Worried about tattoo

[CultExciter]

I'm a big fan of putting a pillow case over the area and slapping the shit out of it.

- - - Updated - - -

I also just made a Firestorm reference in my office, no one got it...

[Fala]

Yes to the icing! Ice is the only thing that keeps me from scratching.

[GrayCatLove]

Wow. Okay.

When did you start getting tattooed?

It's funny how no one can give a decent response except for smart-ass bullshit.

Like I said previously.

You guys are perfectly happy trying to ruin ones reputation (one's livelihood), over something as simple as lack of after care instructions. Better yet, ever think, someone may have been having a bad day? Tattooers aren't machines, nor are they perfect. It is very possible.

Would you rather of had gotten a total SHIT tattoo, but the tattooer, held your hand, promised you everything would be okay and given you the aftercare sheet and ointment?

It happens. I would say 95% of the time you're going to have an awesome experience at a shop, but to give someone advice to just up and bounce on someone, after they did a great job, simply because they forgot, had something else going on in their head or at home or were distracted, to give you aftercare advice or an aftercare sheet and ointment is a little ridiculous. We're all grown-ups right? 18 and over? Ask quesions?

I don't even know why I'm bothering responding to this. Oh wait, I do know, it's my livelihood! I'm super pissed how eager some of you are to just write people off, OVER AFTER CARE! Not for doing a shit job, or being shitty, BUT FOR SIMPLY OVERLOOKING TO TELL YOU HOW TO TAKE CARE OF A TATTOO (especially in this day and age). It no longer matters how well one puts a tattoo on or how good everything is, it comes down to one fucking complaint about aftercare.

Rant over.

Oh, clearly I'm a n00b because I disagree that purveyors of services have legal responsibilities. (I've been getting tattoos for about a decade, not that it makes me more or less correct.) Yes, the client has a responsibility, just like someone who has a wound and gets out of the hospital has a responsibility to make sure they properly care for the wound and the person who buys and registers a car as a responsibility to demonstrate they can properly operate it. However, first, they have to have received proper information or they are not legally responsible.

These people aren't properly trained tattoo artists. They don't understand the anatomy of the skin. And trust me, people are going to agree with that, people like judges and juries. That's a bit extreme, but there's a reason why artists cover their butts.

- - - Updated - - -

Yeah to be honest i think my artist just forgot, his daughter just finished school and came in the shop as he was wrapping. i have got a smaller tattoo on my wrist but its just a signature, nothing like the piece of got on my arm now. i will have to post pics, thanks for all the advice that i have received though, appreciate it. tattoo is now peeling a little and itchy as fuck. feel like i need to get a garden rake and give it a good old scratch! (dont worry, i wont touch it)

While it's understandable, it's not excusable for him to forget. Accidents happen. No one's going to drop dead, but still, you should have received those instructions for the reasons others and myself have mentioned.

I hate the itchies. :( Like the others, some slapping does wonders. ;) (Your tattoo, not others.)

- - - Updated - - -

@Pleadco

Thanks for addressing this.

I won't keep my mouth shut, when people such as the aforementioned, including Ms. Luscious Inner Thigh Tattoos, piss on a working man, by thinking it's acceptable to ditch a tattooer SOLELY on the lack of giving out aftercare. I understand a "tattoo virgin's" anxiety in regards to how to take care of a fresh tattoo. I give it out freely, even to my clients that are heavily tattooed, I re-iterate it. My point, that was totally missed, was that shit happens. I wasn't there. None of us were there, but for some people out there to be so cavalier and nonchalant, 'meh, that's not professional, go somewhere else', is outrageous. Then to compare what goes on in the healthcare world/hospitals with the aftercare of a tattoo was down right retarded.

I'm not pissing on you. I'm not sure what I did to deserve your vitriol, but I'm not pissing on you as another professional. Tattoos are wounds. I don't think comparing it to healthcare is "retarded" at all. Even the most experienced collector needs to be reminded of proper care so that artist is protected and that tattoo can remain healthy and bright. I'm not ditching the tattooer or jumping on her. And you're not going to piss on me because you disagree or had a bad day or whatever. I'm not here to take your shit for my differing opinion, so knock it off.

[Graeme]

I haven't been getting tattooed for very long and I don't have a lot of tattoos so I don't think that my opinion carries much weight, and nor should it, but can we have a bit of outlaw spirit in tattooing still please? It's cool that the people here for the most part are pretty average people with regular jobs, families, and lives and that the one badass thing we do is get tattooed, and while I can't speak for everybody here, I at least would like it if this part of my life could be removed from the realm of legal responsibilities and obligations and the rest of that dreary world. Take some fucking responsibility for your own actions. If you have any questions about aftercare, especially when you're getting your first tattoo, TALK WITH YOUR ARTIST ABOUT IT THEN AND THERE. Don't wait to be handed a printed out sheet of aftercare advice and then moan about it on the internet when you don't receive one.

[bulldog]

If I was tattooing someone's first tattoo I would be fully aware of that and offer advice, that's because I am a nice person and treat people like I like to be treated.

[CultExciter]

If you must be a bear, be a grizzly.

[smiling.politely]

@GrayCatLove

I'm amazed you'd call something like this reason for leaving a tattooer compared to the fellow in the "Worst Tattoo Customer" thread (or whatever it was called). Trust me, forgetting an aftercare talk is far more forgivable that what that fellow was doing to his customer. There is a glaring difference between the two.

And perhaps the tattooer assumed that since the person who started this thread had a smaller tattoo on the wrist, that they'd remember that bit of instructions, especially if it was recent. I've not been given aftercare instructions since my first tattoo, actually. I do have a lot on my arms, and lots from a small group of people, but by that equation I shouldn't have been tattooed by the person who gave me a job scrubbing toilets to earn an apprenticeship more than once. Or any tattooer that I've been back to, for that matter.

And while paperwork in my state includes a little walk through about the basic issues one could have, and you fill that out pre-tattoo, i'd imagine one in five hundred reads the release in full, having watched a few thousand copies of that paperwork get filled out.

[Hospitelli]

I'd imagine that if people decided to leave an artist simply because after care instructions were not given that a lot of prominent and well respected artists would be out a ton of customers. I know I've only been verbally told about how to care for a tattoo once and that was when I got my first one. Also, if an artist sees that you are heavily tattooed I doubt your going to get the spiel about how to care for it seeing how you have done this before.

With that being said if you are worried about how to heal or the current state of your new tattoo is it that hard to contact the shop and or artist about your situation? I'm sure if you did that they wouldn't hesitate to give you further instruction and or even tell you to come down so that they can take a look at it. In all honesty, that is the best thing you could of and should of done.

[RoryQ]

Take some fucking responsibility for your own actions. If you have any questions about aftercare, especially when you're getting your first tattoo, TALK WITH YOUR ARTIST ABOUT IT THEN AND THERE. Don't wait to be handed a printed out sheet of aftercare advice and then moan about it on the internet when you don't receive one.

This, and also what Dave Borjes said: If you're an adult you should be capable of asking a question or picking up the phone like an adult (not a dig at the OP, btw, she did contact her artist one way or another).

Sure, it's good for a shop to make sure the clients knows about aftercare- that's beyond dispute. But it should also be a given that people have a responsibility to make it their own, and speak up themselves if they're in the dark. After all, it's even free...

The idea that tattooists better watch out and ensure they do enough hand-holding with their hapless clients, or else those clients are going to lawyer up...well, there may be people this stupidly litigious out there, but they should have to wear badges so that people providing a service in good faith can avoid them.

[GrayCatLove]

Just like a "frequent flyer" at the ER, frequency does not guarantee good judgment. No matter what our professions, we must protect ourselves from morons, because guess whose side is usually taken?

@GrayCatLove

I'm amazed you'd call something like this reason for leaving a tattooer compared to the fellow in the "Worst Tattoo Customer" thread (or whatever it was called). Trust me, forgetting an aftercare talk is far more forgivable that what that fellow was doing to his customer. There is a glaring difference between the two.

And perhaps the tattooer assumed that since the person who started this thread had a smaller tattoo on the wrist, that they'd remember that bit of instructions, especially if it was recent. I've not been given aftercare instructions since my first tattoo, actually. I do have a lot on my arms, and lots from a small group of people, but by that equation I shouldn't have been tattooed by the person who gave me a job scrubbing toilets to earn an apprenticeship more than once. Or any tattooer that I've been back to, for that matter.

And while paperwork in my state includes a little walk through about the basic issues one could have, and you fill that out pre-tattoo, i'd imagine one in five hundred reads the release in full, having watched a few thousand copies of that paperwork get filled out.

- - - Updated - - -

I agree people should be able to look after a tattoo without being told not to do obviously dumb things. However, my point was, when you are essentially creating a wound best bet is to cover your butt.

This, and also what Dave Borjes said: If you're an adult you should be capable of asking a question or picking up the phone like an adult (not a dig at the OP, btw, she did contact her artist one way or another).

Sure, it's good for a shop to make sure the clients knows about aftercare- that's beyond dispute. But it should also be a given that people have a responsibility to make it their own, and speak up themselves if they're in the dark. After all, it's even free...

The idea that tattooists better watch out and ensure they do enough hand-holding with their hapless clients, or else those clients are going to lawyer up...well, there may be people this stupidly litigious out there, but they should have to wear badges so that people providing a service in good faith can avoid them.

- - - Updated - - -[/i]

@daveborjes Your personal attacks, sexism, and incorrect assumptions warrant no further reply from me. You seem to be a respected person here, but I'm not going to extend the olive branch for disagreement.

[RoryQ]

[CultExciter]

Amazing @RoryQ

[deadsp0t]

@GrayCatLove I don't want to be your friend' date=' I just want you to realize that your way of thinking is a little off in certain regards. Originally, my rant wasn't aimed at you, until you jumped into unfamiliar waters with someone who is extremely passionate about what they do. The two original "offenders" clammed up and haven't been heard from since. Where'd they go with their logical way of thinking? I doubt I'm well respected around here. Look at my post count. I'll go back to watching, reading and "liking" now.[/quote']

As one of the 'original offenders' I see no point in continuing to bicker. I stated my opinion and that's that.

Anyone is entitled to an opinion, you, me, anyone else who posted one.

Clearly some of us do not feel the need to rant and rave about ours. As you've pointed out, you're a tattoo artist and it's completely understandable why you feel so strongly about your beliefs and opinions in regard to anything tattoo related and I'm personally not going to fault or insult you or your profession by arguing about an opinion based subject, because that's what this is.

Like stated, no one has called out any artist(s), and as far as I can tell we are speaking in general terms.

[deadsp0t]

*Smashes head into keyboard. Walks away for coffee.*

Maybe you'll find someone to argue with you at the coffee shop.

:rolleyes:

[JAllen]

And you're not going to piss on me because you disagree or had a bad day or whatever. I'm not here to take your shit for my differing opinion, so knock it off.

I think the comment quoted below is what prompted a response that may have seemed less than friendly. If you see someone is expressing themselves in a manner that is passionate or you notice that they seem to be already "hostile" and you throw sarcasm into your opinion, just about anyone will not handle you with kid gloves. That's not a forum only situation.

"Agreed. You know what else is bullshit? Hospital discharge instructions and lemon laws. I mean, buyer beware. Purveyors of goods and services have no social responsibility to ensure the client's well-being once the transaction is over. Good business practice is for pussies"

[smiling.politely]

Anyone here know of a tattooer that's been sued for malpractice? I'm unsure it's happened, but with the number of people we have here, and the combined years of experience and knowledge that's floating around, I'd be interested to know. Because the fact of the matter is a medical release for a hospital and a tattoo release form are wildly different, period. A tattoo isn't an appendectomy. I'm sure there are states where paperwork and care and such are actually not legally required, based on what I know about many states' lax licensing laws. In terms of what's legally required for people in a tattoo shop to do for their clients, there's no national legal standard overall, and I'd imagine that if you went from state to state where licensing is more strict, you'd still find heavy variances between what's required.

I came into this forum originally asking questions and saying things about which I probably had no right to in a lot of ways, I was treated pretty roughly (far more than anyone in this thread is), and it made me think that I should look at myself and level of knowledge, look at others' level of knowledge, and assess my right to blab away. In almost two years here, I have hardly posted as a result of that. I've been around tattooing literally my entire life... I spent a great deal of my early youth with my parents while they got tattooed in a shop operated by white supremacists and bikers while my father tried to keep the guy that ran the place out of trouble/jail... and realized that I didn't know enough to have an opinion that mattered yet. Still not sure that my opinion matters on a lot of things yet, but I try my best every day to learn.

EDIT: for the sake of clarification, neither of my parents were white supremacists. However, in the days of tattooing being illegal, you couldn't be too picky if you wanted a good tattoo. If a guy had a sucky personality, you just had to learn to keep your mouth shut, or not get tattooed.

[Hogrider]

. The two original "offenders" clammed up and haven't been heard from since.

Where'd they go with their logical way of thinking?

I don't know about the other 'offenders' but I believe that the quote from Mark Twain can give my reason for not engaging in your name calling far more eloquently than I ever could.

“Never argue with a fool, onlookers may not be able to tell the difference.”

― Mark Twain

Civility is one of the big things that separates this forum from the others.

[Hogrider]

Wow. You've read a book. I'm impressed.

Thanks! If you really put your mind to it, may you will be able to some day ... I mean one without pictures.

[gougetheeyes]

@daveborjes and @Hogrider shut this shit down already.