Lip Tattooing Swelling: Causes, Quick Remedies

1. Lip Swelling Phenomenon After Tattooing

Swollen lips after tattooing is normal, so you don’t need to worry too much if you experience this condition. After the tattooing, the lips often feel dry and tight. This is the natural reaction of the lips when new cells begin to regenerate. Old cells will be pushed out, causing a feeling of tightness. When cell connections are broken, peeling patches of varying sizes will appear depending on the individual’s skin type. After a few days, these peeling patches will fall off by themselves and reveal the fresh skin underneath. At this time, the lip color will gradually appear as desired.

2. Causes of Lip Swelling After Tattooing

As mentioned, swelling of the lips after tattooing is a fairly common phenomenon. However, if the swelling lasts more than a week, this may indicate that your lips have been infected, allergic to the ink, or have sustained serious injuries due to outdated tattooing methods. Below are some potential causes that can lead to prolonged swelling after lip tattooing.

2.1. Tattoo Technique and Technician's Skill

Lip tattooing is a beauty method that requires high skill from the technician. Controlling the needle needs to be very delicate to avoid damaging the lip skin structure. If the technician lacks experience, they may create uneven needle lines, and if the pressure is too strong, the needle will penetrate deeply into the epidermis, causing serious wounds that lead to swelling, infection, pain, etc. Furthermore, poorly skilled technicians may cause uneven color on the lips and not achieve the desired tone of the client.

2.2. Body Reaction

Your body type is an important factor affecting the lip tattooing process and results afterward. As mentioned, the duration of swelling can vary from person to person, lasting from 2-3 days to 7 days. Those with benign constitutions often recover faster, while those with sensitive skin are at higher risk of complications.

2.3. Quality of Tattoo Ink

Poor-quality ink is one of the main reasons leading to the phenomenon of swollen lips for a few days. Many types of tattoo inks on the market contain high levels of metals and harmful substances, which can cause allergies to the lips. Using these products not only harms the lips but can also negatively affect health.

2.4. Improper Care

Neglecting to clean the lips and skipping post-tattoo care is also a reason for swollen lips after tattooing, and can lead to other complications. Moreover, during the care process, if you are careless or make mistakes, do not strictly refrain from certain activities, and do not maintain hygiene in the lip area, the lips will swell, persist in pain, and even become pus-filled, infected, and form unsightly scars.

2.5. Pre-existing Lip Infection

The body can be infected with certain types of bacteria, which may compromise the immune system. After tattooing, these bacteria can proliferate, hindering the body’s healing ability. As a result, the lips will exhibit swelling, inflammation, and a sensation of pain.

3. How to Handle and Reduce Lip Swelling After Tattooing

Although swollen lips after tattooing is a common phenomenon, it also causes many women to worry when encountering it. Don’t worry too much because Aura will guide you on how to effectively reduce lip swelling right below:

3.1. Cold Compress

According to beauty experts, using ice is the most effective way to address swollen lips after tattooing. The cold temperature helps reduce swelling, soothes pain after tattooing, and promotes better blood flow for a more even lip color. Remember to wrap the ice in a thin cloth to protect the lip skin, avoiding direct contact with water. You should press gently to avoid further irritation of the lips, preventing increased swelling.

3.2. Use Specialized Lip Balm

High-moisture products that contain coconut oil, shea butter, or vitamin E provide nutrients to the lips, helping to soften, shine, and enhance the color of the lips. In addition, products containing antioxidants help the lips quickly regenerate skin cells and protect the skin from the harmful effects of sunlight.

You can apply lip balm multiple times a day, especially the most ideal time is before bed. While applying the balm, gently massage to help the nutrients penetrate deeper into the lips. Currently, there are many types of lip balms on the market with diverse ingredients. To avoid purchasing poor-quality products, you should consult experts and learn how to choose the most suitable lip balm.

3.3. Correct Diet

If you don’t want swollen lips after tattooing, you need to adjust your diet. The post-tattoo diet is essential and directly affects the swelling condition. Accordingly, you should change your diet with mineral-rich foods that can help reduce lip swelling, such as nuts, salmon, tuna, olive oil, and fruits like pineapple, tomatoes, carrots, etc.

3.4. Use Anti-inflammatory and Antibiotic Medications (if necessary)

If the swelling of the lips persists, you may consider using over-the-counter pain relievers along with topical medications. However, before using pain relievers, you should consult a doctor for advice on the safest and most effective medications for the lip area. Acyclovir and Alpha Choay are two recommended oral medications to help reduce swelling quickly.

3.5. Gentle Exercises for the Lips

During the period of swollen lips after tattooing, you can perform a gentle exercise for the lips. This exercise helps increase blood flow to the lips, giving you healthy lips with a naturally rosy color. The steps are very simple as follows:

• Open your mouth slightly so the upper and lower lips are relaxed.

• Then push the lower lip forward until it touches the upper lip.

• Purse the upper and lower lips into your mouth with moderate pressure, then relax and repeat the first step.

4. How to Prevent Lip Swelling After Tattooing

If you do not want swollen lips after tattooing, you need to take preventive measures before getting the tattoo. Below, Aura will share tips to help you reduce the risk of swollen lips after tattooing.

4.1. Choose a Reputable Establishment

To avoid swollen lips after tattooing, you need to choose reputable, quality establishments that meet standards:

• High quality and reliability: places with proprietary technology, developed through years of research, will offer higher reliability than mass-market technologies.

• Advanced Technology: modern technology will ensure you receive the best tattoo results with the lowest risk.

• Personalized Services: listen to the requests and desires of customers to provide the most suitable final results.

• Reviews from Previous Customers: feedback from previous customers will give you a more realistic perspective of the tattoo establishment.

4.2. Research the Technician

Choosing the right technician with high expertise will help minimize the chances of lip swelling. Thus, the tattoo technician needs to meet the following criteria:

• Knowledge of lips and facial contours: lips are an important part of the overall appearance of the face. Therefore, the technician needs to have deep knowledge of the lip structure, facial shapes, and the impact of lips on overall appearance. By calculating carefully the proportions, contours, colors, and other factors, the technician will create a lip shape that harmonizes with the overall face for the customer.

• Proficient in Lip Tattoo Techniques: the techniques include depth, pressure, and methods that the technician needs to master to create beautiful and balanced lip contours, ensuring a smooth and painless tattooing process for clients.

• Personal Analysis: they need to listen and understand the desires of the customers to create the most suitable results.

• Ensure Health Safety: they need to have knowledge, as well as prevention measures and risks for their clients.

• Many Years of Experience: experienced technicians will know how to adjust and handle difficult issues to achieve the best results.

4.3. Pre-Tattoo Care

To avoid swollen lips after tattooing, the process of caring for the lips before tattooing is just as important as after tattooing. You need to:

• Provide Moisture for the Lips: To avoid pain when tattooing the lips, you need to ensure the lips are adequately moisturized. Drink plenty of water and moisturize the lips before tattooing to facilitate the process and allow the ink to adhere better.

• Do Not Wear Lipstick: To ensure the best tattoo results, avoid applying makeup to the lips before the procedure. Even after cleaning, the tattoo ink may still come into contact with residual lipsticks or cosmetics, leading to unintended irritation.

• Eat Healthily: substances with high stimulant levels in the blood can affect blood circulation, causing the lips to color unevenly or become blotchy. To avoid irritation and ensure the best tattoo results, temporarily stop these substances.

4.4. Post-Tattoo Care

The process of cleaning the lips after tattooing is extremely important as it will determine the healing ability of the lips and reduce the condition of swollen lips after tattooing. Therefore, you should make sure to do it correctly as follows:

• Preparation: Clean cotton or clean makeup remover pads and warm saline solution (0.9% NaCl).

• How to Perform: Use a cotton pad or medical cotton soaked in warm saline, then gently wipe it over the lip area. Next, use another cotton pad to dry the lips. Note not to rub too hard, as this may cause the lips to swell and hurt more.

• Frequency of Cleaning: It is advisable to clean the lips 2 to 3 times a day to ensure cleanliness.

Additionally, you should protect the lips from external factors such as sunlight, dust, and bacteria. At the same time, establish a reasonable diet. It should include foods rich in minerals and vitamins such as:

• Milk: Milk contains many nutrients such as protein, carbohydrates, various vitamins and minerals that not only provide energy but also help keep the lips hydrated, soft, and more beautiful in color.

• Fruits: fruits like tomatoes, oranges, and pineapples are incredibly rich in vitamin C that will help boost your immunity and keep your lips looking vibrant.

• Water: Drinking plenty of water every day will help keep the lips hydrated, avoiding peeling and cracking.

• Other Foods: nuts, avocados, salmon, tuna, sardines, olive oil, peanuts, flaxseeds, chia seeds, and sesame seeds, tea flowers have excellent anti-inflammatory properties.

5. Normal Lip Swelling Time and When to See a Doctor

The level of swelling of the lips after tattooing depends on the individual. Typically, the condition of swollen lips after tattooing occurs a few hours after the tattooing, and this condition will gradually decrease after 2-3 days for most people. However, some cases may take 5-7 days for the swelling to completely subside, or even extend beyond a week without any sign of improvement. In this situation, the lips may have become infected, and you should see a doctor for examination, diagnosis, and appropriate treatment.

6. Notes During Post-Tattoo Care

In the 2-3 days after tattooing, if the lips are not cleaned properly, it can lead to infection and increase the risk of side effects. Below are some things you need to be cautious about during the lip tattooing process to avoid swelling or infection:

• Avoid exposing the lips to water

• Use clean cotton to absorb any discharge (if any)

• Do not frequently touch the lips

• Wear a mask whenever going outside to protect the lips

Moreover, to help the lips heal quickly and maintain beautiful color, you also need to pay attention to the following daily diet:

• Avoid using alcohol and other stimulants.

• Avoid foods that have strong colors, as they will affect the color of the lips after tattooing.

7. Frequently Asked Questions About Lip Swelling After Tattooing

It can be said that swelling of the lips after tattooing is a timeless concern for women. Now, Aura’s experts will answer the most common questions about this condition.

7.1. How long will lip swelling last?

Typically, after lip tattooing, you may notice mild swelling, but this condition will subside on its own within 1-2 days. There are also cases where there is no swelling after the procedure.

7.2. What medications help reduce swelling after lip tattooing?

The use of antibiotics for swollen lips after tattooing needs to depend on the actual situation. However, in most lip tattoo cases, doctors usually prescribe certain medications to support healing and reduce the risk of infection.

• Alpha Choay: is an anti-inflammatory medication in tablet form, suitable for all subjects. Alpha Choay helps block and reduce symptoms such as swelling, edema, and infection after tattooing. The medication can be taken orally or dissolved under the tongue, depending on the doctor's instructions and intended use.

• Cephalexin: This is a common antibiotic in prescriptions after lip tattooing, helping to improve infection and skin bacteria symptoms.

• Acyclovir: Acyclovir comes in many forms such as tablets, topical ointments, or injections, used to reduce the risk of wound ulceration and pain. However, the drug may cause side effects such as seizures, painful urination, and hallucinations if abused or taken without a doctor's prescription.

7.3. What foods should be avoided to prevent increasing lip swelling after tattooing?

After lip tattooing, if you do not want swollen lips, you need to avoid foods such as:

• Chicken, beef, duck: Eating these types of meat after lip tattooing may increase the risk of discoloration and scarring. It is advisable to avoid them for 1-2 weeks to help the lips develop beautiful color.

• Sticky foods: Foods like sticky rice and Banh Chung can cause lip swelling, so avoid them for the first month.

• Water spinach: Containing folate, water spinach can slow recovery and cause mild swelling, so it should be avoided until the lips have fully healed.

• Seafood and greasy foods: Also increase the risk of swelling and slow recovery, so avoid them for 3-4 weeks.

• Jackfruit, durian: These strong-smelling fruits can cause inflammation, so avoid eating after lip tattooing.

Through the above article, Aura has helped you understand why swollen lips after tattooing, as well as solutions to reduce swelling and prevent swelling after lip tattooing. With the shared information, Aura hopes you will gain more useful information in taking care of your lips before, during, and after tattooing, thus achieving the most satisfying lip color.