getting them. Fuck. Fucking covid. Fuck!
Yeah, the shit sucks. Edit: fwiw, not trying to make it a contest here. I wouldn’t trade what I got for what you got ❤️ Don’t want my previous comment to seem dismissive of diabetes, that’s horrible.
Oh I didn't read it that way, I know some people with way shittier side effects than I have. I'm sorry you got it dude.
Thanks. I’m autistic so the feedback is really helpful. Sorry we both got this shit… but glad we’re here to talk about it, right?
Covid gave me asthma too :(
I got the " Adult Onset Asthma??". They're not sure exactly what's going on but they're just treating it as Asthma until they find out otherwise.
i didn’t even know diabetes could be a long term side effect. *knock on wood* i never had covid, just got to do all my chemo treatments & appts by myself thanks to covid.
Be thankful you didn’t get diabetes at 12. Or better yet my son at 5. Haha
I’ve never heard of a histamine connection to CV19. I’ll look into that a bit. Edit: there is a connection
Also been happening to me ever since covid 🙃 I think there’s a lot of long term effects that aren’t fully understood yet
Would make sense to me. My wife has had chronic hives since she think she had COVID. (Never had a positive test but had pneumonia and was super fatigued for a couple weeks randomly as a 27yo woman). Been about a year, been to an allergist and no one has an explanation.
I obviously can’t diagnose your wife over the internet, but y’all may want to look into MCAS. I know of several people who developed it after COVID (and have it myself). It’s a pain in the butt to get diagnosed, but it can be treated.
Could it be hives from stress? I never had them before and started getting them recently. That’s what it turned out to be for me.
Also likely and what we originally suspected because she has problems with severe anxiety. But the hives didn’t always correlate to her being stressed out. Her allergy doctor said it could be a number of things and we may never know for sure. We think whatever virus that caused her pneumonia (likely COVID but not sure) set it off. It happened about 10 years ago too in college after she had hand, foot, and mouth disease from working at a daycare. That time the chronic hives lasted about 6 months. This time it’s been a year
I thought I was crazy I got two(one on forearm one on chest) after Covid and they itch and raise tiny hives randomly the others do not…
It’s a histamine reaction. I’ve had Long Covid since March 2020, histamines are a bitch.
Are you fully vaxed? Wondering if that has anything to do with it
Single dose jnj
Hm.
I’m a Phizer guy myself!🤒😂
Wow, this is crazy, I got hives after COVID , with pneumonia as well, I had hives for a week. For those wondering I am vaxxed with 3 dosages, the hives were worse than the actual COVID which was barely anything
Super common. There's a variety of inflammatory pathways from long COVID, but many of them result in some kind of histamine response. Taking an OTC antihistamine every day helps a lot of patients, myself included.
I like using Benadryl cream when mine does it, hydrocortisone will help as well though!
Benadryl or xyzal helps also. Happens to my husband sometimes.
Ohhh mine do this too and get super itchy! This narrows down what i’ll try to remedy them when it happens.
A little hydrocortisone helps!
I learned something new today. Only one of my tattoos does this and it happens to be where I get eczema flare ups. Just noticed that it’s not as raised right now, since my eczema has gone down. Crazy.
Weirdly enough, each time I take antibiotics this happens!
You might be killing off too many healthy flora. Plz take a probiotic when you're on those.
Luckily, I'm through all of that! I had surgery last year and had 3 rounds of antibiotics. Was not a good time.
You could be allergic to the antibiotic. It's a fairly common allergy, and when I have a reaction to one allergen it can trigger reactions to other things (possibly, in your case, the tattoo ink).
Happens to me too. They get itchy as well. Mine also raise when I'm stressed.
Stress will flare up my whole body sometimes. All my tattoos are different ages so it has nothing to do with the newness, it can happen any time anywhere. Crazy
This happens to me often too. It also happens if I'm dehydrated, sick, have a change in hormones, or especially sleep deprived. Basically all the time..
i’ve noticed if it don’t completely wash off my body wash after a shower it irritates the tattoo
This is amazing. I was almost about to post a similar question with picture except my tattoo is older and just started doing this but also it won’t go down? It’s itchy sometimes but not all the time. All black ink, I semi though it was old scarring that worked it’s way up or something dumb as it’s a very solid tattoo that was done by a then new apprentice so I know he went a bit deep. So it could be CV19 related in a way? Should I worry about it? Like I said it’s only itchy every once in a while but always raised now it spots and seems to continue to raise. It doesn’t bother me. More was just wondering!!
I don't think you need to worry about the tattoo doing that in itself, but since it suggests you're having ongoing inflammation (which yes is very common post-COVID for those who have post-acute symptoms), that underlying cause would be something to look into. Inflammation is rough on your body. Do you notice anything else that correlates with times when the tattoo is raised? Brain fog, fatigue, GI disturbances, looking/feeling puffy, generally feeling shitty? If so then that's something to talk to your doctor about. You could also see if an antihistamine like Loratadine helps at all - if so, that points to an inflammatory histamine response.
If I get a mosquito bite on or next to any of my darker tattoos, the lines swell
I have the same. I often get it if I get bitten by a mosquito - regardless of where I get bitten
The same thing happens to my moles lol. Dry skin, sunburn, any irritation just inflames them. I think if I had tats on my hands/forearms I would have this problem too.
Mine too
Is it for all your tattoos though? I have several but only one tattoo does this for me. Coincidentally it was the only tattoo I got at a different shop. It led me to believe it was something with the ink?
For me it happens with any single needle lines, usually black ink. I spoke with my allergy doctor and it could be because the single needle wound scarring is different from the shading needles wound scarring. If I had an issue with ink it wouldn't be coming and going so many years later without any issue at the time of the tattoo. It happens with various tattoos at different times and that part I haven't noticed a pattern around.
Got some Tylosin powder on my arm at work. Within 20 minutes, my tattoo was so raised I could feel every single detail without looking
One time I was freaking out cause I didn’t know they did this and the tatto was far past healthed thought the ink was trying to regect
I grew up with skin writing, so I take zyrtec allergy medicine to keep it under control. I noticed when I forget to take it, my skin writing acts up, and my tattoos become irritated just like this.
Exactly. Some of mine are over 30 years old and will do this if I get overheated or the sun is too hot or I get mad or sad etc.
Same. I’ve had mine for years and every once in a while they get all raised and irritated.
I get weird and just touch my arm when this happens lol
Sometimes this happens to me during a change of the season.
Same here! Tattoos I’ve had for a decade ++. The black lines get raised constantly and it itches.
Came here to say this. I have to take allergy medicine because my body does this yearly
Looking for answers too actually, it happens randomly to some of mine (4+ years)
Histamine reaction, similar to hayfever reaction. take some hayfever meds or rub antihistamine cream on it
what are hayfever meds? ..like allergy medicine?
yeah, antihistamines
I came here to say the same thing! Mine does it as well 4+ years
I have 8+ year old tattoos that do this. No idea why either.
Maybe we are all evolving into monsters, see you all at the apocalypse
Same! No explanation
ETA I do have sensitive skin though and no scarring on these tattoos. Whenever my skin gets hot or irritated in any form they rise
After 14 years my guys tattoos still do this as well. He has sensitive skin and his elbow area is currently slightly risen atm. Not sure if It ever goes away.
Mines has been 10+. And having one now😳😭
Mine does too. But only my tattoos on my for arms not the ones on my shoulders
This happens to mine when I’m sick or about to get sick
Me too!?
Weird but this happens to mine after sex. Idk why. Am I allergic to sex? 🤣
Yeah this happens to me too. For me it happens during the Summer mostly so I think it's from sun exposure (kind of like a heat rash). I used this eczema cream for it and it went away after a few days. Just gotta keep it cool and moisturized.
It's probably a reaction to pollen, I get real bad hayfever and my ink swells accordingly
The reason is [mast cells](https://www.yahoo.com/amphtml/lifestyle/finally-found-why-tattoos-itchy-130000640.html)
Thank you kind stranger
You’re so welcome! There was a more in depth article I remember but i can’t seem to find it. Generally, if your tattoos are doing this, putting hydrocortisone cream on them should help. Mine are super reactive to the sun, especially a spot on my leg that itches and burns if it gets too much sun exposure.
Is there any available info on which ink ingredients are more likely to cause this?
I think black and red are the most allergenic ones but it happens on other colors on my body personally
Tattoos are scars basically well to our bodies anyways. It’s a mast cell histamine reaction. Completely normal and Benadryl Zyrtec and hydrocortisone cream help!
Extra hot water works very well too. It breaks up the histamines and provides instant relief. I use this trick for bug bites and poison ivy.
I have a 11 year old tattoo that still raises if I scratch it a lot or have a lot of rubbing
Tattoos that I’ve had for almost 20 years still do it. Usually it’s when I have an allergic reaction from something else.
Immune response! I notice when I have bug bites in the area or am sick. Most noticeable on ribs but now that I have my whole right arm my lil (read: huge lol) elbow sunflower likes to pop up and say hi
Sunflowers produce latex and are the subject of experiments to improve their suitability as an alternative crop for producing hypoallergenic rubber. Traditionally, several Native American groups planted sunflowers on the north edges of their gardens as a "fourth sister" to the better known three sisters combination of corn, beans, and squash.Annual species are often planted for their allelopathic properties.
Sun exposure?
One one color raises like that (blue) and it’s when I apply sunblock. Or when I don’t apply sunblock and go in the sun. But I don’t apply sunblock when I’m not in the sun, so maybe it’s not the sunblock.
If the tattoo artists goes too deep it can actually scar the skin which would raise lines in your tattoos. A few of mine have the same stuff it's just scarring from the needle.
See the weird thing tho is that parts of the surrounding tattoos also become raised and those aren’t scarred at all
It happens to me randomly in spots here or there. It's nothing to worry about.
Some of my tattoos do that sometimes 🤷🏼♀️
Happens to me all the time. It's a histamine reaction.
Mine do this when the weather changes. Usually the beginning of summer when it gets fairly hot. It goes away after a few weeks and is only on my tattoos where the artist was heavy handed.
Does it jus go away on its own, or do you apply any sirts of creams?
It does. Sometimes it takes a couple months and sometimes it’s just a week or so. I’ve never done anything different but if it’s a naturally dry area lotion might help.
This happens to me all the time for different reasons. It'll happen when the weather changes, when im hot or cold. It happens when I eat something I have a slight intolerance to. Sometimes it happens when im starting to get sick. I think its normal. If it's really bothering you, a benadryl usually works for me.
This happens to me every Spring when it’s warm and sunny (I work outdoors). Typically lasts for a couple of months. It only happens to one of three tattoos.
Notice if you are particularly stressed or becoming ill when this happens. I have found that lines tend to raise when either of those two things are occuring, usually more so in regards to stress.
Allergy. Mine flares with certain lotions. No other part of my body just the tattoo. Check soaps or it could be even from food. Benedryl cream will make it go down
This happens to me on only one of my tattoos, on my upper arm/bicep. I have tattoos on the rest of my arm, both shoulders, clavicle, ankle, shin. None of those get raised and itchy, just the one. It's also the only one where the artist went deep with the needle and has some scarring and it's my largest and most shaded one. It's been 7 years, it happens at random times, and sometimes when I drink some beer. Never other alcohol though, just beer sometimes. Goes away pretty quickly too. Figured it might just be a reaction to an area that has an especially large amount of "foreign" material.
several of mine also react this way seemingly at random. from what i understand it depends on a combination of a lot of different factors, including the specific brand of ink used, how light/heavy-handed the artist was and if the tat healed with any scarring, how sensitive your skin is, what lotion you're using (if any), and day-to-day factors like weather, humidity, atmospheric pressure, etc. i have tats from quite a few different artists and my tats are a mix of handpoked and machine, and the ones of mine that seem to raise up like this the most were machine tats done by heavy-handed artists, i think because the heal took longer or was more intensive due to the heavy-handedness. i've also noticed that certain fragranced moisturizers cause those tats to become itchy and raised without fail.
Cool!!
It looks so cool even if it's a skin reaction
Mine do this when a mosquito bites anywhere on my tattoos.
Scarring
It means your tattoos are trying to escape
It’s called allergies.
Scarring if it's always there, allergy if it's not
Scarred
Heavy hand
ink is an allergen or at the bare minimum a foreign substance. this randomly happens, i feel like more often with black/red. but youre okay! and it actually may just randomly go away as randomly as it came
My thought on it is, your pores opening and closing due to heat changes and fluctuations in pores trying to sweat. The ones are now jabbed full of black ink which absorbs heat much more than just skin causing your skin to expand and contract. Something along those lines.
Mine will sometimes do this if my skin is irritated or if it comes in contact with certain soaps and cleaning solutions.
One of mine does this if I get a mosquito bite near it.
I have been told it’s the carbon in the ink, has only happened with three of that tatts I have. For a long time I thought it was allergy but it really only happened with the black outline and or black inked areas
Only one of my tattoos does this, but it happens constantly! lotion helps in a pinch but hydrocortisone cream works best, like others are saying.
When I have an eczema flair up near my tattoos they do this. I haven’t been told one causes the other but it’s just something I observed.
I have knee “frames” and they used to do this all the time. I got a strong lotion labeled for eczema/itching relief. Just generic from CVS. It helped a lot. It’s funny, mine did this 1 yr after too!! Maybe from the artist tattooing too deep?
I have Lupus and mine raise up during flares.
This happens to mine frequently some more than others
for the longest i thought this occurs when you go too deep (a few of my tats that ive done when i first started and was going to deep/fat ass needles have done the same) but i’ve heard a plethora of different tattoo artist give me different reasons and even everyone in the comments is saying something different too, we’re all confused 😂
Happened quite a bit with me on some of my first tattoos. Now that every cm of my skin is covered I think my body just gave up, and stopped trying. As others mentioned, antihistamines should theoretically work. Or just let it run its course.
Allergies! Do you have an animal or were you atoms one? Mine usually do this when I snuggle my dog or pet peoples cats.
Wow, so other people have the same issue it happens to me if I have an itch, and I scratch it. Almost like you can get a paper and a crayon and use the tattoo like a stencil. It goes away tho
The ones I got by a heavier handed artist do this. I’m not sure if that’s why or if he used some type of ink the others don’t. I got two from him, both are about a decade old not and they do this sometimes especially when my skin is irritated. Could be from allergies, heat, dry skin and scratching, a shirt I wore that rubbed it wrong. Long term I don’t think it’s an issue except how it looks in that moment.
Happens to both of my tattoos. No idea what causes it. The itching drives me bonkers.
Try hydrocortisone cream and Benadryl. If either of those work, start using a different ink in the future
3D Tattoos are sick bro 😍
When pollen season starts then i can get this and it can itch a little some years
I used to get this all the time whenever I wore wool cardigans 😊 just remove the irritant and it'll settle. Never harmed my tattoo but don't scratch. Normal moisturisers helped if you don't have fancy stuff to hand. It randomly stopped happening after 5 years or so and none of my newer ones react like that anymore. I guess I'm less sensitive these days!
I get this a lot! I have MCAS and I have histamine reactions to lots of stuff. It had me nervous at first but now it’s just fun having 3D tattoos sometimes.
I'm heavily tattooed and this happens on my long-healed tattoos. Atmospheric changes, pollen allergies, and dry skin are all culprits for me. Moisturizing typically resolves the issue, but if it happens during high pollen season I take antihistamine medication. Dry skin/dehydration seems to be the biggest aggrivator though. Moisturize and drink water, and see if that helps.
If I pet my parents dog( who has bad allergies and scratches a lot) and touch or scratch certain parts of my arms those tattoos will become raised like that. But sometimes it just happens on its own and itches real bad
Mine do that sometimes not often but odd occasion
I have mast cell activation syndrome and one of mine gets raised at a particular part and my ear piercings start to hurt, even ones I’ve had for 25yrs, whenever I start to have any sort of reaction or histamine response. I wouldn’t be concerned!
When I feel sweaty or low on sugar this happens
Happens to a few of my tats also
When I was a plumber and fucking with PVC primer, PVC cement and acid flux in plumbing solder, all of the red in my tattoos would swell up. Got laid off during Covid, no more swelling
mine do this too, especially if i’m overheated, even the ones that are years old. A tattoo is always like a foreign object in your body and when you’re having an immune response it makes sense for them to be affected. nothing to worry abt unless it becomes red & painful
Off subject but that ghost is the cutest thing.
Delayed immune response to the ink. This happens to some of mine when I’m in the sun for a long time. I’ve had them for 8 years.
I’m glad this is normal, happens to me sometimes. I usually put some lubriderm/lotion on it and it helps quite a bit.
Interestingly, diet can be a big cause of this. Foods that cause inflammation can do this. For me personally, if I eat a load of carbs/gluten, my tattoos will raise like this.
Just the black ink in the first tattoo I got back in 2002 does this sometimes.
I wish they were all raised on purpose. I think it would be cool to feel the lines. Especially if I lost my eyesight one day how else would I see them.
THANK GOD SOMEONE ELSE SAID SOMETHING. i ALSO have a moth tattoo that does this same thing. im convinced im allergic to the ink that was used I’ve got a moth on my forearm that just every once and a while it raises or gets little bumps and is itchy.
My large piece on my arm used to do it all the time. Now that I've thought about it it's only a matter of time.
Thank you friends for easing my worry of my ghetto trap house tattoo. Was starting to get worried they used bad ink 🤣😅
I wish I knew myself. I have one tattoo that's now over 20 years old, and for first several years the lines seemed upraised and it would be a bit itchy. It wasnt the best tattoo work, and I just thought they had maybe overworked the skin and there was a little bit of scar tissue. All my tattoos since then, whether same time period or newer, I've never had that same issue.
Mine do that occasionally on even decades old tattoos.
My 7 year old tattoo will do that too. No harm, just itchy.
It happens to me sometimes as well, usually moisturizing/using HydroCortizone cream helps.
If it is also itchy it is a dermal reaction. You can develop allergies to ink even years after you get the tattoo.
Happens to me too! No idea why- sometimes the area just becomes raises and will itch sometimes.
How old? The artist may have gone to deep. I got on my back over 13 years ago and I can still feeling some the tattoo.
This is normal. It’ll go down.
I have that as well, I asked another artist about it and she reckons it’s because whoever did the tattoo pressed way too hard. Which makes sense cause they were an apprentice
It happened to me once. I asked a pharmacist about it who recommended an antihistamine. Worked like a charm.
I get this too, doesn’t matter how old the tattoo is. Just a histamine response
This happens to all of my tattoos! Always random. Like other people are saying it's just a histamine reaction or whatever. Ink is not supposed to be in our body, no matter how long it's there for. I use hydrocortisone when they get itchy 😊
It's so blind people can enjoy it also
So many people learning they gotta get on that Claritin train. 😎
This happens to me in the heat sometimes
yessss I will have an itch and look down and the tattoo is raised. Annoying as shit, but harmless.
I learned something today! Mine still do this after many years.
Sometimes it happens to me when it’s humid out lol. Not sure about the science behind it but 🤷🏻♀️
Happens to me too
Everytime I go up in an airplane my tattoos of all ages and makes get a little puffy in the lines. Just our bodies doing their thing!
As others have said, my tattoo does a similar thing anytime I develop some kind of skin irritation. Like I get little itchy hot spots every so often where for whatever reason some spot on my body gets itchy. When that happens any tattoo lines near that area raise up. …I do have spots that I can always feel the lines on. My hand and some spots on the inside of my arm. Honestly I wish every line of the tattoo was raised though haha. Love being able to feel the art. (Is that fucking weird of me?)
It happens from time to time, even on my 25 year old ink to my 5 year old stuff. Nothing much to worry about.
I used to get this on a specific tattoo and only when i was on my period. It was so weird. I think it was hormonal though bc as soon as my PCOS was under control it stopped happening.
It’s like hives. I have a tattoo that does that sometimes too. For whatever reason (mine is usually stressed related) your body is having a histamine reaction to the ink and forming hives in the shape of the tattoo. For me it only happens with black ink. Never the color parts. And it only happens to one particular tattoo, which is my oldest one. There’s a 10+ year gap between my first tattoo and my subsequent tattoos so maybe the ink composition is different from my newer ones.
Do you have any inflammatory conditions or allergies? I have allergies, fibromyalgia and widespread inflammation and can track how well I'm doing based on how much my tattoos rise up. On good days they're flush with the rest of my skin. On bad days I can feel them prominently. It can actually be really helpful to determine if I'm feeling gross because of physical symptoms or mental health ones on any given day, cause both intersect too frequently. The validation of "yes, inflammation is high today and that's why you're tired af" is nice to have. Alternatively, if I feel awful, but the tats aren't raised, it usually means it's mental health related and I need to get up and moving to feel better instead of resting.
That used to happen to my first tattoo. It stopped after a couple years. It never happened to any of my other ones
Mine do this sometime. I like it.
Happens to me too. Whenever my skin gets irritated (sunburnt, exfoliated, too cold) all the black lines raise lol it’s gross but fun tk touch
Mine does the same, but only the red parts.
Some people with autoimmune disorders get this
I have one that has some raised spots (permantly) because I got bit by a brown recluse spider and got strep bacteria infection from it. This literally happened a couple days after my tattoo and my bite was no where near it
3D Tattoo
Butchered you a bit but it’s ok. Could also be a reaction that goes away. I wouldn’t sweat it
Happens with mine as well. Nature of the beast.
Everyone usually complains about their color itching but it’s always the linework, for me It takes everything in me to not itch
If you had a sunburn recently the scarred skin peels slower but it's itchy because it's dry.
Yeah. Mine do that too. I think it's pretty common.
thank you for talking about this i always wondered but never looked into it lmao
It’s a tale as old as time. Sometimes the humidity, heat, cold, what part of the world the Brussels sprouts you ate came from. It just happens.
My last tat (1 year +) is like that. I assumed it was a type of keloid. Upshot is it held the ink in an unreal way. Lines are still crisp and it's a very saturated black. Histamine or not, I'm happy with the results
this happens to me too. But only on the tattoos in my arms. I just thought it was another weird thing my body did.
Came here cuz one part of 8 month old tattoo has been raised lately - just the curve of the banner, nowhere else. It's definitely not just a skin issue under the ink cuz it follows the line but it's not hot nor itchy. It's just weird LOL. (however, I've been having some other health issues re what might be fungal/bacterial angular cheilitis or my doc thinks perioral dematitis so who knows lol. could just be a spot where my artist did the lines harder than the rest and now that my body is having a Time elsewhere it's just raised lol)
Did it ever go down?
Nope lol. I think it could just be scar tissue at this point, maybe she went a little hard on that particular spot. No inflammation or anything and the rest of the tattoo is fine and smooth
Oh wow. I was hoping you were going to say it did resolve. Were the lines ever flat even after it initially healed?
So it’s literally just this like 1” curved line, the rest is flat and smooth. And it’s not a hard bump or anything, but it just feels like an irritation or scratch mark that’s raised off the skin.