foot tattoo troubles

I just got my 3rd tattoo a week ago. I got a tattoo on the side of my right foot below my ankle bone to my pinkie toe. I don't know if I had a bad artist do the tat but it hurt really really bad. I could barley walk on it. So now a week later it's still swollen and red the colors are running and it looks like shit. I'm peeling really bad and lossing colors out of the tattoo. I've done everything that I did with my other tattoos, this on sucks..... Any suggestions?

I've been having a piece put on both of my feet over the last month. We've done three 5 hour sessions so far. I have other tattoos, and there is a HUGE difference in the way the foot takes ink, and the way it heals. The closer to the sole of the foot the work is, the longer it is likely to take to heal, and also the more likely it is to need to be touched up. Because of the way the skin in that area is designed, or has evolved (take your pick), it has a tendency to want to eject any foreign substance/objects by regenerating at a faster rate and bringing deeper layers of skin to the surface along with any objectionable material. I've noticed that most of the lines nearest the soles of my feet are still healing a month after being applied. Some lines are clearly going to have to be touched up, or redone completely because they just didn't take the first time. TAz said it best, it's the nature of the beast! The swelling is to be expected, and I've found to progress over the course of the first week, shrinking at night, and increasing with activity throughout the day, especially across the top and in the ankle region. By about the fourth or fifth day, it would seem to be a matter of concern, only to then begin subsiding by the second week. Give it some time. A lot of what you see right now isn't what the tattoo will ultimately look like, especially if it's on the side of your foot. And expect that in order to keep it looking good, you will need occasional touch ups. Good Luck! TCE

Thanks for covering that one Tim!!

No problem, I owe you that one for stirring up shit everywhere else! LOL!!!