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Session number seven rolled around this Saturday. @bongsau You were definitely right, "in for a whooping" to say the least. Only made it through 2 and a half hours, but still managed to tear up an insane amount of skin. It's sessions like this that definitely teach you about your body and ability to tolerate pain. Felt pretty discouraged immediately after the session, but I'm still stoked on the level of progress. Can't wait to see the patterning brighten up as the blue settles over top. 28.5 hours here.

Went last night to have a peony recolored. It was done by a different artist a few years ago and everything else sort of grew up around it. Now it feels more like a part of the whole shebang and I love the purple. Husband had more work done on his tiger. We were supposed to go before Christmas and ended up w/another blizzard so we had to reschedule..just like last winter argh! Also spent some discussion time w/my artist about continuing the wind/water theme elsewhere so I'm kinda excited about that.

I use Dove for my tattoos (just plain, white Dove) and have had no problems with any healing. I also back the "leave it alone" or "let it breathe" method for the most part. Two days of keeping it clean and very light applications of Aquaphor in the AM and at night before bed. Then just plain white Aveeno used sparingly until flaking/cracking/scabbing/whatever passes. I would also discourage the re-wrap, as a lot of people have said. I take my initial wrap off after a few hours and have never rewrapped a tattoo.

Just got the Hannya done yesterday by Myke Chambers! I love it.

Got an appointment with Erik Rieth when he's here in late March at War Horse Tattoo in Berkeley. Thinking something panther-related.

Ask your tattooer,simple as that.

I know you are trying not to go in blind, but we really can't answer that for you. It totally depends on the artist you choose, and how s/he charges, how fast s/he works, where you are located, etc. Make sure you look at *healed* work when you're selecting this artist. I assume you don't wanna pay for it twice ?

Yah, Tim Burton's Alice was actually what I had in mind when you mentioned the cheshire cat idea. ? I like the pics you posted above! My next piece is definitely going to go towards the illustrative/cartoon style.

You are not going to find much sympathy here.You are talking to people who love tattoos,and some of us have truly bad ones that we live with.People who see your tattoo don't care what it says,or what it means too you.

I much prefer a drier heal - blotting dry with paper towels after a morning shower, making sure nothing dirty touches it and hardly any ointments or oils etc unless it feels overly raw or like it's gonna crack, even then, just a one-off microscopic amount of Bepanthen to take the edge off. The guys at my shop firmly believe the skin needs to breathe as much as possible to heal quickly... a layer of ointment, a layer of oil and a layer of sweaty plastic doesn't exactly sound breathable. Keeping the original wrap on until the next morning seems like a very long time too - I take mine off after a couple of hours or whenever I get home after a victory beer or two! Then again I don't have any large scale work and I'm hardly a tattoo veteran (going in for my 5th hand-ish sized piece on Sat). You should just fully trust your artist and follow his/her aftercare instructions. Maybe if sleep is a big concern you could discuss Saniderm/Tegaderm type products with your artist too.

Might be tricky!

welcome to LST!

Awww ... so cute :) Beautiful tattoo~

I'm very sorry for your loss. I think your tattoo looks great, and the size is perfect for your arm. I get the impression you feel it doesn't do your mum justice? Nothing will ever truly compare to her, after all, she was your mum :) but how about seeing your (lovely) tattoo as a starting point? Did your mum have any particular hobbies or interests, or things/people/pets that meant a lot to her? how about maybe incorporating some ideas into a sleeve and build those around your original tattoo. You could also have fun with it too, by adding little things that just you and your family would understand, but if anyone asked you could explain and then talk about the things your mum loved and enjoyed. If you take your time, I'm sure you could find a fantastic artist who could gradually bring it all together for you. I have been down the laser route, it was painful, bloody, sore and expensive, I also have a bit of scaring, and its still not gone :( I too went in head first and spent two weeks crying and obsessing over my first tattoo (mine is a genuine disaster zone , unlike yours!) I then spent the next ten years constantly wearing long sleeved shirts, even in the summer. That was it for me, longsleeves4life!... until last Wednesday when I went to a brilliant artist and he made a start on what will be a full sleeve tribute to my pets! and something will be done with that mess on my arm but I'm not sure what yet ;) It's a long story as to why I got out of my tattoo rut, but the point is, your tattoo is actually good!!! it really is, I think to laser it would be a waste, get planning on some ideas to go with it, enjoy seeing it all come together, have fun with it, research artists and turn it into everything you want it to be.

Yesterday, I started my full back piece with Rei from Inkrat, Tokyo. Three-and-a-half hours of lining was pretty prickly in places - but some good blues music, a howling spring wind outside and the stoke got me through it unscathed. And there's something mindboggling about a Japanese tattooer doing an American old school interpretation of how a Japanese tattoo should look. Colours are coming in a few weeks and I'll update then, j

Going in this Saturday for a traditional kraken vs clipper ship on the ol' shoulder from the same artist who did a great biker girl head on my other shoulder! Can't wait!

Super glad I found this topic! I just got this piece done last Wednesday. I healed with tegederm for the first 5 days. Just wanted to get everyone's opinions on how it's healing! This is my first color piece so it's a little different for me. Thanks! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

@Gingerninja aww thank you! I'm pretty thrilled too!