My Tattoo Is A Month Old, But It Is Still Raised? Is This Normal?

The very first thing I would recommend to those of you looking to get a new tattoo is to plain and simply not listen to what your friends say about their process.

I had so many varying answers to my questions regarding the level of pain when it comes to getting a tattoo for the first time. Some described it as unbearable, others stated it was relaxing, and some said it felt like being stung by a hive of angry bees.

For me though, it felt like someone running their fingernail across my skin. I barely felt it. Does this mean that will be your experience as well? Definitely not.

The same went for when my new tattoo was healing, that unbearable demonic itch everyone else said they experienced seemed to skip me over. Perhaps I got lucky?

I was beginning to think something was wrong with my tattoo, when in fact this was normal, it was just how my body was healing my tattoo.

However one thing that alarmed me was when I noticed that my tattoo was fully healed a month later, that it was still raised on the outline. The rest of the tattoo healed fine, and felt smooth to the touch, however the outline never seemed to go down.

Instead of jumping the gun and blaming my tattoo artist, I looked into the other possible reasons for why this happened to me, and not to others.

There are many reasons, the artist could have had a heavy hand, or worked the area too much and the raised outline is scar tissue that healed that way. It could also be a reaction to the ink, or just the way your body heals to a deep cut.

Is it normal though?

Yes, a raised tattoo is actually relatively common, and normal. In fact I prefer my tattoo to have this raised effect as it looks unique this way, almost like branding.

Raising also occurs randomly to smooth tattoos temporarily. Some experience some raising in warm water, or in the sun. Like a permanently raised tattoo, having temporary raised areas on your tattoo is also normal.