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Kahlil in March.... then I'll slow donw right..?

while you're at the pharmacy pickup some soap like I pictured below, and don't forget to wash it & keep it clean ! from day one after getting a tattoo & every 4 hours for the first 10 days I use an over the counter anti-microbial soap,I wash my hands in warm water first with it then I wash the tattoo under warm water and "scrub" the tattoo with the palm of my hand ,then pat dry it with a clean paper towel and then a light application of aveeno, also,moderate "scrubbing" with the palm of your hand in the soapy warm water will help remove loose flakes and ink and skin. be sure and get the fragrance free Aveeno,it has less alcohol in it .

Okey! I'll check the store/pharmacy for Aveeno first thing tomorrow!

I used the same approach as Dan on both my tattoos. For my first tattoo, I over-applied a bit myself and started to see some early signs of blistering in some places - immediately reduced the application making sure I was using just a very light coating after showering in the morning and at night when I went to bed. That solved the problem. And, following that regimen for my second was very successful and easy. @oboogie, like @Dan, has tremendous experience so you have two options from very knowledgeable people.

try a non "tattoo" product,IMO they are over priced hyped up crap. I use Aveeno Fragrance free,it's so good,a light coat once or twice a day works great,I use it also as an on going forever daily product on my hands and tattoos.

Here's last month's work, finally healed. By Randy Muller at Eyecandy in New Orleans: Tomorrow we finish up the inside.

Let me try again.

I too can attest to the magic of Aveeno fragrance free Seriously that stuff works great and I don't use anything else. You only need a small amount of it though.

I would recommend staying away from ointments at this point all together. If you're going to put anything on it, get the fragrance free Aveeno as Dan recommended. I used that as well and still do...every day...to moisturize my skin. At this point, though, your skin needs air to heal. So, use just a little and blot off any excess with a fresh paper towel.

Really appreciate that you guys are taking the time to help me! I think I'll try dry healing it, and if it gets REALLY dry at some point I'll just add a little bit of ointment. Does that sound like a good plan?

Yeah, you were definitely touching it to much/over-moisturizing. I'd almost suggest trying a dry heal at this point. It'll be alright. Just hang in there.

a F***-off eagle up above, an up-yours eagle down below. backstop with crimson red. with fire. lots of fire! cause i wished i had got more fire all over before i filled up. now i have to live vicariously through strangers on the internet ! cheers

@SStu That skull flower is insanely cool and gorgeous.

I have one last session to go on my back,I already had tattoos on my chest/stomach, two sleeves, legs, feet, hands, fingers and neck so ok with the pain. Ive been waiting ages to get my back done as i couldn't decide what to get or who to do it but anyway i found a guy and an idea and away i went. First session was just outline and it was tough, i realised that the back was comparable to my stomach/chest/feet Second session was black and some color on shoulder blades....this session was a bit easier as i knew what to expect, sat for 6 hours felt crap after Third session blasted it for 6 hours with not much left to do...I found the top of my back the absolute worse. here it is so far roughy 15 hours of actual tattoo time. its worth it but it does hurt and itches loads but looks badass and makes you look fully sick and the disco.

Hi, I currently have a rose on my left upper arm, and I am interested in getting a peony tattooed on the other arm (upper right). Below, is the Instagram picture of the rose: I was wondering if anyone knew of good artists who specialized in peonies; I envision the peony to be approximately the same size as the rose. Any tips or advice is appreciated! Thank you!

Hi, guys I'm new here and am currently saving up for my first tattoo. (goes slowly but I'm getting there $ by $) After carrying an idea in my head for years and then finally deciding on style I began looking for an artist. I ended up finding not one but two artists that happened to work together I was ecstatic...until one decided to start his own shop.. in another country. I also discovered a third artist who seems to be more versatile but whose work I really like as well. I'm very torn between these three. I'm going for a nordic/viking style so I was wondering if you could tell me your opinion of them and which of those you would choose? https://www.instagram.com/blackhandnomad/ (I discovered him first, was a bit unsure at first due to all the geometric work but his sans-geometry I really liked as well) https://www.instagram.com/sacred_knot_tattoo/ (this one worked with the one above and I've been liking his work more and more) https://www.facebook.com/pg/mightyhorseman/photos/?tab=album&album_id=1091936734184111 / https://www.instagram.com/tatu_swede/ Thank you!

I'll do that. Thanks again, for all the help!

That tiger looks bloody dangerous!!!

Chris has the widest tiger heads in the business. Awesome.

It's always a good idea to consult your artist to check it out in person. Can you tell us about your care routine? Seems to me that you might be using too much lotion/ointment and having a skin reaction to that. Better pictures would help...but my first point of having the artist check it out still stands. Welcome to the forum!

@Makar - just awesome. Totally awesome.

I know it's often said 'as long as you like it then that's all that matters' but it is good to get feedback from other tattoo enthusiasts. I appreciate it hugely - helps with any dissonance that creeps in over such a long term commitment. So, thanks again one and all for chipping in!

I'm getting another, it's just a matter of an idea. Thanks. It seemed like an idea that really fits the medium. And an internet troll doesn't worry me.

Yep! Which artist did those? @floriansantus does some amazing ones.

@Makar You ae winning on all fronts - especially in the sauna. The colors are on point and the detail looks amazing. Congrats!

Raven cover up now finished for the moment. A few peony additions and a good luck pentacle for protection and nature connection. What's the thoughts? Plain skin people in sauna will obviously think I worship satan but that already makes me laugh... its nice to get the sauna to yourself

Just finished my first half sleeve!!! Woohooooooooo!!! 15 hours, 12 of which were inking, the other two were mini cigarette breaks and stenciling and freehand drawing the lotuses, done in two back to back days in Thessaloniki (Greece) Pics were taken a few minutes after the top lotus was done, will upload some pics when it's healed!

Hey Sipes23 - really cool snake dna design. I like the ouroboros symbolism - it all just keeps going round! Sorry that a total tadger decided to spam your post. Some folks have no common decency. Stephen Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk

That's totally spam.

Wow, really???!!!!! I guess I'd better have mine removed. Conversely, why are you joining a forum that celebrates the art of tattooing and throwing BS at us?

Welcome :D After I got my first I couldn't stop thinking about all the other ones I wanted. I have a long list of what I'd like but want to make sure I find an artist I like for each of them and... money. lol

Mike Wilson did this dagger, snake, and roses on me at the SFO convention in 2012. included a #livedintattoos comparison of the day of vs today (wth poor lighting).

Scott Sylvia, Elm Street Tattoo Fest, Dallas, 2015

Missed skulls, so I'll enter this month for fun (not a chance of winning with @Gingerninja's back in the competition!). It's by Joshua Henderson, Brainstorm Tattoos, 2014.

Okay, I'm in. Dagger by Grez (Kings Avenue) done at Pagoda 2015.

@9Years I started drafting an imaginary consultation discussion ("hey, lemme get a jesus on the cross backpiece, but give him boobs and a panther head"), but every time I look at that tattoo I see something else new. I can't wait to see that as it progresses. Walter has some really awesome prints on Raking Light Projects right now that I almost bought. Went with a Freddy Jesus head, but may still scoop one up.

@exume Oh man! Saw that on the 'gram...soooooooo cool! I've gotta ask; how did you guys arrive at this design? What was the magic phrase that unlocked this???

So on Friday I went down to Denver to see my man Walter McDonald at Lifetime tattoo, got a pretty good start on my back. We left some details out of the initial outline (tiger stripes, radiating beams of light..) and plan to add some background and extend downward in future sessions. Super excited to finally start this and see where we go from here, also my back feels like I've been utilizing less than proper lifting techniques.

@scottyg Looks rad man! Lining is pretty awful, feels a bit like being cut in half haha. But as said before earlier in this thread, the stoke will pull you through! How far down are you taking it? To the ass or to the knees? On Saturday, I just tipped over 20 hours in on my back and very satisfyingly started colour. The black is completely done and it now looks like a proper backpiece. Three and half hours to finish up blocking out the thighs, and a quick sit on some red before calling it quits. Going from the last couple of sessions on soft, squishy areas back to over spine and shoulder blades was quite a shock. Definitely not looking forward to the massive block of colour over the middle of my back.

This has got to be one of my favourite sleeves here at LST .

here is my one-shot psych-panther crawling up my inner thigh into the buy-me-dinner zone made by Shawn O'Connor in 2014 before he setup shop in Nelson, BC

Since I've only been getting tattooed since 2014, I think everybody has seen most of these recently, so it feels a little bit weird to submit them again so soon, haha. But I do have some pieces taken from very classic flash! I'm not sure that I ever posted all of them, anyway. All but the last one were done by Greg Whitehead, but I'm looking forward to getting more one-offs like this soon from other people! The shoulder-area bird was my first tattoo, and it's a Percy Waters design. The snake in a flower pot is based on Dietzel flash, the diving girl is a Jensen piece and was actually sort of a filler, the elbow butterfly/rose is...uhh, actually, I'm not 100% sure. Someone said it was Jensen, but I don't remember if that's true. I remember Greg saying that it came from a whole lot of flash from the early 1900s that used to be attributed to a mystery artist, but was later identified as belonging to someone specific...I just can't for the life of me remember who it was. The lady with a snake is a Cap Coleman design, and I love her to bits. The last one was Christopher Ayalin at Liberty, and I got it when I went on a fun tattoo day trip with @beez. A lot of people do flower/snake/dagger stuff, so I dunno...Jensen-ish? I guess? Aside from the color I guess it's still pretty classic traditional subject matter. And now you have seen like half of my tattoos all at once!