Gross Tattoo

My husband is getting a tattoo to cover an old tattoo. He got the outline done and some of the coloring done when they had to stop because he was bleeding too much and the color wasn't taking. It has been healing pretty good except for the colored in places. One is really bad and it looks like all the color is gone and there is a meaty hole in his arm the shape of the part of the tattoo. What do I need to do to fix this and prevent it from happening again. Thanks

Was it a pro artist or someone who KNEW what they were doing, sounds to me like a number of things could of happened.

There are a number of things that can interfere with the healing of a tattoo. Of course, definitely, yes, double-check with the artist and see if anyone else has had similar problems. Could be bad ink, could be a broken autoclave. o.O But, it could also be that your husband was already developing some kind of systemic infection (a flu bug or cold, for instance), might have a previously-low-key allergic reaction to the soap or surgical scrub used prior to the tattooing, or the scrub was not completely removed prior to the tattooing. Soap or scrub getting into an open wound is rough enough as it is, considering that they are mildly caustic, and an allergy to them exacerbates this. Also, you want to make VERY sure that the soap you're using at home is not the "anti-bacterial" kind (dries out the tattoo and skin, plus reduces native immunological responses), that there's no body sprays or anything getting onto the tatoo, and that you are absolutely NOT, under ANY circumstances, using Bacitracin or any other antibiotic ointment. It may SEEM like a good idea, but your BODY is the thing that has to heal the tattoo - not ointments. To heal it up, you might want to try good ol' fashioned witch hazel (antiseptic), keep it clean, and if it appears to be developing a more serious infection, take some Una de Gato (Cat's Claw) herbal capsules (1 to 2, three times a day, for a week to ten days). And, of course, if it gets REALLY serious, hi thee to a doctor.